Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
All national wildlife refuges are required to complete a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) every 15 years. This video compares four alternatives for managing resources at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, as proposed in the draft CCP. Check out for more information.
SEA S.T.A.R. Intern End of Summer Project Presentations - The Marine Science Consortium
Jessica
For my legacy project I am going to make an informational brochure on the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Just about everyone has heard of these famous ponies. They have either read or seen the movie Misty of Chincoteague or maybe they have been to the pony roundup. But what makes these ponies different from any other equine? How did they get there? What do they eat on the Island? How do they live? These are questions I would like to answer in my project. In order to get facts, I will also make calls, and send e-mails, to places such as The National Chincoteague Pony Association, the famous Salt Water Cowboys, and The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. I will also be getting information by using the internet and by reading some books to learn more about them. I will then put all that I have gathered into my brochure that we can hand out to anyone who wants to learn more about the ponies. This brochure can also be used by employees if they want to share some of these facts with their group. I will first research the breed of ponies. I will learn all I can about them; their history up to the present, how they live, ect. I will also take some pictures of the ponies that will be added to the brochure as a visual aid.
For my legacy project I am going to make an informational brochure on the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Just about everyone has heard of these famous ponies. They have either read or seen the movie Misty of Chincoteague or maybe they have been to the pony roundup. But what makes these ponies different from any other equine? How did they get there? What do they eat on the Island? How do they live? These are questions I would like to answer in my project. In order to get facts, I will also make calls, and send e-mails, to places such as The National Chincoteague Pony Association, the famous Salt Water Cowboys, and The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. I will also be getting information by using the internet and by reading some books to learn more about them. I will then put all that I have gathered into my brochure that we can hand out to anyone who wants to learn more about the ponies. This brochure can also be used by employees if they want to share some of these facts with their group. I will first research the breed of ponies. I will learn all I can about them; their history up to the present, how they live, ect. I will also take some pictures of the ponies that will be added to the brochure as a visual aid.
RESEARCH OR LEGACY PROJECT
During the course of the internship, the Program Coordinator will work with each intern to design a research or legacy project that interests them. Interns will have scheduled times during week to work on their research or legacy project. If an intern chooses to do a research project they will be responsible for creating a research project relating to the marine science or coastal environments in some way. If an intern chooses to do a legacy project they will be responsible for creating or implementing a project that benefits the mission of the Marine Science Consortium in some way. At the end of the summer, interns are required to give a Power Point presentation describing their research or legacy project, techniques and processes learned, and how the experience was useful to the student both academically and personally. The interns meet periodically with the Program Coordinator to prepare and review the content of the oral presentations. To aid interns in the completion of their research project, the following opportunities will be available to them during their stay.
• Interns will be able to sit in on college level marine science courses and meet college professors.
• Interns will have the opportunity to work with MSC partners (NASA Wallops Flight Facility, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and faculty from some of the MSC's 13 Member Universities)
• Interns will have opportunities to work on one of the MSC two monitor boats, the R.V. Flatfish and R.V. Mollusk. Both are approximately 40 ft in length and are used primarily in the tidal creeks and Back Bay areas for trawling and sampling.
• Interns will be able to attend a college level sampling trip on an ocean going Research Vessel. The R.V. Phillip N. Parker is a 47ft diesel powered crew vessel used for cruises beyond the inlet and up to 25 miles off shore.
RESEARCH OR LEGACY PROJECT PRESENTATION- During the last week of the internship, each intern will make a presentation of approximately ten to twenty minutes to all the interns and staff members in their groups during one final meeting. This presentation will summarize what the intern has learned during the internship and should include two types of visual aids such as a PowerPoint presentation, poster or chalk talk.
Delaware Bay Shell-A-Bration!
Over 130 volunteers worked alongside Conserve Wildlife Foundation and American Littoral Society to build an oyster reef at South Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House on the Delaware Bayshore in April 2015.
The project will test whether the reef bars help reduce beach erosion and create calmer water for spawning horseshoe crabs.
Shorebirds, like the federally listed Red Knot, depend on an uninterrupted supply of horseshoe crab eggs when they stopover in Delaware Bay during their migration. In recent years, countless horseshoe crab eggs have been lost because of the devastating storms that swept away the beaches they depend on.
