Tag: New Jersey Conservation Foundation
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Save the bugs!
By Michele S. Byers Of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, insects are the least loved. Anyone who’s been bitten by ticks, stung by bees, swarmed by mosquitos, bothered by flies or had ants crash their picnic – in other words, everyone – has, at some point, wondered if the world would be better…
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Catch the Perseids meteor showers
By Michele S. Byers You’re looking up at the night sky when – whoosh! – a brilliant streak of light whizzes past so quickly you almost miss it. Some shooting stars contain ancient stardust, far older than our young solar system; tiny diamonds manufactured deep within an exploding star somewhere in our Milky Way galaxy…
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Check out the ‘fun’ in fungi
By Michele S. Byers How many times have you bent down to check out a mushroom, only to be told, “Stop! It may be poisonous!” New Jersey has several poisonous mushrooms and it goes without saying that you should not eat anything growing in the wild (including plant leaves, roots and berries) unless you know…
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Love NJ’s outdoors? Take action now!
By Michele S. Byers What do Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens, Jesse Allen Park in Newark, Camden Waterfront Park, the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Island Beach State Park and Paterson’s Great Falls National Historic Park have in common? These parks and natural areas, and many more throughout this state we’re in, have…
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New Jersey’s official reptile, the bog turtle
By Michele S. Byers In 1974, reptile researcher Robert Zappalorti captured a female bog turtle in a Sussex County swamp. In keeping with protocols, he marked the turtle by cutting tiny identifying notches on the edge of her shell. After snapping her photo – which became the cover of his guidebook – Zappalorti released the…
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Sea level rise and New Jersey: Not perfect together
By Michele S. Byers Street flooding is not unusual in New Jersey’s coastal towns, especially during high tides, heavy rains, on-shore winds and full moons. But coastal residents are noticing more frequent flooding than in past years. In some places, sea and bay waters spill over the roads at high tide, even on clear days…
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These New Jersey plants have an appetite for insects
By Michele S. Byers In the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” a mysterious Venus flytrap in a florist shop reveals its appetite for human flesh and blood. Fortunately, there’s no real-life equivalent of Audrey, the diabolical, man-eating plant. But there are many carnivorous plants that trap and digest animal prey – mostly insects – and…
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Explore the Pine Barrens through paddles, hikes and tours
By Michele S. Byers New Jersey may be the nation’s most densely populated state, but how many of its citizens know the Pine Barrens? The Pine Barrens wilderness includes more than a million acres of pine forests, rivers and streams … with few roads, cars or developments. It’s a place with unique plants and animals,…
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The Pine Barrens gets some help from its friends
By Michele S. Byers Along New Jersey State Highway 72 in New Lisbon, just around the bend from Brendan Byrne State Forest, is a publicly accessible forest fire observation tower. The view is stunning: one can see the vast expanse of our Pine Barrens, a sea of green extending in every direction. At first glance,…
