Good Public Relations for Some Misunderstood Species

People love seeing an eagle in flight. People pay to go on whale watches. Birdwatchers are all over our state and the world. But some species don't get the same love and attention as those.

I first learned about woodrats when I volunteered for a project in the Palisades of northern New Jersey. Except for a few Disney rats, most people avoid and dislike rats. You certainly don't want them near or in your home or outside your favorite restaurant. But the Allegheny woodrat won't be in those places. 

Their habitat is rocky areas associated with mountain ridges such as cliffs, caves, talus slopes and crevasses. In New Jersey, Allegheny woodrats occur in sloping fields of rock near the bases of cliffs. The Palisades is the site of New Jersey’s last remaining woodrat population.

The ALLEGHENY WOODRAT (Neotoma magister) is a mammal and its conservation status in New Jersey is endangered.

Bats of all types are the stuff of too many horror movies and legends. (Thank goodness that Batman is a good guy!) You might know that they serve an important role in the ecosystem. They are particularly important in controlling the notorious New Jersey mosquito population.

One bat species that may not be familiar is the TRICOLORED BAT (Perimyotis subflavus) a mammal that is endangered in NJ. 

Formerly called the eastern pipistrelle, this small bat is about 2 inches in body length. Their fur is yellowish-brown, with a namesake tri-coloration that comes from the individual hairs on the bat's back, which are dark at the base and tip and yellowish-brown in the middle.

They are not interested in people at all. Their diet and interest is a wide variety of insect prey. These include moths emerging from corn crops, other flying insects, and beetles. Tricolored bats are a free source of pest control services that benefit both the natural ecosystem and the human economy.

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Division of Fish and Wildlife Videos

The Division of Fish and Wildlife has a growing library of videos depicting the many areas of research, management, and recreation it supports. Videos are hosted on the Department of Environmental Protection's Discover DEP YouTube Channel where visitors will find a range of videos.

Woodrat Research (video) 
Every October, the division's Endangered and Nongame Species Program set out traps to catch the only Allegheny woodrat species left in New Jersey  along the rocky cliffs at the Palisades Interstate Park. Once the woodrat is captured,  a tag is administered, and samples are taken so biologists can accurately monitor this endangered species striving population.

Horseshoe Crab Survey (video)
The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife monitors horseshoe crab abundance with the Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Spawning Survey. The survey estimates spawning densities on Delaware Bay beaches. Our Marine Fisheries staff sample the spawning population on Fortescue Beach and Gandy’s Beach on the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay. Beaches are sampled at nighttime high tides of the new and full moons during the spring months. Data collected is helpful for scientists to track changes in numbers of spawning crabs in the area. DFW continues to work towards protection and improvement of horseshoe crab spawning habitat.

Studying the Allegheny Woodrat: A Video

There are dozens of non-game mammal species found in New Jersey. (There are also six whale species which occur off the state's coast, all of which are listed as both state and federally endangered.) Of these, there are three land mammal species listed as "endangered": the bobcat, Indiana bat and Allegheny Woodrat.

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife has posted a link to a video featuring the Division's Endangered and Nongame Species Program's research on the Allegheny woodrat. The population being studied, found in the boulder talus along the base of the Palisades on the Hudson River, is the only one remaining in the state and numbers fewer than 100 individuals,

A video, by award-winning videographer Andre Malok, is found on the NJ.Com website.


                Studying the Allegheny Woodrat - NJ.com video

Although classified as a rat, the Allegheny woodrat has none of the negative characteristics of its other rodent cousins. This small mammal poses no threat to human health or safety. It's found in just one remaining area in New Jersey, within the gigantic crevice filled boulder fields beneath the cliffs of the Palisades in Bergen County. Principal zoologist Mick Valent, from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), along with a small team of volunteers, are trapping woodrats to help study and understand the population decline which is estimated at fewer than 100 animals. The decline has caused concern about the species'€™ future, prompting a close look at the possible causes.

NJDEP  Allegheny Woodrat Fact Sheet (pdf, 59kb)