As a Principal Zoologist for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program, 2017 Women & Wildlife Inspiration Award Honoree Kris Schantz works with one of New Jersey’s most underappreciated and persecuted species: the timber rattlesnake. She earned her Masters of Science degree from Rutgers University based on a study of the rattlesnake and its habitat in northern New Jersey, and her passion in both learning and developing greater understanding of this species has helped improve its protection.
Ms. Schantz partners with academic and consultant biologists, as well as a number of reptile enthusiasts to accomplish the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s conservation mission. Her responsibilities have expanded to include other vulnerable snake species, such as the corn snake, northern pine snake, and scarlet snake. Continue reading “NJ DEP ENDANGERED AND NONGAME SPECIES ZOOLOGIST KRIS SCHANTZ HONORED FOR INSPIRATION”
As Vice President of Government Relations for New Jersey Audubon, 2017 Women & Wildlife Leadership Award Honoree Kelly Mooij works to promote and secure a legal and regulatory framework that supports habitat conservation, open space preservation, and species protection and recovery in New Jersey. She has dedicated her time and efforts in utilizing the tools of law, policy, and government affairs to protect our state’s wildlife.
Ms. Mooij earned her Juris Doctorate and Master of Studies in Environmental Law, focusing on marine biodiversity and land and water use issues, and has worked for New Jersey Audubon since 2008. Her efforts often center on bringing interested parties together to support efforts to protect the region’s wildlife. In 2012, Ms. Mooij helped lead the formation of the multi-state Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed. This coalition seeks to protect the watershed that provides drinking water for 16 million people, supports hundreds of miles of vital habitat for fish and wildlife, and is critical to the economic well-being of the mid-Atlantic region. Continue reading “NEW JERSEY AUDUBON’S KELLY MOOIJ HONORED FOR LEADERSHIP IN CONSERVATION”
As Director of Education & Outreach for Great Swamp Watershed Association, 2017 Women & Wildlife Education Award Honoree Hazel England has spent 24 years as an enthusiastic environmental educator and naturalist in New Jersey, bringing education programs to students and teachers of all ages about our local ecosystems and habitats. Her work focuses on providing powerful learning experiences for educators, encouraging youths to explore and understand New Jersey’s incredible biodiversity, and partnering with agencies to open up more environmental opportunities for students of all ages.
Since 2004, Ms. England has dedicated herself to developing, coordinating, and implementing a wide variety of educational and stewardship programs and activities at the Great Swamp Watershed Association as the Director of Outreach and Education. She currently focuses on creating programs about water quality and conservation, ranging from curriculum development, to watershed-wide issues, to local resident workshops. Continue reading “GREAT SWAMP WATERSHED ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR HAZEL ENGLAND HONORED FOR EDUCATION EFFORTS”
As Vice President for the Garden Club of New Jersey, 2017 Women & Wildlife Service Award Honoree Jeannie Geremia has followed her passion for protecting pollinators by leading, inspiring, and educating others on the importance of pollination and wildlife habitat gardens for the past decade. She works to engage others in gardening for pollinators, as well as ensuring funding to support these efforts.
One of Ms. Geremia’s most notable accomplishments is her leadership in the designation of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly as the New Jersey State Butterfly. She spoke to many members of the New Jersey State Legislature, and recruited legislators with her enthusiasm and vast knowledge on the species. Her action earned her recognition from both the New Jersey Senate and the General Assembly. Continue reading “DEDICATED VOLUNTEER JEANNIE GEREMIA HONORED FOR HER SERVICE”
Anyone who has ever explored their artistic side knows that when you draw something, you understand it better. In order to successfully represent the intricacies of the subject, you have to study it and become invested in the details of its existence. When you’re bringing a concept, real or imagined, to life on paper, you familiarize yourself with it. And everyone knows that the more you seek to understand something, the more you can appreciate it. Continue reading “High School Junior Teaches Art and Raises Funds for CWF”
The 2017 Species on the Edge Art and Essay contest drew in more than 2,500 entries from students throughout New Jersey. This contest is designed to empower 5th grade students through the arts by writing a creative essay and drawing an original art piece of a threatened or endangered New Jersey species. Continue reading “Species on the Edge Contest Art on Display at D&R Greenway Land Trust”
Past winners of Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest recently joined us at Jenkinson’s Aquarium for a fun and educational tour. Our guide, Carol, gave students a behind-the-scenes look at the many animals, including the opportunity to get up close and personal at the touch tank.
Anyone who has monitored or closely followed piping plovers knows these (pictured) tracks well. They have to. Most wildlife leaves behind distinct clues that reveal their presence, but if you are tracking the well camouflaged piping plover, the best, and sometimes only, clue you have are these ephemeral tracks in the sand.
Finding these tracks, especially the first ones of the breeding season in early spring, makes my heart stir, even after 20+ years of searching for piping plovers. They shout, “I’m here, now find me”. These particular tracks happen to be a late season find, sighted just this past week, special in a different way as they were unexpected and may be my last glimpse of them here in New Jersey this year as most piping plovers have now migrated south for the winter. I followed the tracks like I always do and soon enough I spotted three pale beauties resting absolutely still on a nearby sand hummock.
This blog doesn’t contain any earth-shattering conservation message. It is just about my own love affair with piping plovers. I am lucky to have found that magical something in nature that moves me. I hope each of you has your own version, whether it be a delicate monarch butterfly improbably fluttering thousands of miles in the wind towards its wintering grounds in Mexico or a powerful bison lumbering across a grasslands vista out west. One of the main reasons my colleagues and I are engaged in conservation work is so everyone has the opportunity to experience and be inspired by wildlife in its natural habitats.
Piping plovers will not provide a cure for cancer, they will not boost our economy, and they certainly will not be the key to uniting us politically. They will bring a smile to your face, they will evoke wonder, and they may just make your day. Sometimes that is enough.
In this blog series, my goal is to examine the importance of grassland habitat in our state, introduce CWF’s new habitat restoration project, and highlight many of the species of grassland birds our project aims to benefit. So, first I’ll start off with a little background information about grasslands and why we need to preserve, restore and create more of this critical habitat. Continue reading “Grassland birds of New Jersey”
Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Barnegat Bay ghost crab pots project is featured in this blog story covering a wildlife threat killing millions of marine animals every year. Read the full story here.
Photo by: AFP/NOAA via NewsDeeply Oceans Deeply blog
