Author: CWF

by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist

The deadline for the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest for New Jersey 5th grade students has been officially extended until March 20, 2021!

The deadline extension comes along with other rule changes made in an effort to make entering the contest easier for students in a virtual or hybrid learning environment. We understand that students may have trouble mailing their art to us from home, so we are also opening Species on the Edge to online submissions!

Students can now send us scans or digital photos of their artwork, their essays, and completed entry forms to us by email!

Online:

Email a scan/digital photo of your artwork, essay, and entry form to Ethan.Gilardi@conservewildlifenj.org.

By mail:

Mail your artwork, essay, and entry form to…

Conserve Wildlife Foundation,

450 Shrewsbury PLZ #110,

Shrewsbury, NJ 07702.

More info about contest entry can be found in the contest kit linked at the end of this post and on the Species on the Edge Art & Essay webpage.

Contest winners who have submitted their artwork electronically will receive an envelope with prepaid postage to mail their artwork to CWF for inclusion in our calendar and statewide exhibitions.

There are also new artwork size requirements. These changes are being made so that students can use paper they are more likely to have at home. Artwork can now be as small as 8.5″ x 11″ and no larger than 12″ x 18″.

We hope the extra time and rule changes makes it easier for everyone to enter Species on the Edge 2021!

Any questions or comments can be sent to Ethan.Gilardi@conservewildlifenj.org.

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The Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest empowers 5th grade students to advocate for an endangered or threatened species from New Jersey through a well-researched, creative essay and original art piece.

Simple, Fun, and Free to Enter!

Students may enter the contest with their class, or on their own.
One winner from each county in New Jersey will be selected.

Open to all New Jersey fifth grade students.

by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist

A special thanks to Juliet Kaszas-Hoch for spotlighting the most recent episode of CWF’s podcast, State of Change, as part of her Art & Entertainment Column on TheSandpaper.net!

The episode, Our Changing Coast, takes a deep dive into how our ocean species could be affected by climate change. CWF Multimedia Producer Matt Wozniak interviewed Dr. Thomas Grothues, a research professor with Rutgers University who specializes in abundance and distribution of fish, as well as Joe Reynolds, the head of Save Coastal Wildlife, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting New Jersey’s coastal species and educating the public about them.

Click here to read the full spotlight on TheSandpaper.net!

Continue reading “CWF In the News: Conserve Wildlife Podcast Examines ‘Our Changing Coast’”

NJDEP & CWF REPORT RECORD NUMBER OF BALD EAGLE NESTS, WITH EAGLES CONFIRMED IN ALL 21 NJ COUNTIES

by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist

2020 was a record breaking year for Bald Eagles in New Jersey. Going from just one recorded nest in 1980, New Jersey’s Bald Eagles hit three major milestones this year in terms of new nests, locations and total nests monitored.

A record 36 new eagle nests were found in 2020. 22 nests were found in southern New Jersey, seven in northern New Jersey, and seven in central New Jersey.

This means that Bald Eagle are now confirmed to nest in every county in the state!

An astounding (and record breaking) 220 nesting pairs of eagles were also monitored in 2020. These pairs produced a total of 307 eaglets, with an additional 28 nesting pairs tracked to nests, but laying no eggs. Of the 210 known-outcome nests, an average of 1.46 young were produced per nest, exceeding the productivity rate necessary to maintain a stable population of 1.0 young per nest.

These numbers could not have been achieved or documented without the dedicated efforts of the almost one hundred volunteers with the Bald Eagle Nest Monitor program, managed by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ in partnership with the Endangered and Nongame Species Program. These volunteers conduct the majority of the nest-observation work vital to the Endangered and Nongame Species Program in tracking the population and nest distribution of our state’s Bald Eagles.

“The comeback of the bald eagle in New Jersey ranks among the most inspiring recoveries of endangered wildlife species anywhere,” said David Wheeler, Executive Director of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ. “The bald eagle’s return illustrates what is possible for many other rare species when you bring together proactive wildlife management, strong public investment, and the unparalleled dedication of biologists and volunteers.”