Learn more at RestoreNJBayshore.org.
The Wild Ponies on their Way to the Auction at Chincoteague Maryland ULT
Created on July 27, 2012 using FlipShare.
Aransas and Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuges
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
National Conservation Training Center
America's Wildest Places - Volume 1
A Video Tour of Eight National Wildlife Refuges
Aransas and Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuges
'A Place for Nature'
Texas
Assateague
Performing their song Instument at The Bolinas Museum,
Bolinas CA
Late summer afternoon with the sweet sounds of San Francisco neo-folk rock band Assateague. Named after the barrier islands that run along the coast of Maryland and Virginia, the band combines lulling instrumentals and cool vocals with electric bass and slide guitar to create an Americana mix of chilled out, happy tunes.
A SMALL SAMPLE OF AMERICAS WILDLIFE, SEP 9, 2013
HI FOLKS, I'M SURE YOU WILL LIKE THIS ONE. ALOT OF DIFFERENT SPECIES IN THIS ONE!!! HAPPY TRAILS, SNAKE AN SALLEE!!!!!
OUR ISLAND HOME - director James Spione on WHRO TV
Filmmaker James Spione discusses his just-released DVD Our Island Home (ourislandhomefilm.com) on WHRO Public Television in Norfolk, Virginia. In Mr. Spione's poignant documentary, three former denizens of the long-lost settlement of Broadwater recall their unique way of life on a remote barrier island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
A pristine shoreline wonderland that is completely unique on the east coast of the United States, the Barrier Islands region of Virginia is one of America's extraordinary geological and ecological gems. Uninhabited for many years and largely protected from development, these fourteen wild islands (and surrounding waterways and saltwater marsh) now offer a prime destination for birders, kayakers, sportsmen, and eco-tourists of every stripe. But to the hardy souls who once lived and worked there, the islands afforded a culture and history as unique as their physical environment. 'Our Island Home' offers three poignant and personal vignettes, each centering on one former resident's story, to bring the Barrier Islands' vibrant and colorful past fully to life.
Narrated exclusively in the voices of the people who once lived there, 'Our Island Home' features rare archival photographs of the islands' evocative landscapes and towns, and the sturdy American families who once populated them. An eye-opening first-hand account of a little-known chapter in coastal American history.
FEEDING THE BIRDS AUGUST 2015
I figure something has got to be evenly distributed in Manhattan, even if it is only bird seed.
Travels With Charlie- Memorial Day
What we honor on Memorial Day is not just the sacrifice of our military men and women but the freedoms for which their sacrifice was made. Many would gree that one of the most important is the freedom to worship, a freedom that is alive and well at Snethen United Methodist Church near Mardela Springs. Reporter Charlie Paparella takes us there in this segment of Travels With Charlie.
Snowy Owl Sighting at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, What You Need to Know
waves at Assateague August 29, 2010
Waves on Assateague
Beyond the Sea, my Dad's service on the USS New Mexico BB-40
Beyond the Sea, a song that my Dad enjoyed by Bobby Darin is used to illustrate his story of his service during WWII on the U.S.S. New Mexico-BB40 in the South Pacific (1944-46) as a coxswain, he saw the Luzon, Okinawa invasions and VJ Day. Excerpts from Al Cuneo's WWII diary are included and document meeting his brother (Carl Cuneo) in Pearl Harbor in Feb 1945, while The Queen was getting repaired from her first kamikaze hit.
The Conestoga Flight
Launch of the Conestoga Flight, Celestis’ 13th memorial spaceflight, from Spaceport America, NM. Families of the 24 people on board tour the launch pad, remember loved ones, and view the liftoff.
Leaving Earth to touch the cosmos is an experience few have ever known, but many have often dreamed of. Each of the participants aboard The Conestoga Flight shared the dream of exploring the great unknown and the desire to take part in the opening of the space frontier. The Conestoga Flight is dedicated to each of them and pays tribute to their families and their loved ones.
The conestoga wagon embodies the spirit of the pioneers as they moved out west. They took what they had, they built their wagons, they got as far as they could and then they moved on. It is appropriate for the participants aboard this memorial spaceflight to be on a mission named after the conestoga wagon. The Conestoga Flight was launched aboard a SpaceLoft XL launch vehicle developed by UP Aerospace, Inc. Liftoff occurred at 7:33 am MDT (9:33 am EDT, 1:33 pm GMT), Thursday, October 23, 2014.
