THE STATE WE’RE IN
By Michele Byers
Few of us are privileged to find our calling at a young age. Conservation trailblazer Edmund "Ted" Warner Stiles was one of the fortunate few, and though he recently passed away at the relatively young age of 60, he was able to pack a lifetime of fulfillment and accomplishment into his years.
Ted was a teacher and scientist who shared his deep knowledge and passion with students, friends and family. Ted mentored countless students in the study of the natural world, and perhaps his greatest legacy will be the influence he had on their lives. Dozens have gone on to conserve wildlife habitat around the world.
Ted knew he wanted to be a biologist since the fifth grade. He received a biology degree from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Washington. He taught biology courses at Rutgers University for 35 years. It was easy for Ted to be an enthusiastic teacher because he researched the things he loved: birds and fruits.
Ted knew the songs and flight patterns of a myriad of birds. He collected and studied their favorite fruits. He sent graduate students around the world to retrieve new information about fruit and animal interactions. He was an expert on bumblebees, having collected and identified over 1,000 species. And he made the best owl calls, especially the call of the highly vocal barred owl (a threatened species in New Jersey).
Zip-loc bags were always at hand in Ted’s pocket, because he collected fruit everywhere he went; even enlisting family and friends in the task. He analyzed its chemistry, photographed it and, in his free time, made a multitude of fruit jams.
Ted also loved forests of every kind tropical, deciduous, alpine, riparian. … A perfect day for Ted would be spent listening to bird calls while picking Pine Barrens blueberries, hiking along old railroad ties in search of snakes, then capping it all off over a hot stove making blueberry jam.
For Ted, learning and teaching about the natural world was not enough, especially in New Jersey where natural areas are rapidly being paved over. So he began preserving land.He started with land surrounding the Hutcheson Memorial Forest in Somerset County, the site of the last and largest uncut patch of virgin hardwoods in New Jersey. From there, he moved to the Hopewell Valley, where he spent 20 years convincing landowners of the benefits and joys of preserving their lands (often at less than fair market value!).
Ted believed in the ecological value of even very small patches of land. He kept over 70 land preservation projects going at a time, helped find countless sources of funding and helped preserve tens of thousands of acres across the state. His biggest single success was a 10-year campaign that permanently preserved Baldpate Mountain, the highest point in Mercer County.
In calling Ted Stiles a conservation trailblazer I could be accused of bias. You see, Ted was also my husband. But Mercer County’s announcement to rename the park on Baldpate Mountain the "Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain" is a testament to his lasting legacy. And the 400 friends and supporters who attended a memorial service in March celebrating Ted’s life testify to his impact on their lives and New Jersey’s environment.
Ted’s memory will live on in the calls of black-capped chickadees, the chittering of flying squirrels and so much more. I know I am not alone when I pledge to honor Ted by working to preserve the natural world he loved so much.
I hope you’ll contact me at [email protected], or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.
Michele S. Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.