Many of us have looked at a large wooded area, field, open space or lot that was being developed/cleared and wondered what would happen to the animals that live there; unfortunately we know the answer.

Habitats and open spaces in New Jersey, Eastern and Southeastern United States, and globally, are destroyed every minute along with most of their biodiversity due to human development. National Biodiversity Parks (NBP) will enter, with permission, select US properties before they are denuded, logged, graded, bulldozed and destroyed to search for, rescue, transport and relocate desirable biodiversity before it is destroyed. International projects or those in other sections of the US are possible depending on financial support of pertinent communities and individuals.

In general providing this service will only be contemplated if there are reliable and committed local volunteers and there has been a donation received or general grant monies in NBP’s possession to fund various expenses. NBP will donate its scientific expertise, ecological determinations, neutral negotiating position, documents and data bases of acceptable relocation parks, preserves and private properties.

NBP will also assist willing developers in rescuing biodiversity; companies that consider allowing these rescues are showing that they do care about the animals their development is threatening.
Relocating biodiversity is a multi-step process; NBP will assist local volunteers through the several stages of performing a biodiversity rescue. We have standard step by step procedures and flow charts to get projects done, if possible.

Although a small project might seem simple, that is not the case. Landowners may fear that a rare or protected species may be found costing them project delays or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Negotiations to alleviate the land-owners fears are almost always needed. NBP acts in a non-adversarial manner to get the animals safely off the property while protecting the interests of the local community and landowner.

Species of animals in precolonial times may have occupied almost every suitable square mile of habitat in entire states but after centuries of historic and variable landuse, many populations have been extirpated or become disjunct and patchy. Many suitable habitats do not have the community of animals that once occupied that exact area. Because of declining populations and zoogeographic barriers such as roads and development, natural re-establishment of species is often unlikely.

Biodiversity rescues can provide a source of animals to counteract the lack of natural immigration or recolonization.

Please contact us if you , your group or company have a possible biodiversity rescue to discuss.

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Our scientists can design and complete many types of standard or customized survey, assessment, resource management, biodiversity, conservation, wetland, floodplain, ecological or wildlife studies. These studies can support resource value assessments, vernal habitat, grant and funding requests, land preservation attempts, species presence, endangered species work, restoration projects, scientific assertions, etc. NBP can also supply expert testimony. We welcome the chance to provide a cost estimate. Please fill out one of our contact forms and we will reach out to you.

Our scientists can design and complete many types of wildlife surveys or studies to meet your needs. These projects can assess or measure the need or success of habitat restoration, justify land acquisition/preservation, formally document species presence and support grant requests. Contact us for a quote, below. NBP may be able to assist you in locating matching funds for qualifying projects. Please fill out one of our contact forms and we will reach out to you.

NBP has researched, prepared and been awarded grants to restore and manage various large areas to support optimal biodiversity or restore specific, communities or target species. We would like to assist with your upcoming habitat, wetland bank, wildlife restoration or management project.

We can, as a consultant, locate potential capital partners, develop internal strategies, business plans, budgets and prepare research reports, wetland studies, grants and permit requests. Finally, we can implement and directly manage the construction projects that improve or establish an entire habitat, wetland, biotic community or a target species. For undeveloped, open space properties or wetlands under private or corporate ownership, we have concurrently pursued multiple ways to generate capital for the landowners. We have proposed and pursued multi-sourced preservation funds while simultaneously planning a wetland bank in NJ. This strategy was successful in NBP’s preservation of the Plumsted Biodiversity Park (see that website section) valued at over $1,200,000.

Grant requests, habitat, restoration and management projects require the completion of specific reports and applications. Final wetland bank approval and establishment requires extensive data, consulting reports and studies; these are reviewed by the NJ DEP to ascertain the approval or rejection, capital value, number of wetland credits and applicability of the proposed bank. Before the more specific reports required by the DEP are performed NBP recommends prerequisite steps. An internal feasibility analysis, internal project/business plan with budgets, and targeted meetings with stakeholders should be performed by NBP and reviewed by the owner before entering the expensive stage of DEP studies and reports. NBP can prepare these documents.

Please fill out one of our contact forms and we will reach out to you.

In many urban and suburban open-space areas of the Eastern United States, a combination of factors has led to the local extinction (extirpation) of many species of plants and animals. Buildings and roads have destroyed wildlife habitats while leaving a mosaic of thin ribbons of uninspiring, small habitats. Over the decades these open spaces lose most of their biodiversity due to flooding, feral cats, roadkill, collection, reduction of food resources, inbreeding, etc. In some parks or larger parcels of open space a fraction of our pre-colonial biodiversity clings to a precarious existence.

One consequence of the extirpation or great reduction of large predators in a given area is the local population explosion of the White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, an efficient herbivore. Along with suburban sprawl comes a reduction of deer hunting due to safety concerns and other factors. For example, state restrictions do not allow bow/gun hunters within a certain distance of existing structures. Sometimes uninformed citizens campaigning against deer control become unwitting advocates for biodiversity loss. Left unchecked, white-tailed deer forage in all the open spaces, large and small, and even on our private lawns and shrubs. Soon any wooded area’s understory is gone or severely reduced; topsoil loss, erosion, impaired wetlands, diseased deer and increased vehicular collisions are related to the deer overpopulation phenomenon.

 

Other seasonally unnatural or invasive species are resident Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, and Mute Swans, Cygnus olor. These aggressive species dominate wetland nesting areas to the detriment of native breeding species. Overpopulation of these species contributes to the depletion of food resources, avian-related disease outbreaks, pollution implications and ecological degradation.