CWF thanks our dedicated volunteers and partners who make our bald eagle conservation work possible, including PSE&G, Wakefern Food Corp./ShopRite Stores, P&G, Wells Fargo, Mercer County Parks, Wildlife Center Friends, the American Eagle Foundation, and the Zoological Society of New Jersey.

Click here to read the full NJDEP press release.

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Learn more about CWF’s Bald Eagle Project & read the annual Bald Eagle Project Reports by clicking here.

Learn about tracking Bald Eagles through New Jersey EagleTrax by clicking here.

Learn more about Bald Eagles in CWF’s Field Guide by clicking here.

by Matt Wozniak, CWF Multimedia Producer

Ocean dwelling wildlife species are among the most interesting and most valuable to humans. They fascinate us with their unique life histories and provide us with a vast fisheries resource that creates a multitude of jobs and lets us have a delicious meal of local seafood.

In this episode of our podcast State of Change, “Our Changing Coast,” we delve into how our ocean species could be affected by climate change. We interviewed Dr. Thomas Grothues, a research professor with Rutgers University who specializes in abundance and distribution of fish, as well as Joe Reynolds, the head of Save Coastal Wildlife, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting New Jersey’s coastal species and educating the public about them.

As water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean rise, aquatic species such as fish and marine invertebrates will be among those who feel the effects first. Evidence points to many northern species becoming less frequent and many southern species becoming more frequent. This is bad news for fisheries centered around species that could become less abundant.

Like many other climate change related issues, understanding how marine species will be affected by warming waters is complicated but also fascinating. Listen to the podcast to learn more!

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Click here to listen to more State of Change.

by Ethan Gilardi, Assistant Biologist

📸 A humpback whale surfaces near the Statue of Liberty in this photo taken from a boat on New York Harbor. pic.twitter.com/OancSlqft0

— ABC News (@ABC) December 9, 2020

The Statue of Liberty had a surprise tourist last week!

A humpback whale was spotted in the Hudson River on December 7th & 8th in the vicinity of Liberty Island. Video and photos of the whale were posted to Twitter as boaters took notice of the large marine mammal.

New York City Parks Department confirmed the citing on their social media on Tuesday:

“Whale sightings have increased in recent years in N.Y.’s waterways. Reasons for the uptick may include an improvement in local water quality, & an abundance of food sources like Atlantic menhaden.”

New York City Parks Department

Marine wildlife education group, Gotham Whale, also posted about the sighting, tracking the animal during it’s visit and urging boaters to exercise caution while traveling on the Hudson.

Mariners around NYC please SLOW DOWN and be on the look out for the #HumpbackWhale sighted in the #HudsonRiver on 12/07 and 12/08.
🚨🚨🚨@RepEspaillat @RepJerryNadler @RepAOC @RepMaloney @RepMaxRose @RepYvetteClarke @RepJeffries @NydiaVelazquez

📸@AndresJavierNYC pic.twitter.com/dAvqMV7zXj

— Gotham Whale (@gothamwhale) December 8, 2020

Humpback whales are a rare sight in the Hudson, but are hard to miss due to their size and perchance to show off by frequently surfacing and breaching. The last humpback to find it’s way to the Hudson was in 2016, when a humpback took up a week long residence in the busy waterway.

Learn more about these amazing creatures in CWF’s field guide!

by Ethan Gilardi, Assistant Biologist

CBC Radio Canada program “The Current” interviewed Conserve Wildlife Foundation executive director David Wheeler for its feature on the fascinating story of New Jersey’s horseshoe crabs playing an irreplaceable role in the urgent search for an effective COVID-19 vaccine.

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Conservationists are raising concerns that horseshoe crabs and the shorebirds that feed on them could become unexpected casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The milky blue blood of this ancient animal has made it into a modern medical marvel,” David Wheeler, executive director of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, said of the horseshoe crab.

The medical industry captures the critters to draw out some of their blood, because it contains a unique component called limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL. LAL can detect harmful toxins in vaccines — including those being produced for COVID-19 — or other medicine undergoing testing, he told The Current‘s Matt Galloway

“It’s really extraordinary,” said Wheeler. “The concern now, of course, is at some point we would really like to see it shift to a synthetic alternative rather than continuing to only use the crabs for that.”

by Ethan Gilardi, Assistant Biologist

On November 12, 2020, Conserve Wildlife Foundation proudly celebrated the 44 Women & Wildlife honorees who have taken a valuable role in protecting wildlife in New Jersey and now serve as role models and mentors for countless young wildlife leaders, male and female alike.

