Why We Are Never Finished "Saving" Land:
The Importance of Stewardship
The picturesque landscapes giving the "Garden State" its nickname are critically threatened. Over 50 acres are lost to development daily in New Jersey, a state ranked only 46th in total landmass. Despite having one of the nation's best-funded land acquisition programs, the Garden State Preservation Trust, New Jersey still struggles with the reality that developers continue building on sensitive lands. If current population and development trends continue, New Jersey's state forests, parks, and related preserves will provide the final refuges for the state's remaining wildlife. Will they adequately meet that challenge? We cannot allow natural habitats to continue degrading to the point where species disappear. The integrity of our natural ecosystems is adversely influenced by development, changes in management techniques, non-native species and overpopulation of native damaging species. Tell me more.
Since 1897, New Jersey Audubon Society has been advocating for the protection of New Jersey's wildlife and unique natural habitats. NJAS has an active stewardship program that promotes effective stewardship on both private and public lands throughout the state. For more information on NJAS' stewardship program please contact Troy Ettel, NJAS Director of Conservation and Stewardship. To learn more about our work on Grasslands or to learn how you can become involved in habitat restoration on your own land, check out the following links:
New Jersey Audubon Society is committed to maintaining and restoring habitat for New Jersey's flora and fauna. Through targeted outreach to private landowners, NJAS's stewardship program has been successful in its mission to foster environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey's citizens while protecting New Jersey's birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species. Our program objectives are:
- Focus habitat protection and stewardship efforts on areas of broad state significance. Critical areas include:
- Wetland and riparian areas.
- Grasslands, shrub-scrub and other early successional habitats.
- Large forest tracts.
- Migratory and wintering habitat.
- Wildlife dispersal corridors.
- Key breeding areas.
- Marine habitats.
- Promote active management and stewardship of habitat on public and private lands to improve, create and enhance habitats for native wildlife and plants.
- Expand NJAS sanctuaries for conservation of birds and threatened and endangered species and habitat. This will be accomplished by donation and/or purchase where and when appropriate, and in ecological priority areas such as those identified by the Important Bird and Birding Area (IBBA) program.
Read about our activities in stewardship, conservation planning, ecological forestry and landowner outreach:
- Stewardship on New Jersey Audubon Society Sanctuaries
- Franklin Township
- Atlantic City Airport
- Raritan Piedmont Habitat Partnership
- New Jersey Habitat Incentive Team (NJHIT)
- Conservation of Important Birds Areas (IBA)
- Hovnanian Sanctuary
- Pinelands Important Bird (IBA) Forest Stewardship Workshop
- Agricultural Heritage and Habitat Conservation Plan for Harmony Township, Warren County, NJ
- Raritan Piedmont Habitat Partnership
- Franklin Township, Somerset County Outreach Program
- Mannington Township
Volunteer Opportunities
Are you looking for an opportunity to make a real difference for wildlife and wildlife habitat? Do you enjoy being outdoors and getting your hands dirty? Then we have the job for you! NJAS is looking for volunteers and students to assist with surveying, managing, and monitoring wildlife habitat, especially within Important Bird Areas in South Jersey. If you are interested in volunteering for NJAS's stewardship program, please contact Jean Lynch.
Click Here For Common Questions About Implementing Conservation Programs
Click Here For Helpful Links
Why We Are Never Finished "Saving" Land: The Importance of Stewardship
New Jersey lacks a cohesive, integrated vision of land stewardship that will address water quality protection and the habitat needs of threatened and endangered species on public lands. Unfortunately, New Jersey has been very active in preserving lands but highly inactive in determining what becomes of these lands after preservation.
The idea that Nature is incapable of sustaining itself without intervention by humans is troubling. The unfortunate reality is that human civilization has deprived many natural systems of their ability to self-regulate. Fire suppression, river damming and channelization, ditching, diking, and draining wetlands have suppressed restorative ecosystem processes like flood and fire. As forces that shape ecosystems fade away, plant and animal species dependent upon habitat regeneration also disappear. As habitat diminishes in extent, remnant patches become increasingly fragmented and isolated from each other. Of the ecosystems experiencing declines greater than 98% in eastern North America, 5% are grasslands, shrublands, and barrens and another 24% are shrub communities. These habitats are early successional, meaning that in the absence of periodic disturbance, i.e. fire, they will succeed into forested habitat. That is not good news if you are a northern pine snake, Henslow's sparrow, or frosted elfin butterfly, all of which are threatened or endangered in New Jersey and dependent on grasslands or barrens. In fact 28.6% of all birds listed as threatened, endangered, or special concern in New Jersey are dependent on early successional habitats. Even if large acreages were purchased exclusively for these species, they would still disappear, along with their habitats, without active management. Acquisition alone is clearly not enough for them.
The introduction of non-native species and the explosive increase in deer is also wreaking havoc on New Jersey's natural resources. Over 42% of plants and animals listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act are threatened by predation from or competition with exotic species. Non-native, invasive plants out-compete native species, rapidly overtaking a habitat, and altering the soils and groundcover of ecosystems. The result is a reduction in species diversity and complete alteration of the native plant and animal community. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many native plants are favored as browse by deer over exotic plants. While deer are an important part of the ecosystem, populations have gone unchecked. The result is an overpopulation of deer and the loss of the native forest vegetation. Ground- and shrub-nesting birds such as the Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler and Wood Thrush are examples of birds that suffer habitat loss at the mouths of deer.