Author: CWF

This story marks the second of five blog stories spotlighting New Jersey’s Diamondback Terrapin – and educating people on the research and efforts being done to protect these fascinating reptiles!

Part 1, Monday, was an introduction into the world of the Diamondback Terrapin. Part 2, today’s blog post, will feature CWF’s research efforts to protect the terrapins. Part 3, on Wednesday, will look at great places to view these beautiful turtles . Part 4, Thursday, will highlight some important ways you can help protect the Diamondback Terrapins. Part 5, Friday, will showcase some other important regional research being done by our partners.

by Stephanie Egger, CWF Wildlife Biologist

I am pleased to announce CWF was awarded a grant from the Regional Conservation Needs Program* for the development of a conservation strategy (strategy) that focuses on the conservation, management, and protection of terrapins from Massachusetts to Virginia.

For the next two years, we will be working with over 30 partners, many of whom are part of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group (DTWG), assembling data and developing a strategy with the help of their years of expertise working with terrapins.

The overarching goal of the strategy is to help achieve long-term sustainability of terrapins by identifying the species current and historical populations and its habitat (known and unknown occupancy); characterizing and ranking threats; prioritizing focal areas for regional and individual state management; identifying data gaps; and reviewing the regulatory status in each state. The strategy will describe a strategic initiative for implementation of conservation actions across eight states and identify focal areas for conservation. The results of the strategy could be used to solicit additional funding for implementation for more regionally significant areas for terrapins in the future.

We’ve hit the ground running for this project and will convene the partners in meetings later this year at the College of William & Mary in Virginia and Cape Cod, Massachusetts as well as visit states for more local terrapin meetings.

More information on this project can be found on the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Grant Program site.

*“The Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) in the Northeastern United States:  A Regional Conservation Strategy” is supported by State Wildlife Grant funding awarded through the RCN Program.  The RCN Program joins thirteen northeast states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a partnership to address landscape-scale, regional wildlife conservation issues.  Progress on these regional issues is achieved through combining resources, leveraging funds, and prioritizing conservation actions identified in the State Wildlife Action Plans.  See RCNGrants.org for more information.

 

Stephanie Egger is a Wildlife Biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and Co-Chair of the Mid-Atlantic region of the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group

Join us on this fascinating journey into the world of the Diamondback Terrapin

Last week, I drove slowly down a road with no buildings or homes on either side, with only vast salt marsh as far as the eye could see. Over the course of the roughly 10-mile round trip, I passed maybe four other cars. But there was another kind of traveler that I found in abundance – 22 diamondback terrapins crossing the road on the way out, and another 18 of these gorgeous turtles on the way back (although I’m sure I saw some of them twice)!

Amazingly enough, this was a drive along the New Jersey coast in June. If you haven’t guessed it, I was on Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor. And if you haven’t been there, now is the time to go – it is a true wildlife spectacle that you have to see to believe.

New Jersey’s coast is filled with wonders during the summer months – wonders that go beyond its crowded beaches, boardwalks, and traffic jams! Believe it or not, the coast still has plenty of nature to be found, often in total seclusion. And diamondback terrapins offer as amazing a wildlife story as any.

So today we kick off Terrapin Week! Read our first installment below for an up-close look at the terrapin’s habitat, appearance, range and status. Then stay tuned for a brand new story each day this week by our terrapin biologists Ben Wurst and Stephanie Egger, with topics including our biologists’ research projects, how our volunteers are making a difference, terrapins across the East Coast, and New Jersey locations where you have the best chance of seeing terrapins in the wild!

 

David Wheeler

Executive Director, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

---

 

Meet the Terrapin

by Stephanie Feigin, CWF Program Coordinator

Northern diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) are native to New Jersey and inhabit the many miles of coastal salt marshes and estuaries along the Atlantic Coast and Delaware Bay. They exclusively inhabit coastal salt marshes, estuaries, tidal creeks and ditches with brackish water (a mix of both salt and freshwater) which is bordered by spartina grass. They are the only turtle species in the world that is specially adapted to spend its entire life in this type of water. 

The northern diamondback terrapin is a medium-sized turtle that varies in length from only 4 to 5.5” in males to 6 to 9” in females. Terrapins have a gray, brown, or black carapace (top of shell) and a lighter plastron (bottom of shell), which is a greenish-yellow. The skin is light to dark gray with black spots and other dark markings. Both sexes have a light colored upper mandible. They are named for their diamond shaped pattern on their carapace. Adult terrapins primarily eat mollusks and crustaceans, including snails, fiddler crabs, and mussels. They also eat blue crabs, green crabs, marine worms, fish, and carrion.