The extirpation of cougars, wolves, coyotes and bears in many areas, and the excessive cold-season grasses has enabled deer and geese populations to increase beyond carrying capacity resulting in severe damage to Eastern US forests, soils, open spaces and wetlands. NBP can measure deer and geese numbers, make public presentations as needed and propose solutions to limit and reverse ecological damage to your water quality, open spaces, forests and biodiversity.

The impacts of heavy deer browse begins with the degradation of the once-diverse, plant understory; this can result in the near or complete denuding of the low lying herbivory. This results in extirpations of insect, herptile, bird and mammal species.

As the plant cover is damaged, erosion increases in many open spaces damaging our streams, rivers and the aquatic communities which naturally occurring biodiversity relies on. NBP measures deer populations in a number of ways. See: (Annotated Bibliography of Methodologies to Census, Estimate, and Monitor the Size of White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus Populations).

In 2009 NBP collated and formally presented various data from several sources and found that insect biodiversity for species that fed in the understory had been seriously depaupered in parts of NJ (presentation to The Rahway River Watershed Association, NJ). We also reported that 16 of 19 species of breeding wood warblers (Parulidae) had been nearly or completely extirpated in Union County and Essex County, NJ. The 16 species extirpated rely heavily on an intact understory for food, breeding microhabitat and cover from predators. The 3 remaining bird species do not exclusively rely on an intact, forest interior understory for nesting and were still present.

NBP can work on these problems in a number of capacities. We can upon retention of our services attempt to source and secure matching funds for qualifying projects. Grant requests, habitat-restoration and management projects may require the completion of specific reports and applications.

NBP can assist you on any of the projects or efforts described above. Please fill out one of our contact forms and we will reach out to you.

Citizens, naturalists and field scientists citizens witness the detrimental ecological impact that invasive plant species have on biodiversity, sustainable development potential, natural resource value and overall quality of life. Common and rare species alike are being locally extirpated in NJ, the USA and on a global scale. The effort to alleviate the damage is disproportionate to the problem.

Various regulators and government departments that are tasked with controlling invasives and protecting natural resources, biodiversity assets and valuable wildlife have gotten a slow start when it comes to invasive species. Efforts are however getting more focused.

The issue of invasive plants and rectifying damage is complex, expensive and time consuming. Passing of progressive rules for nurseries, law passage, public education, enforcement of regulations and USDA reform is needed to coordinate the effort. Prevention and early invasive control/response is paramount before plants spread down more entire watersheds

NBP is able to design and perform invasive species education or control projects. Upon retention we may be able to assist you, your firm or department in locating matching funds for qualifying projects. We can also organize and solicit public volunteers for our clients to assist in the field eradication of invasives.

Please fill out one of our contact forms and we will respond in timely-fashion.

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Invasive species impact native plants, animals, and natural ecosystems by:

• Reducing native biological diversity
• Altering hydrologic conditions & flooding regimes
• Altering soil characteristics
• Altering fire intensity and frequency
• Interfering with natural succession
• Competing for native pollinators
• Repelling or poisoning native insects
• Displacing rare plant species
• Increasing predation on native birds
• Serving as reservoirs of plant pathogens
• Replacing complex communities with monocultures
• Diluting the genetic composition of native species through hybridization
• ____________________________ Jil M. Swearingen, National Park Service, National Capital Region,
  Center for Urban Ecology. (11 May 2007)

NBP is staffed with entomologists and zoologists that can provide identification of your specimen(s) to family, genus or species for a fee. Our scientists can also make field collections under scientific protocols with our specialized equipment or look at your collection of insects and make custom ecological interpretations/reports/recommendations that fit your specific needs.
Insects are a diverse group of small animals that are often difficult to identify to species without key references and experience. An insect that is native and beneficial may look very similar to another species that is invasive or destructive, with the potential for harming our homes, pets, farms, forests, wildlife assets or ecology. Antithetically insects are an integral part of the ecological web and many species of plants and animals depend on a healthy insect community for pollination and food resources.

NBP can often identify many insects from an area and collate the data to determine what segment of your local ecology or environment has been damaged and why. Correctly collating data leads to enhanced agricultural or silviculture productivity. Accurately collating and interpreting taxonomic results within an ecological framework can often increase any funding opportunities or attempts to effectively address and reverse damages to your valuable natural resources.

Please contact us to have insects collected, identified or to have an ecological study discussed.

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Various non-profit groups and other entities collect data during Bio-blitzes and other citizen-science projects but do not have the philosophy or resources to properly interpret the data or measure important results. Bio-blitzes and other projects are sometimes poorly designed or implications left unaddressed, which leads to minimal, pragmatic action from the valuable efforts contributed by citizen scientists.

NBP has successfully pre-designed projects to assure that stakeholders, citizens and funders receive benefits that address today’s conservation and youth education needs. NBP can also collate data into a powerful and pragmatic science based summary report that advises all the stakeholders on what is causing the degradation of their local natural resources including valuable biodiversity.

From the conclusions or included in the conclusions can be recommendations on policy planning and strategic budgeting based on a quality of life, natural asset and ecological perspective. Correctly collating data leads to enhanced opportunities to reverse local extirpations and resource damage. This preserves a quality of life for our children that includes the pivotal need for our youth to be exposed to exciting landscapes which include wildlife and nature. These types of experiences have been shown to stimulate a genuine, long-lasting, seamless interest in sciences by our youth which often leads to fulfilling careers in technical fields.

From our reports stakeholders can more efficiently acquire funding to effectively address damages to our valuable natural resources. NBP may be able to assist you in locating matching funds for qualifying projects. Please fill out this short form and we will reach out to you in order to prepare a possible quote.

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