B
bach2yoga
Guest
From NJDEP F&W website....pretty cool!
A national survey asked, "Where would you go to view wildlife if you could travel anywhere in North America?". Fifty five percent of the respondents chose Alaska. When asked why they would choose to go there, Alaska's variety of animals was the most frequent reply.
If variety of animals is what wildlife watchers are looking for, New Jersey provides some serious competition for Alaska. Alaska hosts 425 bird species, 102 mammal species, 10 reptile and amphibian species and 150 species of fish. New Jersey hosts 325 bird species, 90 mammal species, 79 reptile and amphibian species and over 400 species of fish. When you consider Alaska is 75 times larger than New Jersey, we are the hands down winner over Alaska in wildlife diversity. In fact, on a square mile basis, no other state in the nation has greater wildlife diversity than New Jersey. New Jersey's advantage is its geographic position. Our geographic position provides an amazing variety of mountains, valleys, rolling hills, wetlands, pinelands, beaches, estuaries and riverine systems. Also, our geographic position puts us where northern ecosystems reach their southern limit and where southern ecosystems reach their northern limit. New Jersey has the best of many ecological worlds.
An exciting project under way in New Jersey is spreading the word about our wildlife treasure and providing wildlife watching opportunities for our residents and tourists from around the globe. The DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife has made it easy for even the novice wildlife watcher to enjoy our wildlife resource which savvy naturalists have coveted for decades. The Division's Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife project, coordinated by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program, has created the New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide which was published in the winter of 1997. The Guide lists 87 of the best sites in our state where people can observe and learn about our incredible array of wild animals and the habitats that support them.
The New Jersey Guide is one in a national series of wildlife viewing guides published by Falcon Press and created through a national watchable wildlife partnership coordinated by the Defenders of Wildlife. The New Jersey project is being funded through grants from the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, the federal Partnerships for Wildlife program and proceeds from the 'Conserve Wildlife' license plate.
The Guide takes residents and visitors to a diversity of sites throughout the state that all have one thing in common. People can see, enjoy and learn about our wildlife resource. Viewing site hosts are as varied as the wildlife that can be seen. The mosaic of wildlife viewing sites consists of wildlife management areas, state parks and forests, national wildlife refuges and recreation areas, county and municipal parks and conservation organization lands.
For the purpose of the Viewing Guide, the state has been divided along major ecosystem boundaries to create eight wildlife diversity regions that include the Ridge and Valley, Highlands, Metro, Piedmont, Lower Delaware River, Pinelands, Shore, and Delaware Bay / Cape May Peninsula. Sites are organized by region in the Guide and for each site there is an ecological description, directions, wildlife viewing opportunity and site facility / amenity information.
Wildlife viewing sites in the Ridge and Valley and Highlands regions of northern New Jersey feature mountain ranges, lush valleys, dense deciduous forests, numerous lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and freshwater marshes that support bear, bobcat, beaver, otter, deer, turkeys and hundreds of other species.
The rolling hills of the Piedmont provide some of the best agricultural land in the state dotted with productive woodlots and bordered by forested ridges. Viewing sites here support a variety of wildlife species that have adapted and benefited from the farming that has shaped the landscape over the centuries like red-tailed hawks, grassland birds, deer, coyote and a variety of reptiles and amphibians.
The unique Pinelands in the southern half of the state hosts viewing sites with vast pine forests, pure, tea colored streams and numerous cedar swamps and wetland systems that provide habitat for some wildlife species which are only found in more southern states, like the Pine Barrens treefrog, pine snake and corn snake.
The fresh, brackish and salt water tidal marshes and adjacent uplands along the Lower Delaware River provide a productive mix of viewing site habitats that support a diversity and abundance of aquatic mammals like otter and muskrats, ducks, herons and egrets. Viewing sites on the marshes, bays, beaches and dunes of the Shore and Delaware Bay/Cape May Peninsula regions abound with both breeding and migratory bird life. The Shore, Peninsula and Bay are key links in the migratory paths of many North American bird species and equally important to populations of resident terns, plovers, herons, ducks, osprey and marsh hawks. Breathtaking opportunities exist here such as the spring migration of hundreds of thousands of shorebird species like the ruddy turnstone and semi-palmated sandpiper that stop to feast on horseshoe crab eggs on Delaware Bay beaches.
Even New Jersey's often maligned northeastern "metropolitan" area offers a selection of wildlife viewing sites scattered like gems throughout the urban landscape. The majestic Palisades cliffs in the Palisades Interstate Park and the Hackensack Meadowlands are two urban sites surrounded by millions of people yet rival some of New Jersey's wildest sites for the number and diversity of wildlife species that can be seen. A stroll along the base of the cliffs at the Palisades provides the chance to see osprey or peregrine falcons, forest nesting scarlet tanagers and ovenbirds that you'd be surprised to find here and a variety of ducks, herons and egrets in the Hudson River.
