Eric Stiles
Vice President for Conservation & Stewardship
June 2, 2002
The Big Picture
NJ Audubon Society's Conservation Department will be
launching the NJ Important Bird and
Birding Areas project in late fall 2002. The
Important Bird Area (IBA) program was initiated in Europe during
the 1980's to identify and protect critical areas to breeding,
migrating and wintering birds. The American Bird Conservancy
recently completed identifying national IBAs. In recognition of
NJ Audubon's strong conservation programs, National Audubon
Society, which is directing state-based IBA programs, asked us
to oversee this project in New Jersey. David Mizrahi (Vice
President for Research), who will be helping guide the project,
attended a national meeting in Big Sur, CA on implementing a
state-based IBA initiative. NJ Audubon will begin a two-year
venture to identify Important Bird and Birding areas in New
Jersey. The Conservation Department will work with NJAS staff,
National Audubon chapters, the state's endangered species
program and other bird clubs to map these areas. Site
nominations will be based upon data from our Breeding Bird
Atlas, Records of New Jersey Birds, Christmas Bird Counts, NJ
Endangered Species Program's Landscape Project and notes from
birdwatchers. Once identified, the sites will be characterized,
including relevant bird species, habitat and threats. The work
will result in a book discussing each Important Bird and Birding
Area including conservation, education and research needs. We
will then launch the second phase of site protection through
acquisition, stewardship, education and research.
A New Jersey Audubon member recently asked me if the
"Shorebird-Horseshoe Crab problem
had been solved". NJ Audubon has been working hard to protect
shorebirds and horseshoe crabs for over a decade. Despite
significant conservation steps in recent years, we are on the
verge of an ecological collapse on the Delaware Bayshore. Close
to 1 million shorebirds from nine species, including the state
threatened Red Knot, arrive on the Delaware Bay from South
American each spring to feast on horseshoe crab eggs. The fat
rich diet is needed to fuel their long flight to the Arctic
breeding grounds. Shorebirds rely on a superabundance of
reproductive age class horseshoe crabs to produce and excavate
enough eggs for this weight gain.
Recent research results are alarming.
1. There has been a 54% decline in the number of wintering
Red Knots in Tierra del Fuego, South America since 2000. In
2002, researchers counted 20,755 Red Knots; this is a 30%
decline from the 2001 count of 29,335 and a 54% decline since
2000 (45,150 individuals).
2. Similarly, many shorebird species have shown a significant
decline. The number of Red Knots counted on the Delaware Bay is
decreasing by 17.9% per year.
3. Studies show daily weight gains of Red Knot and
Semipalmated Sandpipers have dropped precipitously. The
disappearance of horseshoe crabs is the culprit. In fact, many
birds leave the Delaware Bay without enough fat reserves to
reach the Arctic breeding grounds.
4. Horseshoe crab egg counts on the Delaware Bay show an
alarming decline in the amount of Horseshoe crab eggs available
to foraging shorebirds. This is consistent with Delaware survey
trawl data showing a 75% decline in horseshoe crabs in 11 years.
5. Horseshoe crabs are a long-lived species, not reaching
sexual maturation until 9 years of age. Harvesting is allowed to
occur even though no stock assessment has been completed for
this species. We are harvesting in the absence of sound science.
The Conservation Department has testified at the NJ Marine
Fisheries Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission asking for an interim moratorium on the harvest of
horseshoe crabs until a stock assessment has been completed and
a fisheries management plan drafted ensuring an adequate food
supply for shorebirds. We have also launched a letter writing
campaign to Governor McGreevey asking for a moratorium. NJ
Audubon is partnering with Sierra Club, American Bird
Conservancy, National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife and
other organizations on this issue. Since this is a regional
issue, Delaware and other mid-Atlantic states need to be part of
the solution.
We will need help from NJ Audubon members to make this
campaign a success. Please click here for a
sample letter, and
continue to visit this website for issue updates. If you are
interested in helping, please send an e-mail to
conservation@njaudubon.org or write to the Conservation
Department at PO Box 693, Bernardsville NJ 07924.
Amid the urban northeast, lies a patchwork of world-class
bird and wildlife habitat. The rich wetlands complexes of
Glacial Lake Passaic,
including Great Swamp, Troy Meadows and Great Piece Meadows,
comprise oases for a large diversity of breeding, migrant and
wintering birds. It is home to state endangered birds and
amphibians. These wetlands complexes, surrounded by interstates
and dense suburbia, continue to thrive. It is time to expand the
acquisition area of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge to
include these and other gems. The wetlands surrounding the
Passaic River are also important for flood control. These basins
help buffer massive run-off from the surrounding asphalt
blanket. Expanding the federal acquisition area will bring funds
for acquisition, management and recreation. Too often New Jersey
does not get its fair share of federal acquisition money through
the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Making these areas part of
the National Wildlife Refuge system would help celebrate the
100th anniversary for the nation's terrific refuge complex.
