Spring Birding

Red-headed Woodpecker via state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/somdec.htm

Warming weather not only brings some bird species to NJ, but brings out the more reluctant birders. Even if you're not a "birder" officially, you probably are paying more attention to seeing birds in your neighborhood.

NJ Audubon offers lots of information for anyone on either end of the birding continuum.

Check out their sightings reports at njaudubon.org/Tools.Net/Sightings/

Look for the sightings in your own area, like at the Montclair Hawk Watch in northern NJ.



http://www.njaudubon.org

Food and Chemicals

Part of the campaigns at FoodDemocracyNow.org is to get people to contact politicians and government agencies about their concerns with the environment and our food and personal health.

One of their current requests is for people to tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put the health and safety of the American people over corporate agribusiness profits by banning the use of the toxic chemical methyl iodide from agricultural use.

Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen, endocrine disruptor and neurotoxin that is proven to cause late-term miscarriages and presents clear dangers to farm workers and surrounding populations when used for agricultural applications.

Already banned in New York and Washington, significant outcry from scientists and citizens around the country has led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the ill-conceived approval of this toxic chemical from being sprayed on our food. Leading strawberry growers in California have lobbied for this toxic chemical's approval, despite the scientific evidence that it can cause pose human health and environmental risks.

It's easy to click and send an email to add your voice in telling the EPA to immediately to ban the registration of methyl iodide as a soil fumigant.

NJ Bears Have Emerged From Winter Dens

The NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection has announced that black bears have exited their winter dens throughout New Jersey and are entering their most active period of the year as they search for food and mates, making encounters with people more likely.

To reduce the risk of such encounters, State residents - especially those living in "bear country'' in Northwest Jersey - are urged to take some simple precautions.

DEP wildlife experts are offering the following tips to minimize conflicts with bears this spring:

• Use certified bear-resistant garbage containers if possible. Otherwise, store all garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids and place them along the inside walls of your garage, basement, a sturdy shed or other secure area.
• Wash garbage containers frequently with a disinfectant solution to remove odors. Put out garbage on collection day, not the prior night.
• Avoid feeding birds when bears are active. If you choose to feed birds, do so during daylight hours only and bring feeders indoors at night. Suspend birdfeeders from a free-hanging wire, making sure they are at least 10 feet off the ground. Clean up spilled seeds and shells daily.
• Immediately remove all uneaten food and food bowls used by pets fed outdoors.
• Clean outdoor grills and utensils to remove food and grease residue to minimize odors. Store grills securely.
• Do not place meat or any sweet foods in compost piles.
• Remove fruit or nuts that fall from trees in your yard.
• Properly installed electric fencing is an effective way of protecting crops, beehives and livestock.

Wildlife experts also offer the following information:

• A black bear passing through a residential area should not be considered a problem, as long as it is behaving normally and not posing a threat.
• If you encounter a bear remain calm and do not run. Make sure the bear has an escape route. Avoid direct eye contact, back up slowly and speak with a low, assertive voice.
• Black bear attacks are extremely rare. Should a black bear attack, fight back. Do not play dead.

Report bear damage, nuisance behavior or aggressive bears to the Wildlife Control Unit of the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife at (908) 735-8793. During evenings and weekends, residents should call their local police department or the DEP Hotline at (877) WARN-DEP.

To view the DEP news release concerning this issue visit
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0055.htm
To learn more about New Jersey's black bears and ways to avoid problems with them, visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/bearinfo.htm

Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day!

Celebrated since 1970, the Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

This year's Earth Day's theme is A Billion Acts of Green, a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20.

Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center Workshops for Teachers

Are you interested in earning professional development credits in a fun and unique setting while learning about NJ's remarkable estuarine environment?

The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife offers an extraordinary learning experience at our Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center, located within NJ's first Marine Conservation Zone, just off Island Beach State Park in Barnegat Bay.

A 15-minute ride to the island within the Sedge Islands Wildlife Management Area via the Division's pontoon boat sets the stage for the experience.

The shallow water surrounding the group of islands serves as a nursery for many species of marine animals. Blue claw crabs, hard clams and fish abound. In fact, crabbing and clamming are just two of the many hands-on activities used to teach about the ecology and culture of the bay.

