Tag: native plants

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

You may have seen that a generous group of supporters has stepped forward to provide $20,000 to match any gift Conserve Wildlife Foundation receives to protect New Jersey’s wildlife this season. Your donation – whether $10 or $1,000 – will be worth double the amount you give.

For those of us who work outdoors in the environmental field, our office is the great outdoors – where social distancing is the norm. Over the past six weeks, I feel privileged to work for an organization with donors who support our wildlife conservation and habitat enhancement projects. While also homeschooling my two kids and supporting my wife working on the front lines in healthcare, I am leading several projects that directly benefit wildlife in this critical period.

Your support will help ensure that we can continue to fulfill our mission to protect New Jersey’s rare wildlife.

Spring marks the beginning of the busy season, where more time is spent in the field monitoring and managing wildlife than behind a computer at a desk writing reports and responding to emails. For me, it is often multifaceted and changes widely from day to day. One day I may be planting dunegrass in the rain. The next day I’m climbing a tower to survey a falcon nest.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve worked on some exciting projects, even getting help from my kids for some.

I’ve successfully repaired several osprey nest platforms which had fallen into disrepair. Had I not been able to repair these platforms, these birds would not have had a home to raise a family.

I’ve monitored several peregrine falcon nests to identify the adults and confirm that they are incubating eggs. Without our role, we would not know if there has been a turnover in the nesting pair and when their eggs might hatch.

And I have led the enhancement of an innovative half-acre terrapin habitat enhancement site in Little Egg Harbor. A big component of the success of this “turtle garden” is making sure we keep the sand in place – and to help with that, I’ve planted 600+ native plants.

As many of our members, fans, and donors know, a big focus of my work with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has been aiding injured wildlife. My father was a veterinarian who also cared for wildlife, especially birds of prey, in his spare time, so his philanthropic efforts are in my blood.

A couple weeks ago I accepted a challenge to climb a large tree to re-nest a pair of great horned owl nestlings whose nest was destroyed in a windstorm. After a couple of hours of tree climbing and nest building, the two fuzzy owls were placed in their new nest. Although I was at first concerned that the adults might not return, I was delighted to hear that they were seen in the nest tree a couple days later.

Just the other day, I joined my New Jersey Fish & Wildlife colleague, Kathy Clark, on Barnegat Bay to save an entangled adult osprey that had been dangling from its nest platform for hours before it managed to get free.

Fortunately, I was able to safely trap the bird and remove the ball of monofilament wrapped around her wing. Her injuries were treated, and she was set free.

Like my fellow CWF colleagues, I’m determined to carry out our mission to preserve at-risk wildlife in New Jersey this season. That’s why, even during this pandemic, I must ask for your financial support.

Please donate now, when your gift will be matched dollar for dollar, to support our essential work, if you can. Thank you to everyone for helping me to protect our wildlife in whatever way you can.

Be safe, stay healthy, and enjoy the outdoors where possible.

by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

An annual plant census along New Jersey’s coastal beaches south of Sandy Hook shows a significant surge in the number of seabeach amaranth, a federally threatened and state endangered plant species, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced today.

Biologists with the DEP and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey counted 7,195 plants, a more than 600 percent increase from the 2018 total of 1,053 plants. Similarly, 1,591 of the plants are at Island Beach State Park, compared with 307 found there in 2018 — a more than 500 percent increase.

Continue reading “MAJOR INCREASE OF ENDANGERED SEABEACH AMARANTH PLANTS SOUTH OF SANDY HOOK”

A new pollinator habitat is created in Middle Township

By: Larissa Smith; CWF Wildlife Biologist

The Middle Township Environmental Commission in cooperation with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ worked to create a pollinator habitat at a recreation site in the township which is located in Cape May County. Commission members had been working to obtain permission to plant a pollinator garden on a township site. The Ockie Wisting Recreation Complex was just officially opened in the end of October. This recreation site will have playing fields, a playground and a wooded trail that leads to a lake and fishing pier.

With funding from Atlantic City Electric volunteers with the Middle Township Environmental Commission and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ  planted 138 native perennials . While it doesn’t look like much right now, come next spring and summer there will be plants for bees, butterflies and birds to use for food and habitat.  Not only will this pollinator meadow be great for wildlife, it won’t have to be mowed.  The Environmental Commission will be in charge of  maintenance and plans another work day in the spring to remove any non-native plants and trees in the area. We also plan to use this site as a demonstration garden for others interested in planting for pollinators.

