wildlife conservation plan

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Draft Plan: Rowan University Wildlife Society Developed by Sara DiVito, Keith Meise, Alissa Ambacher, Taylor Gazdzik, Matt Kemner, Kyle Crawford, Eddie Fath, and Kelsey Wright Vision: Our vision as the project group of Rowan is to increase the number of birds that live in the campus habitat. We want to increase the surrounding environment that will allow for the attractions of birds that have been not been seen in the area for sometime. We want to start awareness of the diminishing bird population to the student body of Rowan, and how birds are an indicator species. If we are able to achieve the goal of being able to turn the surrounding habitat to a more suitable one for birds we would be able to see a growth in this declining environment that is the Rowan Campus. A Campus that utilizes it space better, so instead of open fields we would rather have gardens or shrubbery that would increase the population of not only birds but of all animals on the campus. Partners: In order to make this vision happen, we need a large student following. Everything begins with the students. If the students want it, it will be easier to convince the faculty that these changes need to happen. Once a large student group has been organized, it will be necessary to gain support members of the faculty and members of Rowan’s community. This would include professors, such as Dr. Rob Fergus, and members of the grounds crew on campus, such as Ed Thompson, Director of Landscape Management. It may also be important to persuade the administration to employ someone in the position of Director of Environmental Health, since there is no one currently listed under that position. It will also be important to gain support from members of the administration, such as Michael Harris, Vice President of Facilities and Operations, and maybe even the president of the university himself. We plan on sending out email invitations to a meeting that will take place in the Spring 2012 semester. Our student organization will hopefully soon become a charter of the Wildlife Society, in order to gain respect from the university. Although the group will consist of mostly students, we encourage faculty, administration, and members of the community to become involved in our organization so that we can have more support towards accomplishing our goals. Species: We chose to focus on four species for our preliminary plan, this way things would not be too overwhelming or seem too much to handle for other students involved. The first species we chose were Screech Owls. This species was chosen because our school mascot is an owl, so we knew people would get excited about actually having real owls on campus. Next we decided on the American Gold Finch because it is the state bird of New Jersey, and we know they are around here. We also selected BlackCapped Chickadees because they

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Page 1: Wildlife Conservation Plan

Draft  Plan:  Rowan  University  Wildlife  Society    

Developed  by  Sara  DiVito,  Keith  Meise,  Alissa  Ambacher,  Taylor  Gazdzik,  Matt  Kemner,  Kyle  Crawford,  Eddie  Fath,  and  Kelsey  Wright  

 Vision:      Our  vision  as  the  project  group  of  Rowan  is  to  increase  the  number  of  birds  that  live  in  the  campus  habitat.  We  want  to  increase  the  surrounding  environment  that  will  allow  for  the  attractions  of  birds  that  have  been  not  been  seen  in  the  area  for  sometime.  We  want  to  start  awareness  of  the  diminishing  bird  population  to  the  student  body  of  Rowan,  and  how  birds  are  an  indicator  species.  If  we  are  able  to  achieve  the  goal  of  being  able  to  turn  the  surrounding  habitat  to  a  more  suitable  one  for  birds  we  would  be  able  to  see  a  growth  in  this  declining  environment  that  is  the  Rowan  Campus.  A  Campus  that  utilizes  it  space  better,  so  instead  of  open  fields  we  would  rather  have  gardens  or  shrubbery  that  would  increase  the  population  of  not  only  birds  but  of  all  animals  on  the  campus.    Partners:    In  order  to  make  this  vision  happen,  we  need  a  large  student  following.  Everything  begins  with  the  students.  If  the  students  want  it,  it  will  be  easier  to  convince  the  faculty  that  these  changes  need  to  happen.  Once  a  large  student  group  has  been  organized,  it  will  be  necessary  to  gain  support  members  of  the  faculty  and  members  of  Rowan’s  community.  This  would  include  professors,  such  as  Dr.  Rob  Fergus,  and  members  of  the  grounds  crew  on  campus,  such  as  Ed  Thompson,  Director  of  Landscape  Management.  It  may  also  be  important  to  persuade  the  administration  to  employ  someone  in  the  position  of  Director  of  Environmental  Health,  since  there  is  no  one  currently  listed  under  that  position.  It  will  also  be  important  to  gain  support  from  members  of  the  administration,  such  as  Michael  Harris,  Vice  President  of  Facilities  and  Operations,  and  maybe  even  the  president  of  the  university  himself.  We  plan  on  sending  out  e-­‐mail  invitations  to  a  meeting  that  will  take  place  in  the  Spring  2012  semester.      Our  student  organization  will  hopefully  soon  become  a  charter  of  the  Wildlife  Society,  in  order  to  gain  respect  from  the  university.  Although  the  group  will  consist  of  mostly  students,  we  encourage  faculty,  administration,  and  members  of  the  community  to  become  involved  in  our  organization  so  that  we  can  have  more  support  towards  accomplishing  our  goals.    Species:    We  chose  to  focus  on  four  species  for  our  preliminary  plan,  this  way  things  would  not  be  too  overwhelming  or  seem  too  much  to  handle  for  other  students  involved.    The  first  species  we  chose  were  Screech  Owls.    This  species  was  chosen  because  our  school  mascot  is  an  owl,  so  we  knew  people  would  get  excited  about  actually  having  real  owls  on  campus.    Next  we  decided  on  the  American  Gold  Finch  because  it  is  the  state  bird  of  New  Jersey,  and  we  know  they  are  around  here.    We  also  selected  Black-­‐Capped  Chickadees  because  they  

