Category: Habitat Restoration

Oyster Reef Build on South Reeds Beach a Huge Success

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Over 130 volunteers and veterans worked alongside Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society to establish a near-shore whelk shell bar at South Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House on the Delaware Bayshore on Saturday, April 4, 2015. The shell bar was built to prevent sand loss from wind-driven waves. During the “Shell-a-Bration,” an approximately 200-foot oyster reef was constructed offshore to test whether the reef bars help reduce beach erosion and create calmer water for spawning horseshoe crabs.

 

“We are rebuilding the habitats of Delaware Bay to strengthen its ecology, its communities and its economy. This reef approach will be a key technique which we will try to expand around the Bayshore,” stated Tim Dillingham, American Littoral Society Executive Director.

 

The South Reeds Beach Oyster Reef is one of the many projects that American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation are working on to restore the ecology and economy of the Delaware Bayshore, thanks to generous funding by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

 

“The project focuses on creating resiliency in Delaware Bay beaches while improving their usefulness to horseshoe crabs. We have a great challenge: how do we create a reef to protect against damaging Bay storms without stopping horseshoe crabs from getting ashore to breed,” said Dr. Larry Niles, a biologist who leads the beach restoration efforts for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society, and has studied Red Knots for three decades. “This project is an experiment to help us do both,” he added.

 

Shorebirds, like the federally listed Red Knot, depend on an uninterrupted supply of horseshoe crab eggs when they stopover in Delaware Bay during their migration. In recent years, countless horseshoe crab eggs have been lost because of the devastating storms that swept away the beaches they depend on.

 

“The time-honored migration of Red Knots to reach the eggs of these ancient horseshoe crabs is a wildlife spectacle of global significance right here in Delaware Bay,” explained David Wheeler, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey Executive Director. “Red Knots come to New Jersey’s Delaware Bay from as far away as the southernmost tip of South America to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. It is vital that we promote coastal resiliency projects like this one to support the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world, and the human communities of the Delaware Bayshore alike.”

 

The new oyster reef will attenuate waves but still allow for horseshoe crab breeding. In existing areas where crabs can breed without interruption, like creek mouths protected by sand shoals or rock jetties, egg densities can exceed ten times the egg densities on unprotected beaches.

 

The projects are being funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) through their Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grants Program, and are being developed in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.

 

“The Delaware Bayshore is a perfect location to demonstrate how communities benefit from their connection to a healthy natural resource base – for fishing, boating, wildlife watching and tourism,” said David O’Neill, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Vice President of Conservation Programs. “The economies of Bayshore towns have historically been intertwined with the bay. And with the NFWF Hurricane Sandy grant, American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey are already restoring shorelines to make Bayshore natural resources and communities more resilient for the future.”

 

Event guests enjoyed a barbecue and oysters, and family-friendly activities like a “Green Eggs in the Sand” Easter Egg Hunt. In addition, local leaders and biologists spoke to the attendees about the oyster reef project at a mid-day “Whelk-come.”

 

Learn more:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Restoration work
• See more photos and a video from the “Shell-a-Bration”
• Latest Headlines: Press Coverage from the “Shell-a-Bration”

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

Conservation Partners Collaborate to Improve Beach Habitat for Birds and Provide Flood Protection for Stone Harbor Residents

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Beach nesting birds and New Jerseyans who live along the coast both depend on a resilient shoreline — and plenty of sand.

 

This season, thanks to a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (through their Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grants Program), a team led by New Jersey Audubon worked with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, The Wetlands Institute, New Jersey Division of Environmental Protection, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to make the beach community of Stone Harbor Point more resilient for birds and people alike.

 

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey collaborated with New Jersey Audubon to improve beach habitat for Piping Plovers (endangered in New Jersey), American Oystercatchers and the colonially nesting Least Terns and Black Skimmers. Sand from the southernmost tip of the point was moved to create three areas of higher elevation. The new landscape is expected to benefit Red Knots, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers and others.

 

Stone Harbor, a small beach town along the New Jersey shoreline will see added coastal resiliency benefits and flood protection due to this innovative project that combined the needs for shorebirds with the needs for shore residents. The Stone Harbor project also included the construction of a wide berm of sand near the beachfront parking lot at the far south end of the town. This aspect of the projects aims to increase flood protection for the residents on the developed area of the island.

 

Learn more about this project on New Jersey Audubon’s blog and in the ShoreNewsToday.com article “Working for the Birds.”

 

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is a non-profit organization created by Congress to preserve and restore our nation’s native wildlife species and habitats. NFWF is one of the largest funders of wildlife conservation in the world. They fund science-based projects and community-driven solutions.

 

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Starting the 2015 Restoration Season with Fortescue and Thompson’s Beach

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society have started this season’s restoration work in Delaware Bay! Currently, we are working on projects on Fortescue Beach and Thompson’s Beach. Read more about our restoration work on RestoreNJBayshore.org.

 

Dr. Larry Niles of LJ Niles Associates LLC, a leader in efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years, has shared updates throughout the month of March on the blog of RestoreNJBayshore.org:

• Restoration Underway at Thompson’s Beach
• Work Begins at Fortescue Beach
• Through the Snow, Restoration Continues
• Fortescue Beach Begins to Take Form
• “It’s All Labor:” Fortescue and Thompson’s Beach
• Constructing Fortescue and Thompson’s Beach

 

Visit our restoration blog on RestoreNJBayshore.org often to read more updates on our progress!

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

CWF Releases its First Annual Report Ever Using a Story Map Format: “2014 Annual Report“

By David Wheeler, Executive Director

Technology has proven to be vital to Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s work protecting rare wildlife species over the years. Our biologists depend greatly on modern technologies to band, track, and share online the journeys of wildlife. Our webcams broadcast the most intimate behaviors of nesting birds and bats across the web. And we seek out ever-evolving communications technologies to spread the word about the inspiring stories of wildlife, from social media and infographs to e-books and Story Maps. These technologies offer newfound abilities to share complex data on multiple levels, while still incorporating the awe-inspiring photography and videos that bring wildlife’s stories to life.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is excited to offer our 2014 Annual Report in a unique format that utilizes one of those technologies – Story Maps. In the past year, we have explored the wonders of American oystercatchers with our first Story Map – and now the annual report allows all of our projects to be highlighted in this interactive format.

Visit the multiple pages within this Story Map to learn about Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s many projects and partnerships in 2014, and the imperiled wildlife species in need of our help. Find examples of the innovative and dedicated leadership of our biologists and volunteers. And take an online journey across the state to learn how our projects made a difference in all corners of New Jersey in 2014 – a great year for wildlife in the Garden State!

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By: Kelly Triece, Wildlife Biologist

Wetlands are important because they are part of New Jersey’s water resources and are vital to the health of our waterways. Although historically underappreciated, wetlands provide many environmental benefits such as filtering pollutants, storing floodwaters and serving as carbon sinks. New Jersey is comprised of a multitude of wetland types, including freshwater swamps, bogs, fens as well as estuarine and tidal marshes.

 
Many threatened and endangered species in New Jersey depend directly on wetlands, including the small and elusive bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)! Bog turtles spend their entire lives in mossy bogs, wet meadows or stream fed seeps. They fed mostly on invertebrates, seeds, berries and carrion. Bog turtles are important members of their ecosystem because they help recycle nutrients, keep insect populations in check, and serve as indicators of wetland function and water quality. This tiny turtle and other wetland species are often victims of habitat loss and fragmentation, so protection of our precious wetlands is important to the long term vitality of many wildlife populations!

 
Millions of citizens enjoy their local wetlands every year through recreational uses provided by photography, hiking, fishing, canoeing and more! Did you know New Jersey is home to over 900,000 acres of wetlands? Get out and explore today!

