Be the Disturbance You Wish to See in the Wetland

by Christine Healy, Wildlife Biologist

Since 2021, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) has been partnering with New Jersey Audubon (NJA), New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and New Jersey Fish and Wildlife (NJFW) on bog turtle conservation in Salem County. Though densities in the southern part of the state are understood to be lower than in north Jersey, conserving this metapopulation is a priority as bog turtle numbers continue to decline despite long-term state (endangered since 1974) and federal (threatened since 1997) protections. A primary driver of this decline is habitat loss- but not necessarily in the way you might expect. The shift in plant communities- from grasslands to forests- occurs naturally over time. We call this process “succession”, and it can be both a gift and a curse. 

Under normal circumstances, Mother Nature sometimes throws a wrench in the plans of mid- and late-successional species (like oaks and maples, respectively), in the form of disturbances. Beaver activity may cause flooding that inhibits tree growth. Natural fires in healthy forests can thin trees enabling the understory to receive enough sunlight to persist. These burn slower and cooler than wildfires. Some trees, like the longleaf pine in the southern US, even require fire in order to rejuvenate. In some cases, large mammals may eat or break saplings before they have a chance to establish. This apparent “destruction” is actually a good thing- disturbances like these are why we have meadows and prairies. A mosaic of habitat types that run the spectrum of open wetlands to old-growth forest, is key to a high diversity of wildlife. 

Continue reading “Be the Disturbance You Wish to See in the Wetland”

Protecting Flood-Prone Communities Through Wetland Restoration

by Christine Healy

Hurricane Ida. Hurricane Irene. Superstorm Sandy. These weather events represent three of the four most devasting storms recorded in New Jersey history. Though data dates back 218 years, all 3 have occurred within the past 11, substantiating concerns over the effect of climate change on tropical cyclone severity. Therefore, taking measures to safeguard communities from devastating floodwaters is more important now than it ever has been. But who said helping people can’t, in turn, help wildlife?

Continue reading “Protecting Flood-Prone Communities Through Wetland Restoration”

Barnegat Bay Partnership’s Martha Maxwell-Doyle Honored for her Inspiration in Coastal Restoration and Management

By Mara Cige

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Martha Maxwell-Doyle, 2016 Inspiration Award Winner

We had the pleasure of interviewing our 2016 Women & Wildlife Inspiration honoree, Martha Maxwell-Doyle, and are pleased to share some excerpts below.

Currently working at the Barnegat Bay Partnership as a project coordinator for estuary protection and restoration, Ms. Maxwell-Doyle’s years of experience at multiple national estuary programs has made it second nature for her to implement conservation and management plans. Her professional and personal partnerships help advance the ability to survey, restore, and monitor coastal communities such as the Barnegat Bay shorelines. Continue reading “Barnegat Bay Partnership’s Martha Maxwell-Doyle Honored for her Inspiration in Coastal Restoration and Management”

American Toad: Myths and Misconceptions

Learn the Facts about a Common New Jersey Amphibian

by Liam Hobbie, Field Intern

Adult American toad photo by Kelly Triece
Adult American toad photo by Kelly Triece

Did you know that wetlands are very important habitats that provide benefits for both humans and wildlife alike? Generally defined as “land consisting of marshes or swamps”, wetlands provide natural flood control by soaking up runoff from heavy rains and filter out chemicals, pollutants, and sediments that would otherwise contaminate our drinking water. They also provide a home for much of the fish and wildlife species that inhabit the state of New Jersey.

 

Due to the extensive development and urbanization of the state to accommodate our ever-growing population, much of New Jersey’s natural wetlands have ceased to exist. In the 1980’s a study conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) found that, since the mid-1900’s, the state lost at least 20 percent of its natural wetland resources. Since then, concerted efforts have been made to protect, restore, and create wetland habitats across the state. One such effort has been made by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) with the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) project, a component of The Agricultural Conservation Program in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation. WRE is a voluntary program that provides an opportunity for landowners to receive financial assistance in exchange for permanently protecting retired agricultural land.

Lamington River, Bedminster, Somerset County. Location of American toads.
Lamington River, Bedminster, Somerset County. Location of American toads.

While walking one such easement property in Bedminster, Somerset County we observed a population of American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) polliwogs in a shallow water inlet along the Lamington River. There had to be hundreds of these young toads both in the water and on the shore. The American toad is just one example of a wildlife species that benefits from readily available wetland habitat and that is also vulnerable to habitat loss due to wetland destruction. Although they are very common in New Jersey, and many people can recognize a toad when they see one, there are still a handful of myths and misconceptions about toads that I would like to address.

American toad- just metamorphizing into an adult! Photo by Kelly Triece
American toad- just metamorphizing into an adult! Photo by Kelly Triece

Myth 1 – Toads will give you warts if you touch them: False. While toads do have warts across their bodies, they cannot transmit these warts to humans as warts in people are actually caused by a virus. This doesn’t mean you should go around handling every toad you come across, but if you do pick one up you will not contract warts from it.

 

Myth 2 – Toads must be completely safe to handle if they do not transmit warts: False. Toads secrete toxins through their skin so it is completely necessary to wash one’s hands after handling a toad. They also are known to pee in self-defense, especially when picked up by a human. This may not bother some people but you should still make sure to wash your hands after holding one.

 

Myth 3 – Wild-caught toads make good pets: False. While toads are very easy to care for, and it is not hard to replicate their natural environment in a fish tank, it is still very important to leave wild toads wherever you find them. Toads will spend their whole lives in one area, leaving it once or twice a year just to go breed, and it can be very disruptive to a toad’s well-being to find itself in a new home. If you do happen to keep a toad for more than a few minutes, it is of utmost importance that it gets returned to exactly where you found it. Releasing it into any suitable habitat would seem adequate enough, but it would be like if one day you just found yourself wandering around Nebraska with no way of knowing where to go or how to get home!

 

Myth 4 – Toads are terrestrial species and do not need to be near water to thrive: False. Toads will spend most of their lives hanging out in fields or meadows or even forests, but they do need access to pools of water in order to breed. Every summer, toads will migrate to pools to find mates and to lay eggs. While they do not swim, like their close relative the frog, they still benefit from having shallow water habitat in close proximity to where they spend most of their time.

 

Myth 5 – Toads are poisonous: TRUE. Contact with a toad’s skin will not give you warts and it will not poison you just through skin-to-skin contact. However, they have glands just behind their eyes that when pressed will secrete a milky-white substance that can severely harm someone if ingested. This may not be a danger to most people, as most humans have no interest in putting toads in their mouths, but it is a concern for dogs. Dogs very typically love to grab strange objects with their mouths, which applies enough pressure to a toad’s glands to excrete their poison. This can be very detrimental to a canine’s health and can even kill them. If you find yourself wandering around toad habitats with your beloved pup ensure that they do not try to eat any toads that they come across. If your dog does mistakenly poison itself you should take it to a vet immediately.

 

NRCS easement boundary sign.
NRCS easement boundary sign.

Through programs like WRE, more and more wetland habitats are being made available across the state for wildlife species like toads. It is important to be aware of what impact you can have on them, as well as what could happen to you or your pet through contact with toads.

 

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Liam Hobbie is a 2016 field intern for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Explore New Jersey’s Wetlands!

By: Kelly Triece, Wildlife Biologist

Photo Credit: Brian Zarate, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
Photo Credit: Brian Zarate, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife

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!

 

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