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N.J. wildlife group volunteers count hawks during southern migration
The Star Ledger
9/27/10
Matthew Huisman
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — Perched thousands of feet above Wildcat Ridge, Fred Vanderburgh and Kevin McCarthy scan the skies for hawks during the birds’
fall migration south, calling out different species and recording the counts on a small clipboard.
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story ....
Elderly man rescued from woods
BY ROB JENNINGS
DAILY RECORD
Thursday, March 29, 2007
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- An 84-year-old Denville man who went missing overnight Wednesday was rescued this morning near the cemetery where his parents are buried,
police said today.
Joseph Konecnik -- located by a hiker at around 10:30 a.m. in the woods by Wildcat Ridge
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Morris, state fund deal for 77-acre camp
$1.3 million sale adds property to Rockaway Township's open space, purchase includes Egnert's Lake
THE DAILY RECORD
1/6/2006
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- An easement along an abandoned rail bed on the west side of the lake will be transferred to the Morris County Park Commission as an extension
of its West Morris Greenway trail system, connecting the property to Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.
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story ....
No repairs for hawkwatch
Platform destroyed by fire last year at Wildcat Ridge won't be rebuilt by DEP
8/27/05
BY ZENAIDA MENDEZ
DAILY RECORD
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- The hawkwatch platform at Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area will not be rebuilt, the state Department of Environmental Protection has
decided.
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story ....
Calling All hawk-eyed individuals
July 31, 2005
By Fred J. Aun
Star Ledger
The fire that destroyed a beautiful observation platform atop Wildcat Ridge last October didn't stop the Friends of Wildcat Ridge from counting
hawks.
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story ....
Coalition to buy 525 acres for $6.1M
Public-private partnership to preserve Rockaway Twp. woodlands
June 12, 2005
BY PAULA SAHA Star-Ledger Staff
After 10 years of negotiation, a coalition of public and private agencies is on track to purchase a 525-acre tract of woodlands and streams in Rockaway
Township this month. The land will be absorbed into the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.
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story ....
Students hit with hazing charges after fraternity bash
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/30/04
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A raucous, after-hours college fraternity bash at Wildcat Ridge was broken up by police, who slapped 20 Montclair State University students
with hazing and/or underage drinking charges.
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story ....
Preservation promise
3 leaders push their Highlands legislation
05/28/03-Posted 11:32:30 PM from the Daily Record newsroom
By Colleen O'Dea, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- With a nearly unbroken vista of trees as a backdrop, three New Jersey congressmen vowed to push their legislation to designate the Highlands
as a federal stewardship area and commit $250 million in federal funds to land preservation.
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for story ....
Splitrock toilet is no ordinary portable potty
Public facility in Rockaway Twp. does not use septic
11/15/2004
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A public toilet recently installed at the Splitrock Reservoir by the state Department of Environmental Protection is no ordinary portable
potty.
Described by DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey as an "environmentally-friendly, non-septic using, self-contained toilet facility," it will keep visitors to the
625-acre reservoir from having to duck behind a tree before boarding their kayaks and canoes.
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story ....
This turkey day honors the bird
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/18/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Wildcat Ridge will be one of two locations in the nation hosting the National Wild Turkey Federation's Thanksgiving Turkey Release next
week.
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story ....
Wild turkeys win their
freedom in Rockaway Twp.
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/21/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - A dozen wild turkeys flew to freedom this morning, the star attractions in the National Wild Turkey Federation's annual "Thanksgiving Turkey
Release."
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story ....
100 Acres on Wildcat Ridge (NJ) Protected
Trust for Public Land
12/21/01
The purchase of the Johnson Woods property protects wildlife habitat, safeguards the Town of Rockaway’s water the water supply, and extends public
access to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area. The area is a prime feeding and
nesting habitat for hawks, eagles and other raptors during spring and fall migrations.
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story ....
Found: Dead bear without claws
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/19/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Investigators are trying to find out who removed the claws from the body of a 285-pound black bear after it was struck by a car and
killed.
The dead bruin was found by township police, about 50 yards north of the Split Rock Dam.
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Wildlife area gains 61 acres
By Matt Manochio,Daily Record
7/3/2001
ROCKAWAY TWP. — Sixty-one forested acres have been added to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in a three-part agreement between a township
family, Morris land Conservancy and the Conservation fund.
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story ....
Hiker found after night on ridge in Rockaway
By Greg Saitz
Star Ledger
10/19/99
An overnight search for a hiker on Wildcat Ridge in Rockaway Township ended yesterday morning when rescuers found the woman unharmed after a stormy night in
the woods, authorities said.
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story ....
Lost hawk counter guides his rescuers
Star Ledger
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
ROCKAWAY TWP.: Police are warning hikers to be prepared for the worst during excursions into the woods ....
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Hawk counter appreciates majesty of great birds
Daily Record
by Michael Daigle
8/29/2010
Tom Gorman of Rockaway said he was on Wildcat Ridge the other day, spying maybe 40 turkey vultures about 20 miles away, over perhaps Jersey City. They rose
into the sky as the air warmed and began to "kettle.''