In season, striped bass, weakfish, summer flounder and many other species of fin-fish provide some of the best fishing on the coast.

A small grove of pine and cedar trees on Sedge Island provides nesting and resting sites for many birds. The WMA's location within the Atlantic Flyway ensures exciting birding year-round.


During the three-day/two-night workshop you will stay in the Sedge House, a renovated duck-hunting lodge, which is equipped with a common room, 7 bunkrooms (you will have to share a room), a full kitchen and dining room. As part of the experience, you will live a conservation ethic. Fresh water is limited (we transport bottled water from the mainland) as is electricity-a solar generator provides power. Grey water from sinks and showers is treated in a special grey-water system and sewage is composted in a Clivus Multrum composting toilet.

The workshop explores both the natural and cultural history of the Barnegat Bay area using hands-on methods including marsh walks, kayak tours, and conventional fishing, crabbing, and clamming techniques. Further investigation of the marine environment will be done using nets, microscopes, field guides, and more. Whether it's seining near an eel grass bed to observe the importance of submerged aquatic vegetation or having a built in anatomy lesson while cleaning and preparing a meal of fresh caught seafood, the activities offered provide first-hand insight to the wise use of New Jersey's natural resources, their importance and the role the Division plays in their management. You will leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of the entire ecosystem that you will be able to convey to your students.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATORS
The Division is a registered provider with the DOE; professional development credit will be granted for the three-day/two-night workshop. The workshop fulfills core curriculum standards in both science (5.12) and social studies (6.9).


You are responsible for all your food during the two-night stay. There is a gas range stove and refrigerator, a gas grill and a quick steamer for preparing the day's harvest, as well cooking utensils you may need.


The cost of a three day program is $135 per adult, $85 per student (2 nights, minimum of 10 participants - maximum 14 per group). A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required to secure a date. Cost includes transportation to and from the island, instruction, equipment and facility use. Participants provide their own meals and bedding. (Rates for length of stay other than standard three day program available upon request.)

Classroom teachers or other educators who wish to gain experience and knowledge of marine environments and/or are interested in earning professional development credit, or a group of teachers and students who are embarking on a special course of study or leadership training, are our priority groups.

• Summer Field Experience at Sedge Island for Grades 7-9 Students (pdf, 145kb) 
• Field Experience Application Cover Page (.doc, 52kb)
• Internship Opportunity at Sedge Island
  Conserve Wildlife Foundation Contest Winners Visit Sedge Island (nj.com video report) 
• http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/sedge.htm

NJ Wildlife Diversity and Education Grants

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program is making small matching grants available for projects directly related to wildlife diversity and education. The funds are from the Conserve Wildlife License Plate renewal fund

The maximum amount available per proposal is $3,500 ($1,000 is the minimum amount). The Conserve Wildlife matching grant is a 50:50 cost share grant - therefore, grant funds cannot exceed 50% of the total project cost.

At least 25% of the grantee's share of project funding must be in a dollar amount and the remainder may be in-kind support of the project.

Eligible applicants are those nonprofit organizations defined as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4). The deadline for requests is May, 4, 2011 by 5:00 p.m.

For more information on the grants, including application information and examples grants awarded in the past, visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/cwgrants.htm

Earth Day 2011

This Friday, April 22, is Earth Day. This year, Earth Day's theme is A Billion Acts of Green, a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20.

The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed.

Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

Round Valley Reservoir

View Larger Map


The Round Valley Reservoir in Clinton Township, New Jersey was formed in 1960 when the New Jersey Water Authority constructed two large dams and flooded a large valley in the state's Hunterdon County.

The reservoir is named after the naturally formed circular valley surrounded by Cushetunk Mountain. The deep Valley was caused by erosion of the soft sedimentary rock. The surrounding ridges of Cushetunk Mountain endure because they were underlaid with dense and durable volcanic rock diabase that cooled slowly under the surface of the earth.

Here are some big numbers for this body of water:  Round Valley reaches depths of 180 feet (55 m). This 2,000 acre (8 km²) reservoir is best known for its pristine clear blue waters. The reservoir contains 55 billion gallons of water for use in central New Jersey, and is distributed during times of drought via the nearby south branch of the Raritan River.

