by Colin Wethered, Director of Development Posted on
Last week, we had the pleasure of celebrating the beauty of New Jersey’s wildlife through the eyes-and lenses-of seven incredibly talented photographers. Our Wildlife Photography Reception, hosted at the Somerset Hills Art Collective, was an inspiring evening that brought together nature lovers, art enthusiasts, and conservation supporters from across the Garden State.
With an estimated 85 attendees filling the gallery space, the reception was a huge success. Guests had the chance to meet photographers, connect with Conserve Wildlife Foundation wildlife biologists, and engage with fellow art and nature enthusiasts. Throughout the evening, attendees enjoyed learning how these striking images reflect CWFs mission to protect at-risk species and the habitats they call home.
Each spring, as the ground begins to thaw and warm rains roll in, a quiet but extraordinary migration takes place in New Jersey. Spotted salamanders, spring peepers, wood frogs, and other amphibians emerge from their winter shelters and begin their journey to vernal pools – temporary, fish-free wetlands that are essential for breeding.
Photo by Jo Arlow
But for many of these small, slow-moving creatures, the journey is perilous. Their paths often cross busy roads, and without help, countless amphibians are killed by passing cars. That’s where we come in.
Every year, Conserve Wildlife Foundation coordinates Amphibian Crossing – mobilizing dedicated volunteers to assist amphibians as they make their way across roadways to reach their breeding grounds. By guiding amphibians across safely and carefully tracking each species, we give these important animals a fighting chance at survival.
Photo by Jo Arlow
This season, our incredible volunteers helped 1,938 amphibians safely reach their destination.
Here’s a breakdown of the amphibians we saved:
154 Spotted Salamanders
820 Wood Frogs
677 Spring Peepers
234 Jefferson Salamanders
28 Red-Spotted Newts
19 American Toads
3 American Bullfrogs
1 Pickerel Frog
1 Gray Tree Frog
1 Hybrid Jefferson Salamander
Totals for each crossing site:
Waterloo – 1,286 amphibians guided
Swartswood – 529 amphibians guided
Hope Road – 123 amphibians guided
These numbers represent more than just stats – they’re a reminder that small, collective actions can make a big difference for wildlife. Amphibians are crucial to healthy ecosystems. They help control insect populations and serve as vital links in the food web. Many species are also sensitive to environmental changes, making them key indicators of ecosystem health.
As development continues to fragment natural habitats, programs like Amphibian Crossing are essential to supporting amphibian populations and raising awareness about their importance.
We are deeply grateful to every volunteer who braved the rain, cold, and darkness to protect New Jersey’s amphibians. Thanks to everyone’s help, the road to survival is a little safer.
For over twenty years, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has hosted the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest, inviting fifth graders from across the state to showcase their creativity and passion for wildlife conservation. This year, students from twenty counties participated, submitting imaginative artwork and thoughtful essays focused on New Jersey’s threatened and endangered species.
To enter the contest, students created original artwork and wrote an essay about an at-risk species, exploring its challenges and conservation needs. While a variety of species were featured, the Pine Barrens tree frog stood out with numerous stunning portrayals, alongside popular choices like the humpback whale, bobcat, and green sea turtle.
Vesper Sparrow by John Chanwoo Lee (Upper School in Englewood Cliffs)
A panel of judges, including CWF biologists and representatives from two of our sponsors—PSEG Foundation and Church & Dwight —carefully evaluated each submission. Judges assessed the quality of both the artwork and essays, as well as the accuracy of the species’ depiction. After much deliberation, they selected one winner and one runner-up from each participating county.
Left: Daniel Laue from PSE&G and CWF biologists Leah Wells and Todd Pover. Right: CWF Director of Education Vera Figueiredo, Barbara Kossmann from Church & Dwight and CWF Director of Development Colin Wethered.
We are grateful to our contest sponsors PSEG Foundation, Church & Dwight, NJEA, Atlantic City Electric, The Zoological Society of New Jersey, and Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.
We are thrilled to announce the first and second-place winners of the 2025 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest.
Earlier this month, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Costa Rica for a Neotropical Bat Workshop, an immersive experience in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. As a wildlife biologist with a strong focus on bat conservation, this trip was a dream come true—offering hands-on research, species identification, and the chance to study bats in an ecosystem vastly different from the forests of New Jersey.
Honduran white bats (Ectophylla alba)
For five nights, we set up mist nets in various habitats, from dense rainforests, to banana groves, and over streams, each location revealing a new set of bat species. The sheer diversity was astounding—39 different species over the course of the workshop. Some were familiar, like those in the Myotis genus, while others I had only seen online. Every night brought surprises, from the tiny, delicate nectar-feeding batsto the impressive fishing bats that catch fish with their incredibly large legs and feet.
Greater fishing bat (Noctilio leporinus)
Handling these bats up close allowed us to study their unique adaptations—elongated snouts for nectar feeding, intricate nose-leaf structures for echolocation, and even suction-cup feet in species like Thyroptera tricolor (the disk-winged bat). Their incredible diversity reflects the rich ecological web they help sustain, from pollinating tropical flowers to keeping insect populations in check.
Looking for Six’s disk-winged bats
Beyond mist-netting, we deployed ultrasonic detectors for three nights to capture echolocation calls from bats that eluded our nets. Using specialized software, we later analyzed these recordings to identify additional species and compare flight activity across different habitats. Some species, like high-flying molossid bats, are rarely caught in nets but can be detected through their distinctive, fast-hopping echolocation calls. Acoustic monitoring complemented our mist-netting efforts, painting a broader picture of bat diversity in the region.