Terrapins are cold-blooded, or ectothermic. They hibernate during the winter and bury themselves at the bottom of or in the banks of creeks and ditches. Studies have shown that terrapins also exhibit a high level of site fidelity or they return to the same territory every year, some even occupy the same small creeks year after year. Terrapins have a very small home range, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

In 2001, a status review of reptiles in New Jersey recommended that the Northern diamondback terrapin be listed as a species of special concern in New Jersey. The listing as special concern “warrants special attention because of some evidence of decline” (NJ ENSP-Species Status Listing) and little is known about their actual population status in New Jersey. However, terrapins are still harvested for food in New Jersey and the total harvested annually is not known. Since Terrapins are still considered a “Game” species subject to harvest, the Special Concern designation was never officially applied to the species and will not be until they are re-classified as a “Non-game” species.

Major threats to the health of the population include; habitat loss, mortality from being drowned in crab traps, and road mortality. Each year hundreds of terrapins are killed by motor vehicles throughout their range and here in New Jersey. The Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and their biologists are working hard to protect these incredible reptiles with their many conservation efforts. We are asking you to “Be Terrapin Aware” while driving along roads in New Jersey’s coastal region, and stay tuned for more posts during Terrapin Week about our efforts to protect these turtles!

by Brooke Sambol, Wildlife Intern 

 

“This is the best field trip ever!” shouted the fifth grader at the edge of the bay. Many of her Newark classmates agreed.

On a Thursday in June, fifth graders from Ann Street School of Newark came to Island Beach State Park for a day of nature education and fun! Sponsored by PSEG the program was part of Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s WILDCHILD urban initiative, which seeks to make the experience of and knowledge about nature accessible to children from urban environments.

The park is situated on roughly 3,000 acres of barrier island in Seaside Park, New Jersey.  Its access to the ocean and Barnegat Bay, as well as the surrounding maritime thicket, makes it a prime location for aquatic and coastal education.

The program allowed the children to venture the bay and search for sea creatures like blue claw crabs and silversides while seining, hear a talk on ospreys given by CWF’s Maria Grace, examine bones and shells of the animals that live in the region, and visit the park’s nature center.

 

 

As a CWF intern working in Island Beach State Park, it’s truly a joy to experience the natural beauty of the Jersey Shore along with the kids, and to help contribute to an environmental understanding for children who might not ordinarily have the opportunity. The excitement and happiness was evident on their faces when they got to examine up close the critters of the bay. Their willingness to participate in activities and answer questions about horseshoe crabs and moon snails was a testament to just how fun caring for the environment can be.

The day proved to be a great success! The children from Ann Street School got to experience and enjoy the natural beauty of Island Beach State Park, and we all learned more about this unique ecosystem from each other and from the land, itself.

 

By Karena DiLeo

Cape May, New Jersey- Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) in partnership with NJDEP, Mosquito Control, Atlantic City Electric and USFWS recently completed construction of a series of vernal pools in Cape May, NJ. This is the second complex in a series of pools along the “spine” of the Peninsula to create sustainable vernal-pool habitat above anticipated sea-level rise.

These pools will also create a migration corridor for assemblages of amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates to increase meta-population dynamics and allow species to move northward off the Peninsula.

Following excavation of the pools, CWF, USFWS, and Atlantic City Electric held a volunteer

planting day to plant native shrubs along the pools to enhance habitat and stabilize berms. Native shrubs including: buttonbush, low-bush blueberry, inkberry holly, sweet pepper bush, and beach plum were generously donated by Atlantic City Electric.