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• Ockie Wisting Pollinator Habitat: List of Plantings – Fall 2017
  • Common Name             Scientific name
    Yellow Giant Hyssop       Agastache nepetoides
    Prairie Onion                   Allium stellatum
    Common Milkweed        Asclepias syriaca
    Butterflyweed                 Asclepias tuberosa
    Whorled Milkweed         Asclepias verticillata
    Boltonia                          Boltonia asteroides
    Maryland Golden Aster  Chrysopsis mariana
    Purple Mistflower           Conoclinium coelestinum
    Pink Coreopsis                Coreopsis rosea
    Purple Coneflower          Echinacea purpurea
    Rattlesnake Master         Eryngium yuccifolium
    Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort Eupatorium hyssopifolium
    Showy Aster                    Eurybia spectabilis
    Coastal Joe-Pye Weed    Eutrochium dubium
    Ten-petal Sunflower       Helianthus decapetalus
    Meadow Blazingstar       Liatris ligulistylis
    Cardinal Flower               Lobelia cardinalis
    Scarlet Bee balm             Monarda didyma
    Wild Bergamot                Monarda fistulosa
    Spotted Horsemint         Monarda punctata
    Pink Muhly Grass            Muhlenbergia capillaris
    Calico Beardtongue        Penstemon calycosus
    Hairy Beardtongue         Penstemon hirsutus
    Garden Phlox                  Phlox paniculata
    Obedient Plant               Physostegia virginiana
    Lyre-leaf Sage                Salvia lyrata
    Fire Pink                         Silene virginica
    Compass Plant               Silphium laciniatum
    Seaside Goldenrod        Solidago sempervirens
    Aromatic Aster              Symph. oblongifolium
    Heath Aster                   Symphyotrichum ericoides
    New York Aster             Symphyotrichum novi-belgii
    Upland Ironweed          Vernonia glauca
    Culver’s Root                 Veronicastrum virg.
    Golden Alexanders        Zizia aurea

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• CMC Herald: Shovel’s in Hand: Pollinator Garden Planted at Wisting Rec. Complex:
• CWF Pollinator Conservation Project
  

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Give back to nature by planting native this spring!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

This past weekend we held our second annual native plant sale, in partnership with the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies, NJ. Despite some light rain, we had a great turnout at the event. All of the plants that we offered for sale were grown in New Jersey and without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. They also provide a great source of food and cover for wildlife, especially pollinators.

If we all reduced the amount of lawn that we maintain and planted native, then in turn, our local environment would benefit. With the native plant sale at LBIF, we stress the need to plant native to help provide habitat for wildlife and reduce runoff to Barnegat Bay. If we all do a little, then our combined efforts will make an impact.

The perennials, shrubs, and trees that we sold were hand selected for their environmental benefits and aesthetic beauty. Without being sure what people wanted, we sold out some some species very quickly, so we are looking into holding a follow up sale at LBIF next month.

If you missed out on the sale and are still interested in purchasing some plants, here is what we have left:

Perennial wildflowers		Quantity left
Solidago sempervirens	Seaside goldenrod	7	Quart	Quarts = $5
Baptisia tinctoria	Wild yellow indigo	0	Quart	#1 = $10
Eupatorium perfoliatum	Common boneset	3	Quart	#2 = $15
Solidago canadensis	Canada Goldenrod	0	Quart
Helenium autumnale	Common sneezeweed	10	Quart
Liatris spicata	Dense blazing star	0	Quart
Lobelia siphilitica	Blue lobelia	0	Quart
Rudbeckia laciniata	Cutleaf coneflower	8	Quart
Symphyotrichum novi-belgii	New York Aster	3	Quart
Shrubs
Baccharis halimifolia	Groundsel tree	2	#1
Iva frutescens	High tide bush (marsh alder)	0	#1
Prunus maritima	Beach plum	0	#2
Rhus copallinum	Winged sumac	2	#2
Trees
Cercis canadensis	Eastern red bud	0	#2
Acer rubrum	Red maple	0	#2
Betula populifolia	Gray birch	1	#2
Pinus virginiana	Virginia pine	0	#2
Quercus phellos	Willow oak	0	#2
Scientific name	Common name		Size container

All plants are available for pickup in the S. Ocean County/N. Atlantic area. Please email Ben Wurst if you are interested in purchasing any of these plants!

 

by David Wheeler

Under the sweltering September sun, our team discovers the earth at our fingertips. We ready the manure, topsoil, and mulch, wield the pickax and trowel, and labor the wheelbarrow through the trees and up the slope of a tidal berm.