"It's like watching a swarm of bees,'' he said.
The birds were circling and swirling around and around one another as they rose on the warming air.
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Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is great spot for bird watching
By MICHAEL DAIGLE
STAFF WRITER
Daily Record
August 23, 2010
HARDING — With a sighting the other day of a blue winged teal, the fall bird migration appeared to have started.
"Blue winged teals are an early migrator," said Craig Bitler, the wildlife biologist at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
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Keep Watching the Skies
August 14, 2005
By Christine Contillo
New York Times
This is the time of year when hawks flock to the skies, and hawkwatchers flock to the hills and ridges of New Jersey.
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story ....
Rockaway Twp. officials find body in reservoir
July 11, 2005
DAILY RECORD STAFF REPORT
ROCKAWAY TWP. --Local and township officials retrieved the body of a man from the Split Rock Reservoir on Monday afternoon, Rockaway Township Fire Chief Joe
Mason said.
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story ....
Highlands a priority, say U.S. Secretary
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
05/23/04 - Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton called Highlands preservation a national priority Saturday and lauded local and community efforts
aimed at protecting the 800,000-acre region.
"It's wonderful to see things firsthand -- to see the wonderful areas that are here, the importance of the watershed and the strong natural resources," said
Norton, the first Interior Secretary to visit the Highlands region in a decade.
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story ....
$14M allotted for open spaces
County trust fund announces grants
November 11, 2004
BY PAULA SAHA
Star-Ledger Staff
A 525-acre tract in Rockaway Township adjacent to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area just might be preserved as its original owner
wished.
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story ....
Conservancy buys 100 acres in Rockaway Twp.
Land will be added to state wildlife sanctuary
Friday, October 18, 2002
BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE
Star-Ledger Staff
When three Nutley investors bought a 100-acre parcel in Rockaway Township in the 1980s, they envisioned making a future financial killing because their land
would abut a major golf course proposed by famed golfer Arnold Palmer.
But the golf course was never built.
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here for story ....
Holding the High Ground
Trust for Public Land
10/28/00
By Richard M. Stapleton
A strong coalition moves to preserve open space in the New Jersey Highlands, a crowded state's last best defense against sprawl.
Bill Gallagher has to carry his chair to work every morning. And there's no elevator. Not even stairs. His office is a hundred stories up, on a balcony-sized
ledge of million-year-old metamorphic gneiss. There's no kitchenette, and the men's room is, well, over behind a tree. But ohhhhh, he enjoys the view.
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story ....
Cabinet chief to hike to Wildcat
By Charlotte G. Kullen,Daily Record
10/23/99
ROCKAWAY TWP. — Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt will hike up the trails leading to the Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch Monday, to get a bird’s eye
view of a 300-acre property that conservationists want to stop from becoming another subdivision.
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A bird in a hand..
Makes it worth a trip to wildlife management area
By Dianne Sommers,Daily Record
March 19, 2002
Surrounded by freezing wind, Bill Gallagher is perched on the edge of a rocky ridge that’s so high he can see clear to Manhattan. He’s standing
around and staring into the sky. He’s busy.
Gallagher is counting raptors, or birds of prey, as a volunteer for the Hawk Migration Association of North America. The big birds use the same flyways each
year, so counting them during spring and fall migrations helps monitor their population trends.
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for story ....
AS PARKS GROW, SO DO THEIR NEEDS
June 11, 2000
By Jan Barry, Staff Writer, Bergen Record,
Nature lovers this spring have 83 additional acres to explore in the rugged Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in Rockaway Township.
Wild and remote, it's a jewel in the state's open-space inventory. But it's also just a very small one, amid thousands of acres added in the past year to the
state's parks and forests.
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story ....
Adventures in Leadership
Awards for 2000
Recipient:
Lisa Reyerson
Copeland Middle School
To obtain and incorporate educational signs on the Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch in Rockaway Township. She will work with members of the Hawkwatch professional staff as well
as local designers and volunteers.
Hike of the Week
Bergen Record
9/25/2003
FEATURES: This loop hike in the Farny Highlands climbs to a panorama over Rockaway Valley from the Hawk Watch and goes by a beaver pond.
LENGTH: 2.4 miles.
DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.
TIME: About two hours.
MAP: Wildcat Ridge trails map (available at f.vanderburgh.home.att.net/imap/wcrtrails.html).
DOGS: Permitted on leash.
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story ....
Lost hikers rescued after call to police
Daily Record
11/01/03
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story ....
Snow may stymie bear hunting
12/07/03
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
John Rogalo of Stanhope, president of the Morris County chapter of the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen, predicted that bear hunters would flock to
Wawayanda State Park in Vernon, the Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area and Wildcat Ridge in Rockaway Township.
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story ....
Splitrock gets a new parking lot
11/22/2003
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. - A 25-vehicle gravel parking lot opened Friday at the Splitrock Reservoir, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M.
Campbell said.
