by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director, and Devin Griffiths, Marketing & Communications Specialist What has eight arms, can change colors at will, and is an expert escape artist? An octopus, of course! Octopuses are remarkable, and in coastal New Jersey, the Common Octopus (Octopus vulagris) is a fascinating resident of our local waters....

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director The Wetlands Institute opened its doors more than 50 years ago, and over the past half-century, much has changed – but much has remained the same. What hasn’t changed is the reliance of all species (us included) on a healthy, thriving coastal ecosystem. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to each facet...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Earlier this year, The Wetlands Institute family lost an ardent supporter and a dear friend – Roberta (Bert) DeVries. Bert was a truly amazing champion of everything that The Wetlands Institute is. For more than 20 years, she devoted her time, talent, and energy to furthering the Institute’s mission,...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director The biggest threats our wetlands, coastal ecosystems, and coastal communities face are climate change and the impact of rising seas. Sea level rise is real and accelerating, and its effects are obvious: flooded roadways along the coast are the norm rather than the exception; “nuisance” or “sunny day”...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director & Devin Griffiths, Marketing & Communications Specialist Salt marshes and coastlines are dynamic environments by nature, affected by changes on timescales ranging from hours to years to decades: the stately waltz of the tides; the energetic tango of the ebb and flow of life; the jazzier beat of...

by Sam Collins, Research Scientist New Jersey’s coastal nesting birds have lost a substantial amount of habitat due to dense development – and sea level rise, sinking marshes, increased storm intensity, and flood frequency threaten what remains. As available marsh habitat sheltered from frequent flooding continues to disappear, identifying...

Special Thanks From SMIIL After the floodwaters caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ian receded from the marsh islands around the Institute, we discovered that our collaborators at Boston College lost some of their monitoring equipment for our work in the Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab (SMIIL) – including a few data loggers suspended from...

by Brian Williamson, Research Scientist Diamondback terrapin populations in New Jersey face many threats, but the largest is bycatch in enclosed crab pots. Terrapins are attracted to bait and crabs captured in recreational and commercial pots. Once they find their way inside they cannot escape and, because terrapins breathe air, they frequently...

by Dani Meeker, Aquarist & Environmental Educator Each school year, The Wetlands Institute (TWI) partners with Lower Cape May Regional High School’s Structured Learning Experience Program. This program allows students to step inside local businesses and organizations to gain the experience needed to bolster a future career in their chosen...

by Erin Rawls, Outreach Coordinator Every year, in the early days of summer, Northern diamondback terrapin females emerge from the marsh to lay their eggs. If you’ve visited The Wetlands Institute during those months, you might have seen a terrapin yourself, or even helped a terrapin safely cross the road and wondered – what’s that turtle’s...

by Jon Tullis, Wetlands Institute Board Member Stone Harbor and Seven Mile Island have been treasured spots for me since childhood. I’m one of those having a favorite relative – an aunt, in my case – who owns a family place on the Island. Aunt Peg is a favorite because she’s enlightened, she’s fun to be with, is a great cook – and yes, because...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Many people ask me if things have slowed down now that the seasons have changed. The answer may surprise you. Our full-time year-round staff of 19 are always busy but our focus changes with the seasons. The research team is still in the field, but also analyzing data, preparing reports, writing grants,...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director More than 50 years ago, the founders of The Wetlands Institute preserved the vast coastal marshes that would later become the Cape May Wetlands Wildlife Management Area and deliberately built our campus in the heart of these wetlands. Their vision was to create a dynamic place where scientists and...

Meet Julie Blum Julie Blum joined us as a Research Scientist in early August. Prior to joining, she worked with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, coordinating the development of a statewide strategy for increasing carbon storage and sequestration potential in the state's natural and working lands. She also contributed to the...

A Summer of Growthby Brooke Knapick, Director of Educational Program Development This summer, Luing Family Internship Program Environmental Education Interns spent 12 weeks leading public education programs and interacting with visitors of all ages, while braving the mud, bugs, salt water, and sun to create the best visitor experience possible....

Coastal Conservation Research Programby Dr. Lisa Ferguson, Director of Research & Conservation We filled all 10 weeks of the Coastal Conservation Research Program Internship this summer to the brim with wetlands, birds, terrapins, and horseshoe crabs! Six CCRP interns joined our staff to monitor the summer’s happenings, learn more about the...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Work on beneficial use projects to restore and enhance marshes is continuing in the Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab. Gull Island and Sturgeon Island both were the subject of beneficial use placement projects in the fall of 2020. Both islands were very low lying and at risk of drowning and are important...

by Annie Ulichney, Institute Member Stone Harbor becomes a special home, whether you vacation here for a week, a month, or a lifetime. The anticipation of returning builds as you pull off the Parkway and turn onto Stone Harbor Boulevard. You can’t help but roll the windows down to inhale the salty air of “beach smell” and exhale a sigh of relief...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Once again, I marvel at the inescapable feeling that time has a way of accelerating when it comes to summer at the shore. This year, like so many others, summer seems to have come and gone far too quickly. Time and the rate of change are curious things because we each bring a different perspective to our...

by Meghan Kolk, Conservation Scientist reTURN the Favor (RTF) volunteers have a lot to be proud of as The Wetlands Institute’s horseshoe crab rescue program celebrated its tenth season this year. This dedicated team of horseshoe crab heroes has developed into a key piece of the conservation puzzle, contributing to the recovery of a keystone...

Coastal Conservation Research Program The CCRP interns in the 2022 Luing Family Internship Program began their positions in full force just before Memorial Day, and the weeks have been speeding by since! Over the course of the 10-week program, CCRP interns will be conducting their own independent projects and contributing to our wetlands bird and...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director It’s in our nature to steward our fragile coastal ecosystems. It’s in our nature to conduct applied research to understand how these marshes are changing and how the wildlife that depend on them are impacted, and to use that research to inform conservation. It’s in our nature to educate people of all ages...

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Entering the lecture hall, a little girl looks up from her mother’s neck. She points a tiny, chubby finger at the mobile overhead, and chirps “birds, birds, birds”. Floating above are The Wetlands Institutes’ signature mobiles featuring hand-carved birds commonly spotted on the marsh and nearby shores....

by Devin Griffiths, Marketing & Communications Specialist Perhaps you’ve seen them soaring over Seven Mile Island, foraging within the verdant salt marsh grasses, or bathing in the freshwater pools nestled in the Avalon high dunes – exotic white birds, wings fringed in black, reddish bills strongly downcurved from base to tip in a graceful...

by Devin Griffiths, Marketing & Communications Specialist Saturday, May 14, 3:00 AM. Hours before sunrise, and The Marshketeers are already on the hunt. After two years of socially distant birding, The Wetlands Institute’s team of obsessed birders is finally back together and on the road, and for the next 24 hours they’ll be (with apologies...