The potential benefits of the Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife project for wildlife, people and the environment in New Jersey are numerous and significant. By establishing opportunities for the public to view wildlife in New Jersey we will provide the public with meaningful recreational activity and at the same time through interpretive materials and programs at the sites educate the public about the needs of wildlife and our responsibilities as stewards of our natural resources. The project also has the potential to bolster local economies through natural resource related tourism. By providing a watchable wildlife infrastructure and a coordinated marketing effort we can help keep tourism dollars at home and attract a larger market share of tourism dollars from states better known for their natural resources.
The Division of Fish and Wildlife believes the project could ultimately lead to an increase in grassroots support for open space conservation, thus conserving the habitats necessary to preserve wildlife populations. A major argument against open space conservation in some communities is the perceived tax burden on the local economy when large segments of a municipality are occupied by conservation lands rather than tax ratable development. An objective of The Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife Project is to demonstrate that in some areas, visitors to conservation lands may generate more net dollars to a local economy than large taxable developments which also bring the need for better roads, bigger schools, more services, etc.
To help accomplish this objective, a major component of the project was the development of two day, self-guided interpretive 'Wildlife Diversity Tours' within four of the regions that have large amounts of publicly owned land. The 'Wildlife Diversity Tours' are a major component of the Wildlife Viewing Guide. Selected wildlife viewing sites that reflect the dominant ecosystem in the region and the relationships of wildlife and man to those systems have been linked together to form a self-guided tour using interpretive text in the guide and at the sites. These tours have been designed to encourage overnight excursions and provide a product that will be packaged with regional natural and cultural attractions and local amenities in a manner that keeps tourists and tourism dollars in the area for longer periods of time.
Improvements at wildlife viewing sites vary greatly from natural resource interpretive centers at Pequest Wildlife Management Area to sites that simply have a parking area and interpretive sign. The continual improvement of all the wildlife viewing sites will be an important factor in attracting new and repeat visitors. Recognizing this, financial assistance for the development of trails, blinds, observation platforms, literature and interpretive panels at the viewing sites is being provided by the Division of Fish & Wildlife through a grant program. In 1999, $85,000 in site improvement grants were awarded to 21 viewing sites throughout the state for the creation of boardwalks, viewing platforms, interpretive signs and literature. In addition to these improvements, the Division has allocated $500,000 to make similar improvements on 18 of its Wildlife Management Areas which are featured in the Viewing Guide.
New Jersey's wildlife viewing guide can be ordered by clicking here or by calling 609-292-9450 or writing to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program, P.O. Box 400, Trenton, NJ 08625-0400. Orders your today and start planning your day trips, weekend trips or in-state vacations discovering New Jersey's wildlife. Just think of the gas money you'll save by not having to drive to Alaska!
A national survey asked, "Where would you go to view wildlife if you could travel anywhere in North America?". Fifty five percent of the respondents chose Alaska. When asked why they would choose to go there, Alaska's variety of animals was the most frequent reply.
If variety of animals is what wildlife watchers are looking for, New Jersey provides some serious competition for Alaska. Alaska hosts 425 bird species, 102 mammal species, 10 reptile and amphibian species and 150 species of fish. New Jersey hosts 325 bird species, 90 mammal species, 79 reptile and amphibian species and over 400 species of fish. When you consider Alaska is 75 times larger than New Jersey, we are the hands down winner over Alaska in wildlife diversity. In fact, on a square mile basis, no other state in the nation has greater wildlife diversity than New Jersey. New Jersey's advantage is its geographic position. Our geographic position provides an amazing variety of mountains, valleys, rolling hills, wetlands, pinelands, beaches, estuaries and riverine systems. Also, our geographic position puts us where northern ecosystems reach their southern limit and where southern ecosystems reach their northern limit. New Jersey has the best of many ecological worlds.
An exciting project under way in New Jersey is spreading the word about our wildlife treasure and providing wildlife watching opportunities for our residents and tourists from around the globe. The DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife has made it easy for even the novice wildlife watcher to enjoy our wildlife resource which savvy naturalists have coveted for decades. The Division's Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife project, coordinated by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program, has created the New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide which was published in the winter of 1997. The Guide lists 87 of the best sites in our state where people can observe and learn about our incredible array of wild animals and the habitats that support them.
The New Jersey Guide is one in a national series of wildlife viewing guides published by Falcon Press and created through a national watchable wildlife partnership coordinated by the Defenders of Wildlife. The New Jersey project is being funded through grants from the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, the federal Partnerships for Wildlife program and proceeds from the 'Conserve Wildlife' license plate.
The Guide takes residents and visitors to a diversity of sites throughout the state that all have one thing in common. People can see, enjoy and learn about our wildlife resource. Viewing site hosts are as varied as the wildlife that can be seen. The mosaic of wildlife viewing sites consists of wildlife management areas, state parks and forests, national wildlife refuges and recreation areas, county and municipal parks and conservation organization lands.
For the purpose of the Viewing Guide, the state has been divided along major ecosystem boundaries to create eight wildlife diversity regions that include the Ridge and Valley, Highlands, Metro, Piedmont, Lower Delaware River, Pinelands, Shore, and Delaware Bay / Cape May Peninsula. Sites are organized by region in the Guide and for each site there is an ecological description, directions, wildlife viewing opportunity and site facility / amenity information.
