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I SSUE S IXTY WOOD TURTLES ON THE VERGE J ULY 2 0 1 9 By Marilyn Kitchell, Wildlife Biologist, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge H i g h l i g h t s Garden Club Blind—Then and OOD TURTLE, Glyptemys insculpta. 3 W Now Combination of the Greek words Glyptos, meaning ‘carved’, and emys, meaning ‘freshwater tortoise’; Meet Potter Judy Schmidt 4 insculpta, from the Latin word insculptus, meaning ‘engraved’. Lives along permanent but shallow, clear- Screech Owl Numbers Decline 5 water streams with compacted sand and cobble bottoms. Spends much of its time on land and can be found Friends Celebrate 20th Year 6-7 in deciduous woods, cultivated fields, and marshy pastures, earning it the nickname ‘tortoise’ (land- dwelling) rather than ‘turtle’ (water-dwelling). Endemic to North America, it has survived multiple Volunteers Are Recognized 9 southward glacial encroachments and now ranges from Nova Scotia to Virginia. Board of Directors he wood turtle Joe Balwierczak wouldn’t strike President most people as a Steve Herdman T charismatic creature. Vice-President Walter Willwerth Solitary and silent, with Secretary coloration designed for Laurel Gould disappearance, the wood Treasurer turtle was never meant Jane Bell to stand out. For thou- sands of years the spe- John Berry cies has existed as a Allen Dreikorn fixture of once-abundant landscapes centered on Randi Emmer meandering cobble- Susan Garretson Friedman bottom streams and the fields and forests that Ellen Greenhorn surround them. Photo: Jessica Piispanen/USFWS Dave Katz And yet, as nondescript George Solovay as these animals are, a quiet charisma be- In many places throughout the Northeast, the comes clear to the careful observer. Turtles voids are real and haunting. Wood turtles are Janet Stadelmeier within a population seem to know each other. on the verge. They hibernate together. Females Kathy Woodward Their populations remain as fractured rem- acknowledge others with graceful bows of nants on a landscape interrupted by subur- Laurel Gould the head, and willingly approach some males Editor while avoiding others. Males patrol their own ban sprawl. Their streams, degraded by silt sections of the stream. and erosion, are often flanked by paved Mike Horne death traps that mercilessly claim young and Project Leader Once you come to know these animals, you old with equanimity. The suburbs that have Lenape National Wildlife Refuge Complex can see wisdom in their eyes. You develop a closed in on them bring raccoons, who real sense that their absence from the land- munch on young hatchlings and full-grown scape would leave a gaping void in the life of adults alike. the land, like the passing of a loved one who Continued on page 10 Printed on recycled had been the quiet, steady rock at the center paper of your daily existence. ISSUE 60—JULY 2019 PAGE 2 PRESIDENT’S CORNER By Joe Balwierczak, President, Friends of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Euro, and the acquittal of President I have been a volunteer at Great Clinton. Put in that context, 1999 Swamp for going on eight years now seems a long time ago and indeed a lot and have seen the Friends expand its has changed in that time. Google and role at the refuge. Seeing the changes Facebook were unknown words then; in the organization and accomplish- today they are part of our daily vocabu- ments of many of the Friends commit- lary. We can’t imagine life today with- tees has been noteworthy. With the out our cell phones; did you even have continuation of the support and volun- a cell phone 20 years ago? teerism that the Friends membership shows today, the next 20 years prom- Certainly one can expect that the ise great things for Friends of Great Friends of Great Swamp has also Swamp NWR and for the Great Swamp changed in the last 20 years. It is not refuge that it helps to care for. The surprising that the Friends member- members of the Friends are invited to ship has grown and that the level of a celebration of the 20th anniversary at his year the Friends of Great involvement in support of the refuge the Visitor Center on August 11th from Swamp NWR will be celebrating has increased. But the mission of the 4:00—6:00 pm. I hope that you can join its 20th anniversary. If we try to Friends has not changed. Our organiza- the Friends board to celebrate this T tion has continually worked during that think back to 1999, we will be forgiven milestone and reminisce about the if we forgot that in that year there was time to partner with the refuge staff in past 20 years of Friends history and concern about computers not being providing stewardship for the nearly look forward and dream a little about 8,000 acres of Great Swamp NWR. able to adjust to the new millennium the future. (Y2K fears), the introduction of the SPEAKING OF THE FUTURE… UPDATE ON THE CHANDLER S. ROBBINS MEMORIAL VIEWING PLATFORM The Friends Blind is gone, but check out the view! George Robbins (4th from left) and his sister Jane (2nd from left) Photo by Matt Heiss stopped by to check out the progress on their way from Maryland to New Hampshire. George Solovay is 5th from left. he Friends Blind at the Wildlife constructed. The lower level will be ADA Board Member George Solovay is lead- Observation Center has been compliant, raised about four feet off the ing the project with an incredible team T demolished and work has begun ground. The upper level, accessible by of dedicated and hard-working volun- on the new Chandler S. Robbins Memo- stairs, will be eight feet above ground teers. Oversight and assistance is being rial Viewing Platform. Thanks to a gener- which should provide an extensive view provided by refuge staff. It is anticipated ous donation from the Robbins family, a of the impoundment (man-made pond) that the Robbins Memorial Platform new two-level viewing platform is being and waterfowl. Volunteer and Friends will be completed by year-end. F RIENDS OF GREAT SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — WWW.FRIENDSOFGREATSWAMP.ORG ISSUE 60—JULY 2019 PAGE 3 GARDEN CLUB BLIND GETS A COMPLETE MAKEOVER By Joe Balwierczak, Friends President and Member of the Construction Crew, Photos: Left, Dave Katz, Right, USFWS ince last year, the Friends Construction Committee has met the challenge. After several weeks, the walls and win- been planning, with refuge staff, to renovate the Gar- dow openings were framed and by the end of April the panel- S den Club Blind at the Wildlife Observation Center. This ing on the walls was up. During May, the metal roof was re- blind was built more than 50 years ago and was renovated placed, new flooring installed, and the interior and exterior several times, the latest in 2002. The interior of the blind were painted. The original 1965 project had been commem- was showing a great need for a sprucing up, with dirt and orated by a large brass plaque which has been refurbished debris collecting along the bases of the walls and paint peel- and will be reinstalled. ing from the roof. Renovation work began in early February. Before work could commence, a small footbridge in front of The renovation was done by volunteers who were led by Con- the blind needed to be replaced in order to bring construc- struction Committee chair George Solovay. Assisting with the tion material and tools to the blind. installation of the new roof were refuge staff members Dave Miller, George Molnar and RV volunteer Johnny Roush. Help- Demolition of the interior began on March 11 and was com- ing to add a final artistic touch to the project was Friends pleted by eight volunteers in a day. The blind is essentially a volunteer and board member Jane Bell, who designed sky- metal shell with an uneven inside surface. Framing the in- light-like panels for the ceiling. I hope that you make a point side of the blind in order to have smooth straight walls of visiting the Wildlife Observation Center and seeing the turned out to be a challenge. But the crew was unfazed and blind for yourself. GARDEN CLUBS WIN NATIONAL AWARD TO BUILD AN OBSERVATION BLIND n 1965, the Garden Club of Somerset Hills and the Summit Garden Club won the Garden Club of America’s founders’ fund award ($3,000) for their proposal to build an observation blind at Great ISwamp National Wildlife Refuge. It was one of the first of its design on a national wildlife refuge according to Refuge Manager Richard Rigby. The two garden clubs along with the Morristown Garden Club planted grass- es, trees and shrubs to camouflage the shelter. The blind was destroyed by fire in 1970 and rebuilt in 1972. It was refur- bished by Friends of Great Swamp NWR in 2000 with the addition of new benches, carpeting, paint and made handicapped accessible with the installation of a 90-foot ramp. This photo shows Mrs. John Borman standing outside the new 7 foot high blind. It was Mrs. Borman who headed a team of eight members from the two garden clubs which presented their project proposal. The blind overlooks a large clearing containing five ponds of various siz- es and was expected to be especially popular during waterfowl migration season. Reservations were required! F RIENDS OF GREAT SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — WWW.FRIENDSOFGREATSWAMP.ORG ISSUE 60—JULY 2019 PAGE 4 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF POTTERY—OR HOW BEES AND RAPTORS LED TO NATURE POTTERY By Ellen Greenhorn, Volunteer and Friends Board Member ave you seen the beautiful husband Bill built her a potter’s wheel pottery mugs, bowls and tiles where she created pottery to be fired in the Friends Nature Shop? with the group in the large gas-fired kiln HMaybe one of these is your favorite cof- at the Tyndall’s home.