The Women & Wildlife Awards event always brings together a great group of people who care deeply about wildlife conservation in New Jersey. They join us to honor women – biologists and land stewards, policy advocates and conservation officers, rehabilitators and educators – whose exemplary work has meant irreplaceable strides in so many fields of conservation. Unwilling to let Covid-19 stand in the way of our revelry, we decided to make this year’s celebration virtual. While we missed seeing everyone in person, the shift to an online celebration allowed us to open the event to everyone free of charge and eschew our usual awards for a celebration of our past Women & Wildlife honorees and their remarkable accomplishments.

Past honoree and CWF founder Linda Tesauro narrated a film exploring Women & Wildlife and the unique role of New Jersey in setting a pioneering model for other states to follow which premiered during the event. From inaugural honorees, Dr. Joanna Burger and Hannah Bonsey Suthers, to the five honorees celebrated at last year’s event at Duke Farms, the video details the struggles faced by women early on and how their leadership and legacies continue to inspire us all. This six-minute video can be found below and on the Conserve Wildlife YouTube page.

We thank Linda Tesauro, Amy Greene, and Diane Nickerson for sharing their heartfelt reflections on receiving their awards, and current CWF biologists Larissa Smith, Allegra Mitchell, and Nicole Porter for speaking about the great women who have influenced them.

We owe a special thank you to our lead sponsor PSE&G, as well as Weeks Marine and Hudson Farm Foundation, and Amy Greene, whose sponsorship honored her late husband John Belle. These along with our other generous sponsors and auction contributors made this year’s virtual Women & Wildlife Celebration a tremendous success!

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Continue reading “CWF Celebrates 15 years of Women & Wildlife with Virtual Celebration”

Shawn Michaels from WOBM News 92.7 recently visited the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and New Jersey Fish & Wildlife managed Great Bay Terrapin Habitat Enhancement Project and took the time to share his thoughts and some pictures from his visit.

Thank you Shawn for spreading information about our project and sharing these wonderful photos of the turtle garden!

You can read an except from the article below.

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If you live here at the Jersey Shore then there is a good chance you have seen a turtle or two trying to cross the road. This project ”turtle gardens” is located on the bay in Little Egg Harbor Township on Seven Bridges Road. The purpose is to give area turtles a place to lay eggs that’s out of harm’s way.

This is a fantastic project to help turtles which often are hit by cars trying to find areas to lay eggs. You may have seen signs around the Jersey Shore ”turtle crossing” to alert you to watch for turtles on area roadways usually late spring through summer.

Click here to read more: This is a fantastic project the ”Turtle Garden”

By Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

Piping plovers may have left New Jersey for their wintering grounds months ago, but our staff continues to be busy assessing the results of the 2020 breeding season and making plans for ways to improve outcomes next year.

As we look back, one pattern is very clear; the piping plovers nesting at sites monitored and managed by CWF did very well in 2020. This includes 39 pairs at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (Holgate and Little Beach Units), which CWF manages on behalf of the Refuge, as well as one pair at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt. Collectively, these pairs fledged 68 chicks or 1.70 chicks per pair, well above the federal recovery goal of 1.50 and at near record levels for the Refuge. These pairs represent just under 40% of the statewide total, as a result the high productivity at CWF-managed sites helped drive the state’s overall success. For a detailed look at how piping plovers did statewide, click here for the recently released state report.

Continue reading “A Year-end Snapshot of CWF’s Beach Nesting Bird Season”

by Morgan Mark & CWF Staff

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from our Conserve Wildlife Foundation family!

Thank you for all of your generous support this year.

Our staff would like to share with you what they’re thankful for this season.

Stay safe and enjoy your holiday!

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If you’re viewing this blog on your computer, you can click on each staff member’s block to enlarge the photos and text.

Continue reading “Conserve Wildlife Foundation Team Gives Thanks”