Celestis missions are environmentally friendly in that no cremated remains are released into space. The Celestis spacecraft containing the cremated remains stays attached to the rocket stage that reaches space, and then returns to Earth. The cremated remains — still sealed inside their individual, flown capsules — are returned to their loved ones as a keepsake.
America's Wildest Places - Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts
Located along the northeast coast of Massachusetts, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 to provide feeding, resting, and nesting habitat for migratory birds.
WILDLIFE & HABITAT
Most commonly associated with Plum Island -- a barrier beach island -- the refuge is comprised of more than 4700 acres of diverse habitats including sandy beach and dune, cranberry bog, maritime forest and shrub land, and freshwater marsh. The most abundant habitat on the refuge is its 3,000+ acres of salt marsh, one of the most productive ecosystems in nature. Parker River provides pristine coastal habitat for over 300 species of resident and migratory birds, as well as a large variety of mammals, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians. The refuge also provides critical habitat for the federally threatened piping plover.
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Even though this little brown bird migrates twice each year, its entire life is spent in salt marshes. Because its life cycle is so closely tied to salt marshes, it is vulnerable to multiple threats including habitat loss, effects of climate change (sea level rise and increased frequency of intense storms), and contaminants (or pollution). Biologists are closely monitoring the sparrow population that breeds at Parker River. One of the things they are investigating is why the sparrows at the refuge have elevated levels of mercury in their bloodstream.
Piping Plover
The Atlantic coast population of this small shorebird was listed as threatened on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1986. As with so many other species in decline, plover populations plummeted primarily due to habitat disturbance and loss. Plovers arrive to breed and nest on the refuge beach beginning in late March. Refuge management efforts focus on minimizing human-caused disturbance by restricting public access to the refuge beach during this critical time. Predator controls are also put in place as warranted. Breeding success is closely monitored by refuge biologists throughout the spring and summer months.
TRAVEL & TOURISM
The refuge itself provides many visitor opportunities. From the 6.5 mile long Wildlife Drive, visitors can view wildlife in a variety of habitats including salt marsh, dune, and maritime forest. The Hellcat Interpretive Trail boardwalk includes both a marsh and dune loop. A number of other boardwalks provide access to the refuge's ocean beach (when the beaches aren't closed because of piping plover management -- April 1st thru late summer). Two observation towers, the handicap accessible Pine Trail, the Bill Forward Bird Blind, and a number of other wildlife viewing areas provide almost limitless opportunities to observe, photograph and otherwise enjoy wildlife.
In addition to its mission of wildlife conservation, the refuge provides a variety of excellent wildlife-dependent recreational activities, including surf fishing, wildlife observation and photography, a variety of interpretive programs, and seasonal waterfowl and deer hunting opportunities. A large visitor center -- complete with a classroom and auditorium -- supports many of these public uses.
Directions:
The refuge headquarters and visitor center is located at 6 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport , MA, directly across the street from the Massachusetts Audubon Society Joppa Flats Education center.
The refuge is located ~35 miles north of Boston near the City of Newburyport. From Route 95 take exit 57 and travel east on Route 113, then continue straight onto Route 1A South to the intersection with Rolfe's Lane for a total of 3.5 miles. Turn left onto Rolfe's Lane and travel 0.5 miles to its end. Turn right onto the Plum Island Turnpike, and our visitor center will be shortly on the right. If not stopping at our visitor center, continue to travel 2.0 miles crossing the Sgt. Donald Wilkinson Bridge to Plum Island. Take your first right onto Sunset Drive and travel 0.5 miles to the refuge entrance.
Yaroooh! for Kids | News - Magazine
Update on the Assateague Ponies
Charlestown Historical Society's Voices of the Past Cemetery Walk
Charlestown, NH June 23
100808 Kayak Mockhorn Island.mov
Kayaking to Mockhorn Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Travels With Charlie: Assateague Owls vs. Litter
WBOC's Charles Paparella was on Assateague Island and learned a new reason not to litter. It hurts the owls in ways you wouldn't expect.
AP Top Stories for July 30th
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