Trenton, New Jersey – Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) honored 21 fifth grader students from every county in the state for their award-winning artwork and essay on the state’s endangered and threatened species. The 11th annual Species on the Edge contest drew over 2,000 entries from throughout the state.
Students were asked to draw or paint one of New Jersey’s 83 at risk species and write a personal essay about how the animal became endangered and what we can do to help protect it.
“Each one of these exceptionally talented students has told a personal and compelling story that illustrates just how important it is to protect the at-risk wildlife that calls New Jersey home,” says David Wheeler, Executive Director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF). “Their vivid, inspiring artwork reveals the singular biodiversity that New Jersey offers and how our youngest generation can utilize their creativity to connect with the world around them.”
The winners were honored at an awards ceremony this week held at the New Jersey Education Association in Trenton, New Jersey.  Contest sponsors include the New Jersey Education Association, PSE&G, GAF, Atlantic City Electric, Church & Dwight, and ShopRite Supermarkets.
This year’s entries ranged from the Golden-winged warbler, a state threatened songbird, to the Bog turtle, a federally endangered reptile, to the Bobcat, a state endangered mammal.  Other animals profiled by the winning fifth graders included birds such as the Piping plover, amphibians like the Pine Barrens treefrog and insects such as the Silver-bordered fritillary butterfly.
The winners include:

• Jordyn Robinson, Sicklerville, Atlantic County
• Ariela Alfonso, Rivervale, Bergen County
• Ava Vaughn, Lumberton, Burlington County
• Mansi Patel, Bellmawr, Camden County
• Dominic Vitiello, Cape May Court House, Cape May County
• Maritza Trejo, Port Norris, Cumberland County
• Claryssa Martinez, Newark, Essex County
• Anna Kilpatrick, Mantua, Gloucester County
• Marena Faltas, Jersey City, Hudson County
• Megan Eastman, Stockton, Hunterdon County
• Sophia Phelan, Laurenceville, Mercer County
• Gabrielle R. Bailey, Princeton Junction, Middlesex County
• Trevor Crochet, Monmouth Beach, Monmouth County
• Terrence Obuah, Hackettstown, Morris County
• Caden Schroeder, Jackson, Ocean County
• Daniel A. Midence, Clifton, Passaic County
• Lauren Radi, Somerville, Somerset County
• Logan Hanley, Lafayette, Sussex County
• Olivia Qiu, Roselle Park, Union County
• Marigold Green, Blairstown, Warren County

For more information about Species on the Edge, visit here.

NPR News: After Hurricane Sandy, CWF & Others Balance Needs of Shorebirds & People

 

CWF’s Todd Pover was spotlighted in a recent NPR piece on the challenges of protecting endangered beach nesting birds along the New Jersey coastline.

Listen to the Story and Read More

Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s inaugural Barnegat Bay Business Forum brought together a diverse mix of businesses, government representatives, and conservation advocates to discuss how to strengthen the watershed’s recovery. An article by the Asbury Park Press captures many of the challenges faced by the Barnegat Bay.

Read the article.

“Absolutely anyone can be a birder.” says Ben Kingsley in the new movie, A Birder’s Guide to Everything, directed by Rob Meyer, a coming of age comedy about teenage bird watchers.

This main-stream movie is an important public engagement tool to raise awareness for the conservation of birds and to hopefully excite some people into picking up a set of binoculars and start the addicting hobby of bird watching.

The Fledging Birders Institute will be hosting a special screening and meet the director event on Thursday, April 24th at the AMC Deptford 8 Theatre in Deptford, NJ beginning at 6:30 pm.

More info, and to purchase tickets, can be found here.

 

 

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey was profiled in a recent article in the The Record about our efforts to protect migrating amphibians.  

 

One of the lesser known signs of spring arrived Monday night on Clinton Road in West Milford: A steady trickle of frogs and salamanders crept through an icy rain in search of love. If not for the teams of volunteers who waited to prod them across the winding road, many would meet a quiet end under the wheels of a passing car. Every year in early spring, champions of the tiny amphibians spend several hours at this spot and dozens like it throughout the Northeast so they can witness — and do their small part to continue — a natural phenomenon that goes largely unnoticed by the greater population.  Read more…

Check out a recent article from the Press of Atlantic City about CWF and partners work to restore habitat along the Delaware Bayshore.

 

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Tons of sand were hauled, dumped, poured and shifted Wednesday along Pierce’s Point Beach, part of a massive effort to avoid what biologists say could be a catastrophe.  Read more.

For greater background on the challenges faced by the State-endangered red knot, check out this recent story by Scientific American

The ambitious campaign of Conserve Wildlife Foundation and American Littoral Society to restore Delaware Bay beaches in the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction was documented in the Greener New Jersey Productions video, “A Race Against Time.” This new film will be screened on Earth Day, April 22nd,  at the historic Levoy Theatre in Millville, New Jersey.  Details can be found here