The reservoir has been called the Bermuda Triangle of New Jersey as over 25 people have drowned there since 1971 and 6 of them have never been found.

The New Jersey Division of Wildlife claims the reservoir is the southernmost body of water that contains naturally reproducing lake trout. Some of the other species of fish in the lake include bass, pickerel, catfish, american eel, yellow perch, brown trout, and rainbow trout. The park also has a wilderness area for camping, swimming facilities, a boat ramp and nature hiking and biking trails.

http://www.njparksandforests.org/parks/round.html
http://www.nynjtc.org/park/round-valley-state-park
http://www.roundvalleyfishing.com

Cushetunk Mountain

Cushetunk Mountain is a horsehoe-shaped mountain located in Readington and Clinton Township, New Jersey.

It was formerly known as Mount Ployden, Pickel's Mountain and occasionally as Mount Cushetunk or Coshanton. The Lenape called the mountain "Cushetunk" meaning "place of hogs" after the wild hogs that were found there.

Before the arrival of Europeans, Cushetunk Mountain was inhabited by Unami speaking Lenape, particularly the Musconetcongs who ranged between Cushetunk Mountain and Sourland Mountain to the south. An interesting claim put forward by Beauchamp Plantagenet, one of the first Europeans to explore the area around the mountain, states that a Native American king held his seat in a place resembling the valley formed by Cushetunk Mountain. The claim exists today as a legend, and no evidence has ever been found confirming Plantagenet’s story of a ‘Raritan king’.

In the 1960s, the valley at the heart of the mountain was dammed and filled with water to create Round Valley Reservoir.

The mountain’s U-shaped arc is approximately two miles in diameter, with the more massive portion of the mountain occupying the southwest corner of the ridgeline. The man-made lake, Round Valley Reservoir, occupies the valley at the center of the horseshoe.


Cushetunk Mountain is occasionally referred to as a mountain range and includes Round Mountain, a 610 foot peak located about a mile and a half south of Cushetunk Mountain in Readington. Round Mountain is linked to Cushetunk Mountain by a sheet of intruded diabase rock running beneath the surface.

Two famous names from New Jersey’s colonial history owned land on the north slope of Cushetunk Mountain in Potterstown (part of Readington and Clinton Township). One was John Stevens, a delegate to the Continental Congress, whose grandson founded Stevens Institute of Technology. The other was Lord Stirling, an American Revolutionary War General who was ranked 3rd or 4th behind George Washington.


Contrary to popular belief, the ring-like shape of the mountain does not represent a crater, particularly since the mountain was formed primarily within the Earth. Instead, the mountain’s shape seems to be the result of an intruding sheet of magma becoming dramatically flexed as it penetrated local strata.

While most of the mountain ridges in New Jersey run generally north to south, Cushetunk Mountain primarily has an east-west ridge orientation because of the elongated north and south prongs of its horseshoe-like ridge. This produces significantly different microclimates between the north facing and south facing slopes of the mountain.

Because the north slope of the mountain is cooler and shaded, moisture is more easily retained. This results in larger trees, as well as the growth of trees not seen on southern facing slopes. These trees include black birch, tulip tree, white ash, basswood, hickory, beech, and sugar maple. Shrubs are abundant in the understory of the northern slopes, as well as herbs typical of more northern forests, including wild ginger, wild sarsaparilla, black snakeroot, and columbine.

On the warmer, dryer southern slopes chestnut oak and red oak prevail, although the trees are also common to the northern slopes. In the understory, dogwood is dominant, and the diversity and number of shrubs is reduced. Grasses and sedges are the most prevalent ground cover.

Wildlife supported by Cushetunk Mountain includes a variety of woodland birds, including a nesting pair of bald eagles. Groundwater seeps, particularly on the northern slopes, provide habitat to amphibians, while outcrops of trap rock offer ideal environments for small reptiles.

The NJ EagleCam

Located on Duke Farms in central New Jersey, the EagleCam allows viewers an up close and personal view into the lives of a pair of bald eagles as they breed, incubate, and raise young.