Moving Good Ideas Forward
New Jersey Audubon joined other
Highlands Coalition members in Washington D.C. to
advocate for additional federal land acquisition funds through
Forest Legacy and Land and Water Conservation Funds. Special
thanks goes to Congresswoman Roukema and Congressmen Pallone for
initiating a letter in support of these funds. Congressmen
Andrews, Ferguson, Holt, Pascrell, Rothman, Saxton, and Smith
also signed the letter. We also participated on a committee with
Congressman Gilman to draft the Highlands Stewardship Act. The
bill, recognizing the national importance of the Highlands,
would authorize spending $250 million over ten years for land
acquisition and $49 million over 7 years for stewardship
assistance. The importance of this work was highlighted by the
spring completion of the US Forest Service's NY/NJ Highlands
Regional Study draft report (http://www.fs.fed.us/na/highlands).
Special thanks goes to Congressman Frelinghuysen and Senator
Torricelli for securing funds for this important study. The
report documents the region's critical natural resources,
including water, wildlife, forest, and recreation. The study
concludes that these resources will be severely compromised or
destroyed by development. Close to 100,000 acres critical to
these resources are immediately threatened by largely
unregulated growth. Acquisition funds and regional planning are
needed to help safeguard this resource.
As reported in the last issue, NJ Audubon continues to
advocate in Washington D.C. for a stable source of
wildlife conservation funding.
While the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) remains the
best legislation for permanent funding, State Wildlife Grants
are part of an annual appropriations process to provide state
wildlife agencies with desperately needed money. NJ Audubon
urged our Congressional delegation to support increasing State
Wildlife Grant funds to $150 million for fiscal year 2003. This
is far short of the $300+ million which would be available
through CARA, but it is a step in the right direction.
Congressman Saxton took a strong leadership role in authoring a
letter asking for this increase. This letter was co-signed by
Congressmen Ferguson, LoBiondo, Pallone and Pascrell. A similar
letter was signed by Senators Corzine and Torricelli. We would
like to thank our entire Congress and Senate delegation for
being CARA co-sponsors.
NJ Audubon completed a road-side survey of fall migrant birds
in West Cape May, New
Jersey. The work, conducted by world-famous author and biologist
Clay Sutton, was given to the NJ Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) and local citizen groups to help protect
critical habitat on the Cape May peninsula. During the bird
survey, Clay Sutton heard Southern Gray Treefrogs, which are a
state endangered species. NJ Audubon launched a second study in
spring 2002 with Herpetological Associates to survey for these
endangered treefrogs in West Cape May. The information will be
provided NJDEP and the Borough of West Cape to help protect
wetlands critical to this rare species. Special thanks goes to
local citizens and the Borough of West Cape May for helping fund
this study.
New Jersey Audubon would like to thank Governor McGreevey and
Commissioner Campbell for investigating the role of the
Liberty State Park
Development Corporation. Many feel this entity is inconsistent
with the mission of Liberty State Park. The Conservation
Department worked closely with the Division of Parks and
Forestry to nominate Restoration Ecologists and Landscape
Architects to help guide the restoration of the 251-acre park
interior. We are excited to participate in the ongoing process
to enhance the park's value for birds and visitors.
Stopping Bad Ideas
New Jersey Audubon Society worked to ensure that NJ DEP
volunteers reporting threatened and endangered species would be
protected from nuisance lawsuits.
Scott Angus, a NJ DEP Herp Atlas volunteer, reported a Wood
Turtle (state threatened) sighting in August 2001. The Herp
Atlas is comprised of trained volunteers who are surveying for
reptiles and amphibians statewide. NJ DEP relies upon residents
to report threatened and endangered species. Absent this
information, the state could not protect these sensitive
species. Mr. Angus observed the Wood Turtle while waiting in a
parking lot at the Land of Make Believe. The owner of the Land
of Make Believe is suing both Scott Angus and NJ DEP. NJ Audubon
worked with the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic and Columbia
Law Clinic to ensure Scott Angus was afforded protection by the
state's Attorney General office. We would like to thank NJ DEP
Commissioner Campbell and the Attorney General's office for
their decision. It is critical that a citizen's right to report
a threatened and endangered species is protected.
In a victory for conservation, the Lebanon Township Planning
Board denied a Toll Brothers application for the
Mt. Lebanon Estates development
which could have harmed a Bog Turtle (federally threatened and
state endangered) population. Ed Post, an active NJ Audubon
member who founded the Lebanon Township Land Coalition, led the
local opposition. The coalition hired a lawyer and an
environmental consulting firm and orchestrated participation
from state conservation groups. Their efforts serve as a model
of how local citizens can and should play a crucial role in
backyard conservation. We would like to thank Ed Post, the
Lebanon Township Planning Board and the Lebanon Township Land
Coalition for their outstanding work.
New Jersey Audubon Society is involved in litigation opposing
a general permit to convert 300 acres of wetlands (including
pristine Atlantic White Cedar Swamps) to
cranberry bogs. We and other conservation groups
have been opposing this proposal since 1999 (see
NJAS Opinions). A consortium of
conservation groups represented by Rutgers Environmental Law
Clinic (RELC) was dealt a blow by a recent Appelate Court
decision (http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/decisions/appellate/a1432-99.opn.html).
According to Thomas Borden with RELC, "The decision basically
holds that a Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act permit is not
required in the Pinelands and the mitigation, acreage, species
protection, and antidegradation elements of the permit are
acceptable. The decision is particularly disturbing given the
heightened legal and regulatory protections that are in place to
protect the Pinelands and its water quality." NJ Audubon has
signed onto RELC's initiative to appeal to the Supreme Court.
New laws or regulations will be needed if the Supreme Court does
not repeal the Appellate Court's decision.