Wildlife viewing sites in the Ridge and Valley and Highlands regions of northern New Jersey feature mountain ranges, lush valleys, dense deciduous forests, numerous lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and freshwater marshes that support bear, bobcat, beaver, otter, deer, turkeys and hundreds of other species.
The rolling hills of the Piedmont provide some of the best agricultural land in the state dotted with productive woodlots and bordered by forested ridges. Viewing sites here support a variety of wildlife species that have adapted and benefited from the farming that has shaped the landscape over the centuries like red-tailed hawks, grassland birds, deer, coyote and a variety of reptiles and amphibians.
The unique Pinelands in the southern half of the state hosts viewing sites with vast pine forests, pure, tea colored streams and numerous cedar swamps and wetland systems that provide habitat for some wildlife species which are only found in more southern states, like the Pine Barrens treefrog, pine snake and corn snake.
The fresh, brackish and salt water tidal marshes and adjacent uplands along the Lower Delaware River provide a productive mix of viewing site habitats that support a diversity and abundance of aquatic mammals like otter and muskrats, ducks, herons and egrets. Viewing sites on the marshes, bays, beaches and dunes of the Shore and Delaware Bay/Cape May Peninsula regions abound with both breeding and migratory bird life. The Shore, Peninsula and Bay are key links in the migratory paths of many North American bird species and equally important to populations of resident terns, plovers, herons, ducks, osprey and marsh hawks. Breathtaking opportunities exist here such as the spring migration of hundreds of thousands of shorebird species like the ruddy turnstone and semi-palmated sandpiper that stop to feast on horseshoe crab eggs on Delaware Bay beaches.
Even New Jersey's often maligned northeastern "metropolitan" area offers a selection of wildlife viewing sites scattered like gems throughout the urban landscape. The majestic Palisades cliffs in the Palisades Interstate Park and the Hackensack Meadowlands are two urban sites surrounded by millions of people yet rival some of New Jersey's wildest sites for the number and diversity of wildlife species that can be seen. A stroll along the base of the cliffs at the Palisades provides the chance to see osprey or peregrine falcons, forest nesting scarlet tanagers and ovenbirds that you'd be surprised to find here and a variety of ducks, herons and egrets in the Hudson River.
The potential benefits of the Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife project for wildlife, people and the environment in New Jersey are numerous and significant. By establishing opportunities for the public to view wildlife in New Jersey we will provide the public with meaningful recreational activity and at the same time through interpretive materials and programs at the sites educate the public about the needs of wildlife and our responsibilities as stewards of our natural resources. The project also has the potential to bolster local economies through natural resource related tourism. By providing a watchable wildlife infrastructure and a coordinated marketing effort we can help keep tourism dollars at home and attract a larger market share of tourism dollars from states better known for their natural resources.
The Division of Fish and Wildlife believes the project could ultimately lead to an increase in grassroots support for open space conservation, thus conserving the habitats necessary to preserve wildlife populations. A major argument against open space conservation in some communities is the perceived tax burden on the local economy when large segments of a municipality are occupied by conservation lands rather than tax ratable development. An objective of The Wildlife Diversity Tours / Watchable Wildlife Project is to demonstrate that in some areas, visitors to conservation lands may generate more net dollars to a local economy than large taxable developments which also bring the need for better roads, bigger schools, more services, etc.
To help accomplish this objective, a major component of the project was the development of two day, self-guided interpretive 'Wildlife Diversity Tours' within four of the regions that have large amounts of publicly owned land. The 'Wildlife Diversity Tours' are a major component of the Wildlife Viewing Guide. Selected wildlife viewing sites that reflect the dominant ecosystem in the region and the relationships of wildlife and man to those systems have been linked together to form a self-guided tour using interpretive text in the guide and at the sites. These tours have been designed to encourage overnight excursions and provide a product that will be packaged with regional natural and cultural attractions and local amenities in a manner that keeps tourists and tourism dollars in the area for longer periods of time.
Improvements at wildlife viewing sites vary greatly from natural resource interpretive centers at Pequest Wildlife Management Area to sites that simply have a parking area and interpretive sign. The continual improvement of all the wildlife viewing sites will be an important factor in attracting new and repeat visitors. Recognizing this, financial assistance for the development of trails, blinds, observation platforms, literature and interpretive panels at the viewing sites is being provided by the Division of Fish & Wildlife through a grant program. In 1999, $85,000 in site improvement grants were awarded to 21 viewing sites throughout the state for the creation of boardwalks, viewing platforms, interpretive signs and literature. In addition to these improvements, the Division has allocated $500,000 to make similar improvements on 18 of its Wildlife Management Areas which are featured in the Viewing Guide.
New Jersey's wildlife viewing guide can be ordered by clicking here or by calling 609-292-9450 or writing to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program, P.O. Box 400, Trenton, NJ 08625-0400. Orders your today and start planning your day trips, weekend trips or in-state vacations discovering New Jersey's wildlife. Just think of the gas money you'll save by not having to drive to Alaska!
