Eric Stiles
Vice President for Conservation & Stewardship

August, 2003

Permanent Protection for Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds

New Jersey Audubon and our conservation partners scored a victory for horseshoe crabs and shorebirds in August.  The states of New Jersey and Delaware announced stricter permanent regulations on the harvest of horseshoe crabs, strengthening protections for the crabs and shorebirds that depend on them.  These new regulations essentially made permanent the emergency regulations of spring 2003 (see Autumn issue of NJ Audubon for details).  The changes included statewide annual harvest limits of 150,000 horseshoe crabs in both New Jersey and Delaware, stronger monitoring of harvests, and a ban on the taking of horseshoe crabs from May 1 through June 7. 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, composed of the fifteen Atlantic coast states, is also in the process of tightening restrictions on horseshoe crab harvesting in all member states.  While the new regulations are undoubtedly an important victory, New Jersey Audubon will continue to fight for a complete moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting.  NJAS is also fighting for addition of the declining Red Knot rufa subspecies to the federal list of endangered species.

Support the Garden State Preservation Trust

This fall’s elections bring with them an exciting possibility for New Jersey open space.  A statewide ballot referendum this November would provide a $150 million increase in funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust, to be spent on open space and farmland preservation and community park development.  “This funding would protect lands critical to our natural heritage.  With our members’ help, we can add this measure to our strong record of open space victories,” said Tom Gilmore, NJAS President.  Under Governor McGreevey’s plan, half of these additional funds would be dedicated to open space and farmland preservation in the Highlands region, and the other half would be earmarked for urban park preservation. 

The $75 million targeted for the Highlands will allow the State to protect more priority lands in the Highlands region, which contains outstanding habitats and the water supply for over half of New Jerseyans.  In addition, the $75 million for urban parks will help protect islands of habitat in developed areas and improve the quality of life in more developed communities.  NJ Audubon encourages all members to support this referendum to provide crucial funding for land conservation.

Upgraded Protection for State Endangered Species

New Jersey’s threatened and endangered wildlife will soon have a better chance at recovery.  The NJ Department of Environmental Protection has announced plans for regulations to protect critical habitat for these species.  “These much needed standards, 30 years overdue, will put New Jersey at the forefront of endangered species protection,” said DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell. 

Critical habitat is defined as specific areas essential to the conservation and management of listed species.  By protecting these areas, the new regulations will combat habitat loss, the greatest threat faced by New Jersey wildlife.  Current regulations protect threatened and endangered species from direct harm, but do not give adequate protection to the habitat these species need, especially in upland sites.  Without suitable areas to occupy and expand into, at-risk species have little chance for recovery. 

The new regulations will use the state’s Landscape Project – a database of known habitats for threatened and endangered species – to designate and protect critical habitat.  They will require habitat conservation plans, which minimize and mitigate the impact of development on both habitats and wildlife, to be conducted whenever new development occurs in areas that are important to threatened or endangered species.  Look for updates on this important wildlife conservation measure in future issues.  For more information on threatened and endangered species protection in New Jersey, click here.

NJ Celebrates 30 years of Endangered Species Protection

New Jersey is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its landmark Endangered Species Conservation Act.  Signed into law in December 1973, the legislation was the first state-level endangered species law, and preceded the federal act by two weeks.  The law is designed to protect species whose survival in New Jersey has been put in jeopardy by loss of habitat, pollution, or other impacts.  The law currently lists 48 species as endangered, and about 25 additional species as threatened.

As part of the anniversary celebration, the DEP and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) have assembled the New Jersey Endangered Wildlife Traveling Exhibit, an interactive display that showcases the history and achievements of endangered species protection in the state.  “With the 30th anniversary, we felt it was an excellent time to put together an exhibit chronicling the history of what New Jersey has done in the past 30 years to protect wildlife, and to highlight both the achievements and challenges involved in endangered species management,” remarked Linda Tesauro, Executive Director of CWF.  Visitors to the exhibit can learn about the landscapes of New Jersey through an interactive collage of video, audio, and graphics, and can also access information about the work being done to ensure the continuation of the state’s wildlife heritage.

The New Jersey Endangered Wildlife Traveling Exhibit will be moving throughout the state before finding a permanent home at the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Pequest Facility in Warren County in April 2004.  To find out when the exhibit will be in your area, visit http://www.conservewildlifenj.org.

NJAS Partners with Franklin Township in Conservation Effort

New Jersey Audubon Society and the Franklin Township municipal government have launched an innovative partnership to promote and manage world-class natural areas in Franklin Township, Somerset County.  The township has shown great land stewardship in working to preserve their land, with over 30% of the township now permanently protected as open space. NJAS is currently helping to devise management strategies to maximize conservation value and outdoor recreation opportunities on approximately 400 acres.  “As we began preserving these parcels of land, we quickly realized that acquiring and ignoring them was not a sufficient strategy,” said John Loos, an environmental consultant for the township.  “With its strong history and conservation ethic, NJAS seemed the perfect organization to turn our dream of an open space plan into reality.” 

The core of the plan, a habitat assessment and wildlife inventory, is now under way.  Citizen scientists are teaming with NJAS experts in a series of “Bio-Blitzes,” using cooperative community involvement to survey birds, plants, and threatened and endangered species on the sites.   This partnership marries Franklin Township’s vision with our expertise, and creates outstanding opportunity to preserve these wonderful natural areas for people and wildlife.  For information on “Bio-Blitzes” and other ways to participate, visit the Conservation home page.

Cats Indoors! Update

As reported in the Autumn issue, NJ Audubon Society, in partnership with the American Bird Conservancy, is coordinating the New Jersey portion of the Cats Indoors! campaign.  This project aims to end the unnecessary suffering and death of birds and other wildlife caused by free-roaming domestic cats, to educate cat owners on the reasons for keeping their cats indoors, and to advocate laws and policies to protect cats and birds. 

Cats Indoors! has made great progress in educating cat owners, decision makers, and the general public about the issue.  NJ Audubon members provided the Governor’s Animal Welfare Task Force with important information about trap, neuter, release (TNR) programs and feral cat colonies.  We would like to thank everyone who took action on this issue.

In addition to these efforts, Cats Indoors! has also begun an educational campaign on responsible cat ownership.  Cats Indoors! Information and Pledge Stations have been developed at each of our 9 centers, and information has been widely distributed to veterinarians and municipal Environmental Commissions throughout the state.  Increased press coverage in local newspapers has also raised awareness about the issue.  For more details or to get involved, click here.

Federal Wildlife Conservation Funding

New Jersey Audubon continues to advocate for crucial federal funding for New Jersey conservation measures.  We would like to thank all the members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, who universally supported strong funding for the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program.  The SWG program provides annual federal grants to state wildlife agencies for wildlife conservation projects.  At this writing, SWG funding for 2004 is set to be $75 million, with approximately $1.33 million earmarked for New Jersey.  This is less than the $125 million NJ Audubon and our delegates advocated for, but it is an increase over 2003 funding levels.

Endangered Species Act Challenged

Thanks to the efforts of New Jersey Audubon, our members, and other groups, a dangerous blow to the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) was softened.  Provisions in the Defense Authorization Bill would have exempted all 25 million acres of Department of Defense land from the critical habitat provisions of ESA and weakened ESA habitat protection on all public lands.  Senator Frank Lautenberg played a vital role in this victory, authoring an amendment that stripped much of the anti-ESA language from the Senate version of the bill.  The final version of the bill still contained language that weakened protection for endangered species, but without the swift action of conservation groups, it could have been much worse.