While the trip was an extraordinary research experience, it also reinforced the urgent need for bat conservation. Many of the species we encountered face habitat loss, climate change, and human-wildlife conflict. Learning from experts in the field and working alongside passionate colleagues emphasized the importance of protecting bat populations—not just in Costa Rica but globally.
Our work station for the night
Costa Rica’s neotropical bat diversity was nothing short of awe-inspiring. This workshop deepened my appreciation for the complexity of bat communities and provided new insights into research techniques I hope to apply back home. Every moment in the field was a reminder of how much there is to learn about these remarkable creatures.
Elegant myotis (Myotis elegans)
This trip was a powerful reminder that bats—whether in the rainforests of Costa Rica or the forests of New Jersey—play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Protecting them means protecting the intricate balance of nature itself.
Pygmy fruit-eating bat (Dermanura phaeotis)Common long-tongued bat (Glossophaga mutica)
In late 2024 we closed out our third year of comprehensive monitoring and management of nesting and migratory birds at Horseshoe Island. The recently formed island, situated just outside the southern edge of Little Egg Inlet, has quickly become one of the most important beach nesting bird sites in New Jersey.
Each year has presented new challenges and changes on the island and in 2024 there were a number of “firsts” to report. Piping plovers had previously utilized the island to rest and forage during both the migration and breeding seasons, this was the first year that they nested there. Adding any new nesting site for piping plovers in New Jersey is big news, adding three pairs was even more exciting. Although all three pairs hatched young, no chicks successfully fledged from the island, but we hope to build on that initial success next year.
Horseshoe Island is home to the northernmost royal tern colony in the hemisphere and the colony has grown in size each year. In 2024, CWF joined New Jersey Fish and Wildlife (NJFW) and The Wetlands Institute (TWI) to band royal tern chicks, the first time that royal terns have been banded in the state. With their newly minted blue field readable bands, we are now able to track movements and longevity of “our royals.” Under NJFW’s direction, adult piping plovers were also banded at Horseshoe for the first time this year. Lastly, led by TWI, black skimmer chicks were once again banded on the island.
Royal terns nesting at Horseshoe Island, the northernmost colony in the hemisphere. Photo credit: Emmy Casper
The island grew exponentially this year, it is now at least twice the size it was when monitoring began in 2021. The birds took advantage of the expanded habitat, upwards of 1400 state endangered black skimmers nested there in 2024, easily making it the largest skimmer colony in the state. And nearly 600 skimmer chicks fledged from the site, making it the most successful year to date for skimmers on Horseshoe Island. Large least and common tern colonies were also present. And American oystercatchers have increased from 6 to 16 breeding pairs since 2021; 2024 being the most productive year yet with 24 fledglings being recorded. Nearly every part of the island was in use, even more so if you factor in migratory and staging shorebirds that often crowd the tidal zones on the outer edges of the island and the interior lagoons for foraging.
Aerial view of Horseshoe Island in May 2024, looking east. Photo credit: Sam Galick
Monitoring and management of the island is done as a partnership between CWF, NJFW, and Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. For more information about the island, read the recently released 2024 report.
This marked my second year attending the Northeast Bat Working Group’s (NEBWG) annual meeting, a highly regarded 3-day event that convenes researchers, biologists, and educators to address the challenges bats face across North America. As in previous years, the meeting proved to be both inspiring and thought-provoking.
Discussions centered on the primary threats to bat populations, including white-nose syndrome, habitat loss, climate change, and collisions with infrastructure such as wind turbines. Attendees presented their research, proposed innovative solutions, and collaborated on strategies to mitigate these pressing issues. Sessions covered a diverse array of topics, from advancements in bat rehabilitation techniques to improved methods for monitoring populations and assessing the impacts of climate change.
CWF has played a major role in helping monitor breeding American oystercatchers in New Jersey ever since surveys were initiated in the state just over two decades ago in the early 2000’s. Most of the statewide effort, conducted by a variety of partners, has been focused on pairs nesting on the sandy barrier beaches of the Atlantic Coast, in conjunction with efforts there to monitor and manage other beach nesting birds, such as piping plovers and least terns. These sites are often those beaches that are highly recreated and most used by beachgoers, public beaches where these species need added protection to hatch nests and raise their young chicks.
Leah grew up in Sussex County, where she enjoyed spending her time as a child and adulthood outside in nature. She graduated from Rutgers with a bachelor’s degree in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources. In 2019, Leah joined Conserve Wildlife Foundation as an intern, in 2020 she then became a part-time employee and this past March became a full time wildlife biologist.
My name is Kaiulani and I am the newest beach nesting bird crew member for CWF this year! I was super excited to get back in the field and this job offered a great opportunity to gain experience working with new birds, as well as help with the conservation efforts to protect their breeding habitats.
Welcome back to the second season of American Oystercatcher monitoring on New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches! CWF, and our partners at the Wetlands Institute and USFWS, have returned to the Bayshore to continue our research project funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Last year, the CWF-led team surveyed 29 miles of Bayshore beaches, monitored 19 nesting pairs, banded seven adults and four chicks, and conducted invasive species removal. This year, we’re excited to build on that progress and learn more about this previously understudied oystercatcher population.
