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'The Creature Show" Will Explore NJ's Threatened and Endangered

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation is partnering with documentary filmmaker Jared Flesher to help secure financial support for The Creature Show, a new internet video series about New Jersey's threatened and endangered animals.

"The Creature Show is a documentary web series dedicated to conservation storytelling. Our stage: the wilds of New Jersey, within the nation’s most crowded state. Here we find represented all the villains of global extinction, including habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species and wildlife disease. We also find wildlife biologists and regular citizens who have devoted themselves to protecting the region’s biodiversity, no matter what the challenges may be."

The first episode of The Creature Show, focusing on New Jersey's salamanders, was funded through a $10,000 Kickstarter campaign and had its web debut on July 15.

Salamander Rain from The Creature Show on Vimeo

The Creature Show is a documentary web series dedicated to the wilds of New Jersey, within the nation’s most crowded state. Examining habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, and wildlife disease, it will also talk with wildlife biologists and citizen scientists who have devoted themselves to protecting the region’s biodiversity.

Flesher approached the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to become a fiscal sponsor knowing that grants and individual donations will be needed to fund future episodes. NJCF will accept and process funds to support The Creature Show and help promote the show.

"New Jersey Conservation is one of the state's most prominent environmental organizations, and it's exciting to partner with them," said Flesher, a resident of East Amwell Township. "I think the missions of The Creature Show and New Jersey Conservation Foundation are closely aligned - preserving biodiversity in New Jersey."

New Jersey Maps and Tourism Guides

You can find New Jersey maps and tourism guides at Turnpike rest stops, but if you don't go to those places it is easy and free to request them online.


The NJ Travel Guide is a full-color guide to everything NJ - accommodations, attractions, beaches, history, outdoors, shopping, sports and more.

On that same page, you can find links to download specialized gudies for festivals, events, golf and other topics. I like the New Jersey Lighthouse Guide which can get you to our majestic beacons to experience these silent sentinels that have guided sailors for hundreds of years.

There is a history guide to New Jersey sites of significant political, social, industrial and cultural history. New Jersey abounds with historical sites and legacies - from George Washington's quest for independence during the American Revolution to Thomas Edison.

There are also maps of legislative districts, airports and even a 1925 version of the NJ transportation map.

You can also download the guides or view them online as electronic documents. (But, as much as I use my GPS and electronic maps, I still like the feel of a paper map sometimes.)

Download the PDF Guide
Download electronic version
- See more at: http://www.visitnj.org/form/request-or-download-free-travel-guides#sthash.jBfYpTO7.dpuf

Download the PDF Guide
Download electronic version
- See more at: http://www.visitnj.org/form/request-or-download-free-travel-guides#sthash.jBfYpTO7.dpuf

Download the PDF Guide
Download electronic version
- See more at: http://www.visitnj.org/form/request-or-download-free-travel-guides#sthash.jBfYpTO7.dpuf

Download the PDF Guide
Download electronic version
- See more at: http://www.visitnj.org/form/request-or-download-free-travel-guides#sthash.jBfYpTO7.dpuf

Down the Shore: Fishing and Boating

Summers on the water is a big part of some New Jerseyeans life. Boating and fishing is a natural thing in a state with 127 miles of coastline, hundreds of miles of bay-shore, many inland lakes and tributaries and 17 of 21 counties bordering on saltwater.

Whether you fish or just want to enjoy the sunset on the water with children, friends and family, New Jersey offers opportunities for boat owners and people who just want to spend a day on the water in a rental boat or on a charter.

• Places to Fish: Saltwater (pdf)
• New Jersey Saltwater Fishing License Registry
• NJ Boating - Boat Ramps and Pumpout Maps
• Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association Launch Directory
• USEPA Vessel Water Discharge Information
• Clean Boating Tips
• New Jersey Boat Ramp Guide (pgs 18-63) 
• Boat U.S. Foundation
• The Jersey Shore: Open for Boating (pdf)
• NJ Charter Fishing Boat info
• FAQ for Boaters after Hurricane Sandy 

Sixth Annual NJ WILD Outdoor Expo

The NJDEP's free sixth annual NJ WILD Outdoor Expo will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13, at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in Jackson Township, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine.

This fun-filled family event is designed for visitors to discover new ways to appreciate and enjoy New Jersey's great outdoors. Participants can try a many of the outdoor activities available within the state's forests, parks and natural areas such as fishing, kayaking, hiking, shooting sports, rock climbing, camping skills, compass navigation and wildlife watching. Demonstrations of sporting and tracking dogs, historical re-enactments, SCUBA dives, reptiles and raptors, turkey calling, nature photography and much more await.

Admission and parking are free. All activities are free with the exception of a $3 fee to use the climbing wall.

For more information visit wildoutdoorexpo.com

Down the Shore: Public Access to Beaches

"The public’s right to access tidal waters and their shorelines, embodied in the Public Trust Doctrine, has existed prior to the inception of the State of New Jersey and continues to this day.  The Public Trust Doctrine is the principle that certain resources, in this case tidal waters and shorelines, are preserved for public use, and that the government is required to maintain them for the public's reasonable use.  Subsequent court cases have interpreted and implemented its strictures, and many legislative acts and regulatory provisions rely on the Doctrine to protect and enhance access.  The Department of Environmental Protection has long seen protecting this right as a vital part of our mission. We require public access to the shore and tidal waterways under the Coastal Permit Program and the Coastal Zone Management rules."       nj.gov/dep/cmp/access/

• Public Access to NJ's Shoreline
• Public Access Maps
• Beach Buggy Access
• visitnj.org/nj/beaches

Cape May County Park & Zoo Ranked Nationally

Not all zoos get good reviews from environmentalists and protectors of wildlife. But for many people, especially in urban areas, it may be their only contact with some species, and they can be an educational experience for attendees about issues such as habitat loss and threatened species.

