Greenhead Flytraps Ordered Moved From Federal Wildlife Refuge

[dogg57]

This past weekend, volunteers relocated greenhead flytraps after being asked to remove them from the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
Tom Beaty, vice president of the Holgate Taxpayers Association, said his group was asked to remove the traps after officials learned of their presence within the refuge.
“It’s been an ongoing thing,” Beaty said, referring to the presence and maintenance of the traps. “We’ve been doing this for about the last dozen years or so.”
“The flies get pretty bad in Holgate,” Beaty said. “We get predominantly southerly winds.”
Those winds, traveling over the refuge’s marshy areas on the southern end of Long Beach Island, bring flies with them.
Virginia Rettig, refuge manager, explained her decision to ask the group to remove the black box traps.
“The placing of man-made boxes on refuge land is just not an approved activity,” Rettig said. “It’s nothing I had ever given permission for. It was a cause for concern. In the past, I had seen the traps but they were not on refuge property, they were to the north.
“But their presence was not what I would consider authorized use of the wildlife refuge. Maintaining them there would not be an approved activity.”
http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com...ed-moved-from-federal-wildlife-refuge/1023185

 

[46er]

You tell 'em Viriginia. Any Greenies were there waaaay before those association whiners and complainers. They should check a map, southerly winds would be off the ocean.

BUT!

“Historically, permission was given,” Rettig admitted, “but, in my opinion, it’s not appropriate activity,” to have man-made objects within the refuge.

Then why are there refuge placed man-made objects on the refuge; like towers, fences, trailers, decking, flood gates, etc, etc?

 

[Boyd]

Forsythe National Insect Refuge?

 

[1Jerseydevil]

You tell 'em Viriginia. Any Greenies were there waaaay before those association whiners and complainers. They should check a map, southerly winds would be off the ocean.

BUT!



Then why are there refuge placed man-made objects on the refuge; like towers, fences, trailers, decking, flood gates, etc, etc?

Typical, those in charge spokesman unaware of the facts, but don't let facts interfere with personal agenda. As for the other man made objects, "that's different", there's $$ involved, don't you understand? LOL

 

[GermanG]

You tell 'em Viriginia. Any Greenies were there waaaay before those association whiners and complainers. They should check a map, southerly winds would be off the ocean.

BUT!



Then why are there refuge placed man-made objects on the refuge; like towers, fences, trailers, decking, flood gates, etc, etc?

Part of the explanation for this apparent discrepancy is likely Holgate’s designation as a Wilderness Area, which is managed under different rules than other parts of the refuge are, such as the wildlife drive section in Oceanville. Not only does that unit have all the man-made features you mentioned but the “natural” areas have all been heavily modified from their original state in order to manage for specific goals. Other areas, like Holgate, are intended to be left as natural as possible.

I see points on both sides. Every single species within an ecosystem is part of a vast food web, with many of the relationships still not discovered. On the other hand, I live within a few hundred yards of saltmarsh, and often have those little SOBs attacking me in my own yard. While I may not know what impact their reduction or disappearance might cause, I think I just might be willing to take that chance.

 

[46er]

Part of the explanation for this apparent discrepancy is likely Holgate’s designation as a Wilderness Area, which is managed under different rules than other parts of the refuge are, such as the wildlife drive section in Oceanville.

Possibly, but some of the reg's for the 'wilderness area' are not that much different, i.e. vehicle access, albeit a bit more expensive at Holgate.

HOLGATE Unit: Edwin Forsythe Wildlife Refuge

• Dates of operation: Closed from April 1 to vehicles and pedestrians for nesting Piping Plovers. wildlife is in charge of reopening that area.
• Permit fee: $50
• Permit obtained from: Police station at 68th Street and Long Beach Island Blvd. 24 hrs. /day, 7 days/week.
• Beach access points: McKinley Avenue at end of boulevard
• Special Comments: The beach front is open to pedestrians and four-wheel-drive vehicles for such wildlife-oriented activities as wildlife observation, photography, nature study, and fishing. Bayside mudflats may remain closed until later September to protect migrating shorebirds. (Drivers must possess a valid Long Beach Township beach buggy permit for the vehicle they are driving.) It is recommended that vehicles use the intertidal zone when possible. Its harder packed sands provide better traction than the loose sands of the beach. Occasionally some areas of Holgate's beach may not be accessible to vehicles due to ongoing, naturally occurring variations in beach width, or because of excessively high tides. Drivers must use caution, and not enter closed areas. Link to Holgate usage guidelines.
• Parking lots available at: McKinley Avenue at the end of the boulevard

I was being a tad facetious on the greenies though. Nothing is more annoying than being offshore with a squardon of the winged devils feeding on you with no place to run Personally I believe they enforce the regs selectively. I see no harm in placing a couple of bug traps. There will be no change to the bug population should those traps be placed one foot inside the regfuge line or one foot outside. Give credit to the new refuge manager though for doing a much better job than her predecessor. Her management of the Sandy mess could not have been much better.

 

[GermanG]

When I bought my home in Little Egg Harbor 25 years ago these traps were much more commonly seen than they are now. They were placed on the then-private Atlantis Golf Course, all of the marinas on Seven Bridges Road and on many other private properties near the bay or meadows. Every one I ever had chance to examine was filled with dead greenheads, but you were still swarmed by them whenever venturing anywhere near the bay. I suspect their benefit was more psychological, similar to that of bug zappers. At least, unlike bug zappers, they were fairly selective, killing mainly greenheads and deer flies. I do have less greenheads in my yard now than I did then. I suspect the activities of the Mosquito Commission had more to do with that than the traps did. But that’s another somewhat controversial can of worms.

 

[bobpbx]

I'd like to put some turtle traps on the refuge. You see, I have friends in the pet store business. It should be okay. Plenty of turtles around.

 

[bobpbx]

I like that she is holding her ground.

http://brick.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/brick-s-f-cove-now-barricaded-off-to-boaters

Edit: was later forced to give in, most likely due to politics. Here is the site of the party town on water.

http://thefcove.com/?page_id=54