 

We plant 250 native shrubs and 580 native herbaceous plugs. We hammer in nest boxes, install pollinator houses, construct mounds of brush for local and migrating wildlife, and create nesting habitat for northern diamondback terrapin, an at-risk turtle species.

We lose ourselves in nature for the day.

A migrating butterfly flits past leisurely and I look up from the soil to wipe my brow. Suddenly I remember exactly where this newly vibrant natural ecosystem is. Nearly overhead, I can watch never-ending streams of commuters and tractor trailers motor past over one of the busiest bridges in the nation – the Newark Bay Bridge. Just across the bay, I can see heavy industry. Out beyond the fence, more industry – ancient, tireless, modern progress marching forward.

Yet on this morning, and those that follow, we now have ecological progress here as well, in a place that was written off entirely not so long ago. The Newark Bay region has suffered a century and a half of environmental degradation at the hands of industry and unbridled development.

This active industrial site is home to Firmenich Inc., one of the largest manufactures of fragrances in the world. We have transformed the land today to invite wildlife partners to help balance the scales of the region’s damaged ecology.

These partners are vital to our environment, to our health, to the world around us. They are the butterflies and bees, the wasps and beetles, the flies and moths that make up an army of pollinators that in coordinated effort provide humanity with the lungs of our planet. Without these pollinators, native plants could not sink carbon dioxide and impart oxygen to our surroundings, every minute of every day. Without these pollinators, the bread baskets of the world would wither away, no longer filled with grains, fruits, and vegetables.

The natural partnerships don’t stop with the pollinators born forth from meadow creation. These partners extend to migrating songbirds and mighty raptors, small mammals and diamondback terrapins.

“If we give nature an inch, it’s going to take a yard. Give it a chance and nature will return,” says biologist Blaine Rothauser, who is directing the restoration for GZA Environmental. “Wildlife just needs an opportunity.”

Nature’s inspiring return builds upon decades of ecological recovery in the region. Thanks to President Nixon’s Clean Water Act of 1973, the water began to get cleaner. Improving the water quality reanimated the food chain from the bottom up – phyto- and zooplankton, invertebrates and crustaceans reappeared. In turn, a fishery was reborn, which ushered in the return of herons, ibis, osprey, turtles, and even harbor seals – seen sunning on the banks of tidal shores in winter!

Yet much of the land around the water’s edge is still wanting.

“The restoration site is an important buffer habitat to a large portion of undeveloped tidal bay directly adjacent to the Firmenich complex,” says Rothauser. “Today we have 60 people planting a native community of shrubs, trees and plants on a formerly sterile lawn and an unnaturalized earthen berm. It is vital work that makes a real difference.”

The team has also created opportunities for rare species to nest. Above our heads, an osprey platform has been installed, empowering this magnificent fish-eating raptor to continue its recovery along Newark Bay and many other New Jersey waterways, industrial and remote alike.

A barn owl box offers one of our most mysterious nighttime predators the opportunity to set up shop in a beneficial area – where there is no shortage of rabbits and field mice to help control.

Across the pond, a purple martin condominium-like house offers the ample space necessary for these communal swallows to reside, a home base where they can feast on flying insects.

With the first phase of the project almost complete, the second phase will seek to transform the site’s holding ponds into ecologically productive floating wetlands, bringing herons and egrets and other wading birds.

Ultimately, this project is envisioned as one that can be replicated just about anywhere along Newark Bay – or any industrial waterfront for that matter. All it takes is the willingness to look at a site’s land from a different perspective – and in so doing, to understand that the ecological benefits of bringing back many wildlife species aren’t negated by losing economic tradeoffs.

Instead they can mean parallel economic benefits. Natural pest control. Fewer landscaping and pesticide costs. Increased employee morale and productivity, with a newfound opportunity to recharge body and mind with a rejuvenating break outside, enjoying natural beauty and the engagement of your senses.

Images above from left to right – Killdeer, 12 Spotted Skipper, and American Kestrel.

New Jersey has long served as a primary engine for America’s industry and commerce – and in return has often been derided as the “Which exit?” land of nothing but turnpike and smokestacks. The Meadowlands just to the north of here bore the brunt of that reputation, yet in recent decades has made a mind-blowing ecological recovery to become a wildlife – and ecotourism – destination.

The waters flow south from the Meadowlands along the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, and they come together in the Newark Bay. Now, that next wave of wildlife recovery and habitat restoration has arrived just downstream – along the Newark Bay waterfront.

For wildlife, it’s where the action is.

David Wheeler is the executive director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation and author of the book, Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State.

 

All photos courtesy of Blaine Rothauser.