 

Learn more:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Online Field Guide: Bog Turtle
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Bog Turtle Project

 

Kelly Triece is a Wildlife Biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

 

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Did you know?

Each spring New Jersey hosts the largest concentration of shorebirds in North America! From about the first week in May to the second week in June, the biggest gathering of horseshoe crabs in the world comes to Delaware Bay to spawn.

 

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds arrive on the Bayshore to refuel on horseshoe crab eggs at a critical stopover during their migration. Delaware Bay is an extremely important area for a number of at-risk wildlife, including Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs.

 

American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation are restoring this significant habitat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Learn more about our restoration work on our newly created project website: www.RestoreNJBayshore.org.

 

Learn more:

• NJ Spotlight: NJ’s Beaches on Delaware Bay to Undergo Restoration to Help Safeguard Wildlife
• Press of Atlantic City: Restored Beaches Draw Crabs, Birds
• Check out our newly created Delaware Bay restoration website!
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Shorebird Project

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Conserve Wildlife Foundation proudly partners with Atlantic City Electric to help protect New Jersey’s rarest amphibian, the Eastern Tiger Salamander. The survival of Eastern Tiger Salamanders is threatened by sea level rise, over-development of critical habitat and climate change.

 

We are working together to build a vernal pool along a portion of Atlantic City Electric’s transmission right-of-way in Cape May County. Vernal pools hold water in the winter and spring, but dry out during the summer months. Since fish cannot live in vernal pools, salamander eggs are not in danger of being eaten. We are hopeful that these ideal breeding conditions will aid Eastern Tiger Salamander recovery over time.

 

Last Friday, Conserve Wildlife Foundation biologists and other state biologists took Eastern Tiger Salamander egg masses from a productive pool and placed them into the new vernal pools.

 

Learn more:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation Online Field Guide: Eastern Tiger Salamander
• Atlantic City Electric Helping Endangered Species
• Eastern Tiger Salamanders are Moving to Their Breeding Pools
• Planting for Butterflies Near Vernal Ponds

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

Shorebird now federally protected as threatened species under Endangered Species Act

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Wildlife conservation organizations leading the efforts to restore New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches for at-risk shorebirds today applauded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to designate the Red Knot, a migratory shorebird, as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. A “threatened” designation means a species is at risk of becoming endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

 

“This federal designation will make a big difference in strengthening the protections of this incredible shorebird,” said David Wheeler, Executive Director for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

“Here in New Jersey, we are restoring the vital beach habitat that had been decimated by Hurricane Sandy, and this designation ensures the safeguards we are providing can be complemented along the East Coast,” Wheeler added.

 

Since the 1980’s, the Knot’s population has fallen by about 75 percent in some key areas. Wildlife biologists believe the major threat to the Red Knot is the dramatic decline of horseshoe crab eggs, an essential food source at the most critical stop over during their 8,000 mile trip from southern wintering grounds to Arctic breeding territory. High-energy horseshoe crab eggs provide nourishment for Red Knots to refuel and continue their journey.

 

“This is an important and needed step in the conservation and recovery of the Red Knot. It is an essential step in preventing the extinction of this amazing long distance traveler,” stated Tim Dillingham, Executive Director for American Littoral Society.

 

The largest concentration of Red Knots is found in May in the Delaware Bayshore of New Jersey and Delaware, where the shorebirds stop to gorge themselves on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. In just a few days, the birds nearly double their weight to prepare for the final leg of their long journey.

 

“The major decline of horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay is one of the largest threats to the survival of the shorebird,” explained Dr. Larry Niles, a biologist who leads the beach restoration efforts for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society, and has studied Red Knots for three decades. “Agency groups have been working hard for the last two years, and will continue for the next two years going forward to rebuild the habitat damaged by Hurricane Sandy that the horseshoe crabs rely on. This work is integral to the recovery of the Red Knot and the shorebird’s best hope for survival.”

