Official Site of The State of New Jersey
HABITAT ISLANDS FOR WILDLIFE
Natural habitats are important for wildlife throughout New Jersey. They can be especially important in human-dominated landscapes where they serve as oases of habitat. For us humans, green spaces are places to recreate and relax, and those green spaces close to home are all the more important. Managing open spaces to promote native vegetation will support wildlife, setting the stage for wildlife to thrive, and opportunities for wildlife-watching and learning about the natural world for urban and suburban dwellers.
Open spaces in urban and industrial landscapes can attract many types of wildlife and offer unique viewing opportunities of birds during migration in spring and fall. Oases of habitat in the New Jersey landscape are particularly important for many birds that “fall out” – pause their migration to find the nearest resting place – during flights that leave them exhausted and seeking rest and food. That’s one of the reasons to manage these habitat oases for native plants bearing fruit and insects that can help migrating birds re-fuel. Butterflies also need native vegetation for migration, but also to support their offspring and allow caterpillars to grow into new butterflies. Trees like oaks and maples native to New Jersey support the greatest number of insect species, which in turn provide food for a variety of nesting birds. A number of small mammals in urban parks also have a place in the wildlife system. Some hawks, such as red-tailed hawks, rely on small mammals for food and will nest in urban and suburban areas. The peregrine falcon is a notable rare species that has adapted to city living by nesting on high-rise buildings and the largest bridges, and they provide an amazing touch of wildness in those cities. Bats fly over urban and suburban habitats as they gather insect prey. Foxes and raccoons are some other nocturnal inhabitants of our urban spaces.
A few Wildlife Management Areas are located in urban and suburban landscapes, and offer open spaces that are managed primarily for wildlife; most are without facilities for people that are usually offered in the State parks system.
Selected Wildlife Management Areas in communities:
Assunpink WMA, Mercer-Monmouth Counties
Cox Hall Creek, Cape May County
Sawmill Creek, Bergen-Hudson Counties
South Branch WMA, Somerset County
Some links to urban and community open spaces
Bergen County Environmental Centers
Essex County Environmental Center
Hackensack Meadowlands Environmental Center
Urban habitat management in Troy Meadows: (YouTube video from Wildlife Preserves, Inc.)
