3rd Annual FOPOS Give Thanks for Nature Photo Contest

The Contest

Friends of Princeton Open Space and REI are encouraging the Princeton Community to OptOutside and enjoy nature this Thanksgiving weekend.  Plan a visit to Mountain Lakes Preserve on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday and bring your camera to participate in the 3rd annual FOPOS Give Thanks for Nature Photo Contest.

Take your best shot of all that Mountain Lakes Preserve has to offer, and submit your photo for a chance to win an REI gift card!

Directions to Mountain Lakes

Mountain Lakes Preserve is located at 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton, NJ 08203.  Contestants can park at the Community Park North parking lot.

File Format

Files must be in JPG format.  Any aspect ratio is acceptable, but please size the file so that the longest dimension is 1500 pixels and set the quality to “high.”

Filenames MUST include your name brief description of picture:

For example:  if your name is Joe Smith and you are submitting a photo of an oak tree, you might name your file:
JoeSmith-Oak tree.jpg

DO NOT send files with your camera's default filename!

In order to ensure anonymous judging, please include no signatures or watermarks that would reveal the name of the photographer on the photo itself.

Entries must be submitted by midnight, Friday December 8th.  Please e-mail jpeg files to info@fopos.org, with Photo Contest in the subject line.

Copyright

The photographer retains full copyright to his or her images. However, participation in the contest requires the contestant to give Friends of Princeton Open Space permission to use the photographs without compensation on the website as well as in news releases which may appear in print or on third party websites for the purpose of publicizing the contest.  Friends of Princeton Open Space will always include the photographer's name when using a photograph for any purpose.

Timeline

• Submission:  You may submit starting November 23rd.  The deadline to submit is midnight, December 8, 2017. (Eastern Time)

Natural Resource Damages Constitutional Amendment on the November 7th Ballot

New Jersey has tremendous natural and geographical resources. Its abundance of clean water, wildlife, and forests, its network of rivers, and convenient location between two of the largest cities in the U.S. makes New Jersey a natural a center for manufacturing & business. With these attractive assets comes a history of industrialization. With industry comes pollution, through major spills and pollutants left behind in the environment. New Jersey’s natural resources belong to all of us. When they are polluted, damages must be paid.

New Jersey’s history of industrialization has resulted in some of the strongest anti-pollution laws in the country, which hold companies responsible for cleaning up industrial pollution, as well as compensating communities for actions that damaged the environment. Payments assessed against polluters to compensate for injury to and lost use of the environment are known as Natural Resource Damages.

New Jersey’s Natural Resource Damages program requires polluters to pay the state for lost use and restoration of natural resources, such as wildlife, habitat, water, or wetlands, due to pollution.  For example, the waterfront park in Newark along the Passaic River and dam removals to restore fish passage along the Raritan River were funded with Natural Resource Damages. These restoration payments are separate from cleanup costs.

Natural Resource Damages are incredibly important for assisting communities that have sustained sudden, unanticipated pollution spills or have suffered ongoing toxic discharges, sometimes for generations. These funds help them recover. But recently, Natural Resource Damages have been raided from the communities that deserve them and redirected to balance the state budget. Many polluted communities are disproportionately urban and low-income. Many impacted communities, such as Newark, Elizabeth, Camden and Linden also have limited outdoor recreational opportunities.

The New Jersey Legislature have placed a proposed constitutional amendment to dedicate moneys from environmental contamination cases to natural resource restoration on the November 7, 2017, ballot. If approved by voters, the constitutional amendment will:

• Repair, replace and restore damaged natural resources;

• Preserve New Jersey’s natural resources; and

• Pay the legal costs for environmental contamination claims.

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, New Jersey voters will be asked:

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT DEDICATING MONEYS FROM STATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION CASES

Do you approve amending the Constitution to dedicate all moneys collected by the State relating to natural resource damages in cases of contamination of the environment? The moneys would have to be used to repair, restore, replace, or preserve the State’s natural resources. The moneys may also be used to pay legal or other costs incurred by the State in pursuing its claims.

Interpretative statement:

This amendment would dedicate moneys collected by the state relating to Natural Resource Damages through settlements or awards for legal claims based on environmental contamination. These moneys would be dedicated to repair, replace, or restore damaged  natural resources, or to preserve the state’s natural resources. The moneys would be spent in an area as close as possible to the geographical area in which the damage occurred. The moneys could also be used to pay for the state’s legal or other costs in pursuing the claims. Currently, these moneys may be used for any state purpose.

Janssen Cares Volunteer Day

Volunteers from Janssen Pharmaceuticals pulled on their work gloves and hefted trimmers, loppers, and chain saws to work with members of Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) recently. Their task was to get a start on ridding the area along the driveway of the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton of some stubborn invasive species.  

After a quick lesson by FOPOS Natural Resource Manager, Jeff Geist, in identifying the most prevalent invasives, (honeysuckle, grapevine, porcelain berry, and multiflora rose), the eight Janssen personnel enthusiastically tackled their assignment, undeterred by poison ivy and two areas of ground-nesting yellow jacket wasps.  In record time 250 linear feet on both sides of the driveway had been cleared.

Clark Lennon, FOPOS board member and supervisor of the day’s work, said he was impressed by the Janssen crew.  “I never thought we would get this much accomplished in just a few hours”, he said.  “They worked really hard and did a great job.”

FOPOS plans to remove invasive species along the full half-mile length of the driveway into the Nature Preserve with the help of volunteers and board members. This work complements the 18 acre forest restoration project on the west side of Mountain Lake which FOPOS has also undertaken.

Friends of Princeton Open Space is always interested in partnering with corporate groups who are looking for volunteer opportunities.  For more information, contact us at www.fopos.org.

Stormwater Management for Princeton Homeowners

Mountain Lakes is now a Monarch Waystation

The Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve is now a certified Monarch Waystation, sponsored by Monarch Watch.  Monarch Watch is a non-profit organization started by the University of Kansas, Department of Entomology.  On their website you can view a map of certified Monarch Waystations, report a tagged monarch butterfly, and read up on monarch conservation. 

These butterflies are endangered due to lack of habitat and pesticide usage.  Monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed plants, as it is the only plants the caterpillars can eat.  Tusculum Meadow and the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Trail, bordering Coventry Farm, starting on Great Road, are both fantastic monarch habitats and contain lots of milkweed and nectar providing plants.  Mountain Lakes is proud to be a certified stop for monarchs on their incredible migration south to Mexico for the winter. 

For more information on monarch butteflies and how to help their conservation efforts, visit Monarch Watch and The Xerces Society. 

Embed Block

Add an embed URL or code. Learn more