Bald Eagles are extremely sensitive to human disturbance. At no time should anyone approach nesting eagles. People who want to observe or photograph eagles and who come too close may actually cause the birds to abandon a nest. So, the nest cam is the perfect tool for teaching about wildlife and covers a variety of topics including animal behavior, bird biology and natural history, endangered species, food webs, contamination, and more.

On April 7, the first chick hatched and viewers could see the parents feeding the chick.

The nest at Duke Farms

Eaglecam: Bald eagle nest camera, lesson plans, and environmental education at Duke Farms via Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey

Trout Season Opens

Angler on the Rockaway River for opening weekend

More than 180,000 freshly stocked trout were awaiting anglers when they casted their lines on the opening day of trout season this past weekend.

The DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife had, for the past two weeks, been stocking nearly 200 streams, lakes and ponds across the state.

The season officially opened at 8 a.m. Saturday and an estimated 100,000 anglers statewide were expected to participate.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife will continue stocking trout over the next couple of months until a total of nearly 600,000 fish have been placed in 88 streams and 90 ponds and lakes throughout New Jersey. These will include 6,000 big trout - 3- to 8-pounders - that will join big trout released last fall and winter that eluded capture.

Nine ponds and small lakes each will get special allocations of 30 to 50 big trout that measure 16 to 24 inches and weigh 3 to 8 pounds. The locations of those nine sites and other important spring trout stocking information are posted on the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife website at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/trtinfo_spring.htm

Weekly in-season trout stocking information is also available by calling the Trout Stocking Hotline at (609) 633-6765.

"Trout fishing has truly never been better in New Jersey,'' said DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Chanda. "The fact that Trout Stamp sales have increased nearly 20 percent since 2005 and that sales to out-of-state residents are increasing tell us clearly that the word is spreading about the quality of the trout we stock and the wonderful experiences people are having fishing New Jersey's fabulous trout waters.''

Fishing for trout in New Jersey requires a fishing license and trout stamp for anglers between the ages of 16 and 70. Anglers under age 16 and 70 years of age and older do not need a fishing license or trout stamp.

Buying a fishing license and trout stamp can be done easily through the Division of Fish and Wildlife's Automated Licensing System. Anglers can buy and print a fishing license and trout stamp online or can purchase a license and stamp at one of more than 200 license agent locations throughout the state.

All proceeds from freshwater fishing licenses are dedicated to improving fishing in New Jersey and protecting the quality of the state's waters both for fish and people.

A wealth of information about trout fishing and all other freshwater fishing in New Jersey, including regulations, fishing access points and fishing tips, can be found at www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/fishing_fresh.htm.

GeesePeace

Essex County is looking for volunteers to participate in GeesePeace, a county-wide program that uses humane methods to control the Canada geese population.

The program is geared to limit the birth of goslings and is endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States.

Training will be provided through an “on-call” system based on the number of volunteers who are interested in participating.

“The growing population of Canada geese has affected our residents’ quality of life, and we are committed to continue our partnership with Essex GeesePeace to help control the goose population in a humane way,” said Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. “Participating in this volunteer program is a great way for individuals, families and organizations to get involved and contribute to your community,” he added.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to combine our resources and work together toward humane, effective solutions to wildlife conflicts,” Essex GeesePeace Volunteer Coordinator Del DeMaio said. “Community schools, private property owners, golf course managers, public works officials and others should be calling on us for assistance to learn how they can coordinate efforts to improve effectiveness and efficiency,” she added.

If you want to volunteer, contact Essex County Environmental Affairs Coordinator Tara M. Casella at tcasella@parks.essexcountynj.org or 973-228-8776.

Pequest Open House This Weekend

The Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center opens its doors to the public for the annual Open House.

2011 Pequest Open House and Fishing Flea Market

April 2 & 3, 2011

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily

FREE!

With a week until trout season, you get to see the trout raised at the state of the art Pequest Trout Hatchery. This event is great for people of all ages and there are so many things to see and do throughout the day. Bring your family, friends, scout troops, church groups, fishing clubs and anyone else for a fun time in the outdoors.

The Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center is located 9 miles west of Hackettstown on Route 46 in scenic Warren County.

OPEN HOUSE INFO  http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/peqoh.htm