The parking lot, located at the southern end of the reservoir, will provide access for people to launch a car-top boat for fishing, kayaking or canoeing,
Campbell said. Gasoline-powered engines will not be permitted on the reservoir, he said.
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for story ....
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Hawkwatch at Wildcat Ridge
Daily Record
By Thomas Gorman
9/8/2011
During the spring and autumn hawkwatch migrations, Rockaway resident .......
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for story ....
Hunters bag trophies on first day of bear hunt
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
BY BRIAN T. MURRAY
Star-Ledger Staff
It was just before 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning when Terry Atkins fired his Ithaca 12-gauge pump-gun and hit the lumbering black bear in the left side, high in
the chest. But the large bruin did not drop.
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story ....
DEP takes a closer look at Split Rock
Neighbors say access has spawned problems
November 03, 2005
BY PAULA SAHA
Star-Ledger Staff
Two years after opening the Split Rock Reservoir in Rockaway Township to the public, officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection say they
are looking into increasing enforcement in the area and building a permanent ramp for rescue boats.
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story ....
Hawk-tober Festival
Pathways Fall 2005
Morris County Park Commission
The annual weekend celebration will focus on charismatic birds of prey - hawks!
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story ....
Split Rock bridge: Ace of the holes
9/18/05 - Rob Jennings, Daily Record
The Road Crew has bounced over quite a few roads in Morris County with car-chomping potholes.
Probably the worst is the one-lane bridge over the Jersey City-owned Split Rock Reservoir's dam in Rockaway Township.
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story ....
Volunteer Profile
July 30, 2005
By Tehani Schneider
Daily Record
Who is he? Where does he volunteer? Why does he volunteer?
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for story ....
Hawkwatch platform fire probed as a possible arson
Autorities: Blaze that destroyed deck may have been started intentionally
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/06/04
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for story ....
Splitrock Reservoir users told to beware
Officials look to prevent lawsuits with new warning sign: Enter at own risk
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/8/04
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- Local officials have a message for hikers and boaters at Splitrock Reservoir: Enter at your own risk.
A sign warning that "emergency response may be delayed due to the inaccessibility of this remote area" will be installed near the 625-acre reservoir, Mayor
Louis Sceusi said Thursday.
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story ....
Sprawl in Highlands imperils water supply
Federal study details threats to region
By Colleen O'Dea, Daily Record
4/5/02
The Highlands region in New Jersey and New York is losing more than 5,000 acres a year to development, and that could deplete the water supply to dangerous
levels if officials don’t act to curtail sprawl, according to a federal study being released today.
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story ....
FRELINGHUYSEN SECURES FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR HIGHLANDS PRESERVATION
7/7/2001
CAPITOL HILL – Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey’s senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced today his success in
securing $9.5 million for land purchases in the Highlands. Frelinghuysen also secured a requirement for two cabinet agencies, the U.S. Departments of Interior and
Agriculture, to develop plans on how the Federal Government will become a major partner in efforts to preserve lands within this critical national priority
area.
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for story ....
Green Acres Program Protects Wildcat Ridge
6/22/2000
The Green Acres Program, along with the Trust for Public Land, Morris County, Rockaway Township, the Forest Legacy Program and the Land and Water Conservation
Fund preserved 295 acres of land adjacent to the State's 2,662 acre Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area. Situated in the state's Highlands region, the newly protected land
begins the development of connections to the Farny Highlands Trail Network, a 37-mile trail system linking public lands throughout Morris County.
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story ....
Colored Redtail Sightings
Dan Kunkle
wildlife@fast.net
Saturday August 11, 2001
Thanks to the reports from volunteers like you, we had 16 sighitngs of color marked Red-tailed Hawks from our first year of marking. We begin the second year
of the study this August. We will again be color marking birds as described below. PLEASE TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THOSE RED-TAILS beginning now, and continuing through next
spring. Please report any sightings as indicated below.
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for story ....
Youths blamed in brush fire
Firefighters kept blaze from reaching homes in Rockaway Township
04/25/03 - Posted 11:06:47 PM from the Daily Record newsroom
By Rob Seman, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A fire believed to have been set by local youths burned 19 acres of trees and brush near the border of Boonton Township on Thursday
afternoon.
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story ....
Hawk Migration Over NJ Highlands
By Lorraine Ash,Daily Record
9/21/01
No matter what happens on earth, the birds migrate and there are those that never miss their majestic journey over the flyways of New Jersey.
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story ....
Hiker OK after being rescued from park
Daily Record
July 6, 2003
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Vandals disturb 19th century grave
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/08/03 - Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A 19th century grave plot at St. Patrick's Cemetery was partially unearthed, but the remains of three people interred there were not removed,
police said.
Authorities responded to the historic, remote burial ground after a Lake Denmark Road resident reported the disturbance on Sunday, according to a police
report.
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story ....
High-flying spectacle
Thursday, September 25, 2003
The Record
By Vera Lawlor staff writer
Ten pairs of binoculars are trained on two broad-winged hawks flying low along the cliff face.
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story ....
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