Page 2: Wildlife Conservation Plan

are  cute  and  we  know  they  live  in  the  area,  so  it’s  realistic  to  try  to  attract  them  to  campus.    Our  final  choice  was  hummingbirds.    We  chose  hummingbirds  because  the  Green  Living  Community  and  REAL  are  creating  a  garden  to  attract  them,  and  we  are  helping  out  with  the  garden.        Screech  Owls  would  be  great  to  bring  to  campus.    They  are  neat  looking  birds,  with  an  interesting  call  and  students  would  enjoy  their  presence.    In  order  to  help  this  species  survive  on  campus  we  looked  into  their  habitat,  diet,  and  predators.    If  we  place  owl  boxes  around  campus  in  areas  that  are  lightly  wooded,  Screech  Owls  will  be  encouraged  to  come.    Placing  them  near  the  stream  could  be  beneficial  because  these  owls  tend  to  nest  near  streams,  and  sometimes  eat  frogs  that  could  be  found  near  the  stream.    We  plan  to  put  bird  feeders  out  to  attract  other  species  of  birds,  and  this  could  also  attract  Screech  Owls.    We  also  think  that  if  we  keep  trees  on  campus  that  have  large  cavities  in  them,  rather  than  cutting  them  down,  we  could  attract  owls  because  they  live  in  those  cavities.    The  Screech  Owl’s  predators  include  other  larger  owls,  so  we  do  not  think  predation  will  be  an  issue.          American  Gold  Finches  are  also  an  attractive  option  to  bring  on  campus.    They  are  pretty,  energetic,  and  very  common  in  the  area.    To  bring  these  finches  on  campus  we  must  

provide  food  and  habitat.    We  plan  to  place  small  birdhouses  in  the  trees  near  the  stream.    Finches  are  always  attracted  to  birdfeeders,  and  we  plan  on  putting  these  around  campus  and  filling  them  with  aster,  thistle,  sunflower  seeds,  and  nyjer  seeds.    Planting  thistle  and  aster  plants  around  lightly  wooded  areas  on  campus  could  also  attract  these  birds.    Cats,  Blue  Jays,  and  hawks  are  predators  of  American  Gold  Finches.    We  plan  on  putting  the  feeders  and  houses  high  enough  to  hinder  cats.    The  hawks  and  Blue  Jays  could  be  a  problem,  but  by  making  feeders  small  enough  for  the  finches,  the  large  Blue  Jays  

will  be  less  likely  to  try  to  feed  there  or  try  to  hunt  the  finches.        Black-­‐Capped  Chickadees  are  a  good  choice  for  campus  because  they  live  around  here  and  have  a  pretty  song.    To  attract  these  birds  to  campus  we  want  to  place  nest  boxes  around  campus.    We  also  want  to  put  up  feeders  with  peanuts,  sunflower  seeds,  and  suet.    In  the  spring  they  mostly  eat  

Page 3: Wildlife Conservation Plan

insects,  and  with  the  presence  of  gardens  on  campus  (see  next  paragraph)  there  should  be  many  insects.      Hummingbirds  have  been  spotted  around  campus,  so  our  group  believes  that  if  we  create  

more  attractive  areas  to  campus  then  we  will  have  even  more.    We  plan  on  teaming  up  with  REAL  and  the  Green  Living  Community  to  create  a  hummingbird  and  butterfly  garden.    This  area  will  be  full  of  flowers  that  will  be  attractive  to  hummingbirds.    It  will  provide  nectar  and  a  population  of  insects  for  the  hummingbirds  to  consume.    We  would  also  put  out  hummingbird  feeders.    These  would  be  placed  at  least  10  feet  off  the  ground  to  protect  the  birds  from  cats.    Other  predators  include  Blue  Jays  and  crows.  

 Habitats:    Much  of  the  Rowan  University  campus  is  green,  open  area  that,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  is  not  currently  being  used  for  any  specific  purpose.  Potentially,  all  of  these  green,  open  areas  can  be  made  “friendlier”  for  wildlife  and  can  contribute  to  the  overall  health  of  the  environment  of  the  campus  –  trees,  shrubs,  and  small  gardens  can  be  planted,  and  perhaps  even  tiny  ponds  or  bird  baths  can  be  constructed.  Specifically,  however,  the  main  areas  that  we  would  like  to  focus  on  to  either  create  an  environment  or  protect  the  environment  already  there  would  be  along  the  campus’s  river  (which  is  the  Chestnut  Branch  of  the  Mantua  River),  Rowan  Pond,  Abbot’s  Pond,  and  Robinson  Circle.  A  relatively  stable  environment  already  exists  along  the  Chestnut  Branch  of  the  Mantua  River,  and  around  the  Rowan  Pond  and  Abbot’s  Pond;  wildlife,  including  ducks,  small  birds  and  squirrels,  can  occasionally  be  seen  in  these  areas,  so  we  would  most  likely  improve  upon  and  continue  to  protect  the  environments  that  already  exist  in  these  places.  In  Robinson  Circle,  however,  there  are  sections  of  open  grassland  which  are  home  only  to  insects.  This  is  where  much  of  the  group’s  attention  will  be  focused.  This  area  has  a  lot  of  potential,  and  can  be  planted  with  trees,  shrubs,  or  flower  gardens;  it  would  also  be  the  area  most  suitable  to  place  a  small  fish  pond  or  series  of  bird  baths  in.  No  obvious  environment  exists  here,  and  that  means  that  this  area  is  a  blank  slate  which  could  be  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes.