New Title: Heron Habitat Restoration Assistant

I just finished my first week working as the Heron Habitat Restoration Assistant on Prall's Island. Herons used to nest on the island, but environmental catastrophes (an oil spill and an Asian long-horned beetle infestation) have caused the herons to move elsewhere for nesting and feeding grounds. The best description of the island and its history I found on Mr Beller's Neighborhood Blog.

To get to work, I take the 1 train to the Staten Island Ferry, where my supervisor picks up the two other seasonals and I and brings us to the office at the Greenbelt Native Plant Center. From there, we drive a Parks truck to Saw Mill Creek Marsh, load the canoes in the water, and canoe 40 minutes to the northern end of the island.

The island is surrounded almost entirely by salt marsh (primarily spartina alterniflora). This is a view approaching it from the southern end. The island is shaped like an ice cream cone.

Here's a view looking south down the shoreline on the western side of the island. 

Looking northward on the western side. You can see the industry on the NJ shoreline. I found a live oyster that was over 6 cm on this beach. I think it would be a fantastic site for an oyster restoration project. : )

Currently, my job is to help construct a fence that will protect trees that will be planted in the spring with two other seasonals. The trees will hopefully serve as nesting habitat for the herons. In the effort to eradicate the long-horned beetle, all of the trees over 5 cm were cut down and mulched, eliminating all potential nesting habitat. Million trees attempted to plant 4,000 trees on the island a few years ago, but the trees were eaten by deer and rabbits over a period of a few days. Yes, there are deer and rabbits in NYC and they are increasingly becoming a problem because they are loosing habitat in suburban areas and are forced to forage in the city. This is why we need a fence. 

We are digging a trench a foot deep in order to place chicken wire and prevent the rabbits from digging under the fence. The chicken wire is going to be attached to a 7 ft tall fence. Organic pellets (which smell like a mixture of Christmas and pee because the ingredients are herbs and urea) are going to be placed around it to deter the animals. Fishing line and colored tape is going to form a web around the fence to scare off the deer as well. This thing is going to be a fortress.

So far I have enjoyed working here. It is nice to be outside all day surrounded by nature in New York City. It is a surreal experience. However, it is difficult to forget you are still in the city because the roar of traffic, planes, and construction is still omnipresent, albeit fainter and the island is covered in invasive plants and poison ivy...

Oyster Reef Restoration is Back in New Jersey

This article describes renewed oyster reef restoration efforts in NJ  by NY/NJ Baykeeper and features a video. Baykeeper has placed thousands of oysters in lantern nets and plans to monitor their growth and mortality in the Spring. The oysters have been placed at the Naval Weapons Station Earle Pier in Middletown, NJ.

Last year, Baykeeper had to remove the oyster reefs that they had restored throughout NJ because the reefs were deemed an "attractive nuisance." The restored reefs were constructed in areas that were closed to shellfishing due to low water quality standards. NJ has a $300 million shellfish industry and the NJ government.  It was thought that if people ate oysters from the restored oyster reefs, it would threaten the industry's reputation. These oysters will be regularly monitored by the Navy to dissuade any from harvesting the oysters for human consumption.

Salamander Monitoring with Students

About a month ago I assisted in the Salamander Monitoring Project that consisted of over 300 middle school students and teachers from around the city. Salamanders are considered bioindicators, they are extremely sensitive to the environment around them. If conditions are not right, they will not persist in the area. I went with other NRGers to receive training in montioring techniques and salamander and other species identification last month. With the students we conducted a biodiversity survey in Black Rock Forest and in parks around New York City in order to compare rural and urban habitats. There was even an article written about it in the New York Times. 

In the Black Rock Forest, my student group was from City College and they were a very smart bunch with an enthusiasm for nature and for lifting rocks. :) We found five salamanders: three Red-back salamanders, one lead-back variation of a Red Back Salamander, and one Northern Slimy Salamander. 

Their enthusiasm was a little too overwhelming for one salamander who lost its tail... but the students were relieved to learn that its tail would grow back eventually. We encouraged the kids to be a little more gentle with the salamanders and lifting rocks...

Our greatest group find was the Northern Slimy Salamander. It was the only one found that day. This species has been extinct from New York City for 150 years.

The students were really fond of the millipedes, which were also my favorite. :) 

Susan found a Two-lined Salamander next to our transect in a vernal pool. 

The second site I helped out at was in Van Cordlandt Park in the Bronx and the students were from Browning, an all boys school. Sadly we did not find any salamanders and two salamanders were found the entire day. This site was very different from the Black Rock site in ecology. We found many earthworms at this site, while in Black Rock we found none. Earthworms are actually not native to New York and have been affecting the area's ecology since their introduction by Europeans. They decompose the organic matter, such as leaves, which would normally provide shelter and a moist environment for salamanders. Accelerated decomposition also increases the availability of nutrients for plant uptake; however, many invasive plant species have the advantage because they are adapted to environments that contain worms. New York used to have native earthworm species but during the last ice age, the worms were wiped out. Native worms have slowly been moving up the East Coast, but the dissemination of European worms by humans has spead worms throughout the Northeast at a much faster rate. Most people think that worms are good for the soil, but not in the Northeast, except for your garden. 

Oyster Shucking Competition

Believe it or not, oyster shucking, or the opening of oysters, is a competition sport. Oyster shuckers want to be the fastest without damaging the oyster flesh, which can result in significant price reductions for the oyster because it is then only fit for selling for cooking purposes, such as stew, while undamaged pricier oysters are eaten raw. The fastest oyster shucker is Patrick McMurray, who set the world record of 38 oysters in under a minute in 2010. 

New York City has a long history of oyster shucking and it is still celebrated at an annual event called the "Oyster Frenzy" at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. They even made an ice sculpture!

There was events going on throughout the day. We arrived just in time for the first round of oyster shucking contestants to compete.

There was other entertainment as well. This is the Naked Cowboy that performed. Naked Cowboys are a variety of oysters grown in Long Island Sound. On my birthday I tried six different oysters and the Naked Cowboy was my favorite, in part because of the awesome name. : )

This is a photo from inside of the Grand Central Oyster Bar. It was packed. The restaurant was built in 1917 when Grand Central Station opened its doors.

Besides oyster shucking, there was also a beer shucking competition. This involved opening a case of bottled beer the fastest with a bottle opener. I was one of the last three contestants to sign up and opened a case of Pumpkin Ale, my favorite. Afterwards the shucked oysters and beer was given out the the contestants and the onlookers. Don't worry, nothing was wasted. :)

Here are the two final contestants for the oyster competition. That fistful of cash is the winnings: $3,000.