 

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and the New Jersey Recovery Fund to remove 8,000 tons of debris and added 45,000 tons of sand to the beaches just before the annual spring arrival of the Red Knot in 2013.

 

Learn More:

• Read the Press of Atlantic City article: New Jersey shorebird to get new federal protections
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Shorebird Conservation Project
• Become a Delaware Bay Shorebird Steward!

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

PROTECTING PIPING PLOVER HABITAT CRITICAL PART OF CONSERVE WILDLIFE FOUNDATION’S WORK

By: Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager and Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

We talk quite a bit about “site fidelity” in connection with our beach nesting bird project. And for good reason, whether it be on the breeding or wintering grounds, these birds, like most wildlife, are strongly connected to specific places and types of habitats. Not just in the general sense; many piping plovers return to the same precise site year after year.

 

We were reminded of this the last several days as we made our way around Abaco, The Bahamas, in search of wintering piping plovers. Having made a number of trips to Abaco since 2011, we have started to narrow down where it is likely we will be able to find them: the Green Turtle Cay Gillam Bay flat at low tide or the adjacent upper beach hummocks at high tide, Casuarina Point to forage at low tide, a number of the main island’s southern oceanfront beaches for roosting, to name a few. We are still finding new sites, not previously surveyed or documented, but we now have a much better idea of what to look for and on what tide or wind condition.

 

The catch is, this only works if the habitat remains intact and suitable. Back in New Jersey, we know this well, as many of the formerly suitable sites for beach nesting birds are lost forever to development or are highly disturbed by recreational activities so the likelihood of reproductive success is low even if they do choose to nest at those locations. Sadly, our breeding pairs of piping plover are relegated to a limited number of suitable sites, which is not a good recipe for recovery of this endangered shorebird.

 

With its hundreds of islands and cays, many undeveloped or lightly settled, we may be inclined to think this is less of an issue on the wintering grounds in the Bahamas. And relatively speaking, this might be true to some extent, but it would be unwise to believe this will always be the case. Economic forces are a driving factor there, as in anywhere in the world, so the lure of development and commercial use of resources is strong in the Bahamas as well.

 

Fortunately, there is also a strong incentive to protect shorebirds in the Bahamas. The tidal flats and shallow water habitats that shorebirds use are also important for bonefish, conch, and other fisheries that are important to the local economy and provide jobs. Furthermore, birding and wildlife-based activities are increasing an important part of the tourist sector. However, In order to sustain those activities and opportunities, ecosystems must remain intact and pristine.

 

A number of organizations, local and from abroad, are diligently working to designate more protected areas in the Bahamas. One of the top priorities now, an effort being led by the Bahamas National Trust and National Audubon Society, is to protect the vast flats area in the Joulter Cays, Andros, which are especially important for shorebirds such as the piping plover. On Abaco, where we have been focusing our piping plover work, Friends of the Environment  is strongly advocating for protection of East Abaco Creeks, Cross Harbour, and more recently The Marls.

 

During a survey this past week on Man-O-War, one of Abaco’s offshore cays, we were able to locate a banded piping plover that had originally been marked on its breeding grounds in Canada. In discussing the bird with a local resident who had first spotted it, she was surprised that the bird was remaining in the same spot ever since she saw it two months ago. This was site fidelity illustrated in its truest sense, and in the same vein, the researchers in Canada are already anticipating it will return to the same site to nest next spring. From what we know about piping plovers that is highly likely…as long as we remain committed to protecting the habitat they use.

 

Conserve Wildlife Foundation along with Atlantic City Electric, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and a number of dedicated volunteers planted 150 plugs and 60 quart containers of Baptisia, a native perennial plant last week in Cape May County. Baptisia is the host plant of the state threatened butterfly the Frosted Elfin.

The perennial was planted in upland areas surrounding vernal pools, which had been previously constructed as Tiger Salamander habitat. In the spring, native shrubs had also been planted around the three vernal pools.

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