New Jersey has several small zoos and recently Cape May County Park & Zoo was selected as the 13th-best zoo in the world, according to TripAdvisor.com. The approximately 200-acre facility in the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township is also fifth among U.S. zoos. The rankings are based on thousands of user-submitted reviews.

The reviewers say “One of the best zoo's on the East Coast and it's free.”

https://www.cmczoo.com  

 

Public Hearing on Pinelands Pipeline July 28

On the Tuesday July 28th the BPU is holding a public hearing concerning NJNG’s proposal to put a pipeline in the Pinelands.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is considering a proposal by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to put a pipeline through the Pinelands.

Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, are convinced this pipeline will not only create an ugly scar through the Pinelands and open space in New Jersey, but it will destroy habitat, pollute high quality streams, rivers, and cut across important C1 waterways.

The proposed pipeline would be 28 miles and go through Burlington, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. The route would cross through the Joint Base area in the Preservation Area established by the Pinelands Protection Act, which is supposed to get the highest level of protection.

The Pinelands are a United Nations biosphere reserve and one of the largest sources of fresh drinking water on the east coast. The Pinelands is the largest wild place left in the most densely populated region of the country. There are plants and amphibious species that are found no other place in the world. Our drinking water would be impacted if NJNG pipeline is approved.

Many of us agree that there is a need to protect the Pinelands. The meeting is a chance to make your voice heard. The meetings will be held Tuesday July 28 at 3:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. at Manchester Township Municipal Building, One Colonial Drive, Manchester, NJ 08759.

More
sierraclub.org/new-jersey/pinelands-pipeline
pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/environmental-activists-protest-gas-pipeline-at-stockton-forum/

Newly Discovered Insect Species in the NJ Pine Barrens May Already Be Threatened

A male F. whitcombi leafhopper. Credit: Andrew Hicks

A new grass-eating species of insect was discovered to be living in the Jersey Pine Barrens of New Jersey. This leafhopper (Flexamia whitcombi) had previously escaped notice. - and at least one scientist worried that it might not be around for very much longer.

Unfortunately, this leafhopper depends on a single species of New Jersey grass, the pine barren smokegrass, for its food. Smokegrass is on the state's threatened species list. There are over 800 endangered plants and species of special concern in NJ.

M. torreyana pinebarren smokegrass    Credit: Uri Lorimer

As of now, scientists don't know for sure if the insect lives in the other regions of the eastern U.S. where the smokegrass also grows ( Tennessee and North Carolina).

If the leafhopper is unique to the Pine Barrens, there's a particular reason for concern, even though its food source is still relatively abundant there. Andrew Hicks of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado writes:

 "The Pine Barrens are already suffering the effects of a warming climate, as evidenced by the recent irruption there of the Southern Pine Beetle. Should the effects of climate change or other anthropomorphic pressures cause the local extinction of the host (as has apparently already occurred elsewhere in its range), there will be little opportunity for the survival of this Flexamia. But that might be said of most species described today."

Sources:
washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/
www.nj.com

This Fossil Shark Is Safe

"Cretaceous Shark Teeth" by Wilson44691 Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

It is Discovery Channel's Shark Week once again and sharks will get a lot of good and bad attention. The Shark Research Institute in Princeton is offering a safe way to engage with sharks that will not be threatening at all. Hunt for fossilized shark teeth.

Kids and adults can join experts from the Shark Research Institute and the American Littoral Society this Saturday, July 11, and wade into the Big Brook in Middletown to sift for ancient shark teeth.

Sharks continually shed their teeth; some Carcharhiniformes shed approximately 35,000 teeth in a lifetime, as well as replace them by producing thousands of more. There are four basic types of shark teeth: dense flattened, needle-like, pointed lower with triangular upper, and non-functional. The type of tooth that a shark has depends on its diet and feeding habits.

In some geological formations, shark's teeth are a common fossil and  they are often the only part of the shark to be fossilized. The most ancient types of sharks date back to 450 million years ago, during the Late Ordovician period, and are mostly known by their fossilized teeth. However, the most commonly found fossil shark teeth are from the Cenozoic era (the last 66 million years).

The shallow water (about 18 inches deep) of the Big Brook sediments were deposited during the Late Cretaceous 100 to 66 million years ago when modern sharks began to appear on Earth.


INFO
9:30 a.m. to noon, July 11. $5 for adults, kids are free. Call 609-921-3522 to sign up.
Future shark teeth hunts at Big Brook are 5:30 p.m., July 30 and 9:30 a.m. to noon, August 15.

Women & Wildlife Awards 2015 Nominations Open Until July 24, 2015

For the 10th year, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey will present Women & Wildlife Awards to special individuals for their achievements, the advances they have made for women in their professions, their efforts to increase awareness of rare species and the habitats they depend on, and their contributions to New Jersey’s wildlife.

By acknowledging these special individuals, CWF hopes to encourage more young women to strive to make a positive impact on species and habitat protection, especially through the biological sciences. Conserve Wildlife Foundation encourages you to take this opportunity to nominate a woman who has distinguished herself in the service of New Jersey’s wildlife.

Nominations will be accepted in three categories:
    Leadership
    Inspiration
    Education

The nomination form will be accepted through Friday, July 24, 2015. Nominations submitted last year will automatically be reconsidered this year.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/getinvolved/event/women/