5 mile Moderate loop hike on the Song Bird Trail in the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Bring lunch/beverage to eat at the picnic tables after the hike. Meet at the Refuge parking lot off Great Creek Road and Rt 9 in Galloway, NJ. Bad weather cancels. Leader: Rosemarie Mason romason @comcast.net Phone:(6 0 9) 404-9587/

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

The Pine Barrens Up Close and Natural (film by Pinelands Preservation Alliance)
FREE
Belleplain State Forest,
Conference Room
(609) 861-2404
Note: ½ hour DVD presentation; ADA accessible

FREE. Double Trouble State Park. Note: This video will air every half-hour; limited seating.

10am. Join us for a 8-mile paddleon the "Jewel of the Pinelands". Meet at Lake Oswego. Experienced winter Pines paddlers only. Contact leaders to confirm trip and participation. George & Leona F, 609-259-3734 or leona@pineypaddlers.com

$5 donation/person requested. Reservations requested.

On Saturday, March 3, Refuge Manager Virginia Rettig will give us an overview of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, focusing on the activities and areas available for public use. At the Refuge, more than 47,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitat are actively protected and managed for wildlife and for you. She will also provide information regarding bird use of the refuge's beach areas at Holgate and Little Beach Island. Her talk will be repeated at 1:30 pm again on March 3 at the NJ Maritime Museum, 528 Dock Road, Beach Haven.

Ms. Rettig received her BS in Environmental and Forest Biology in 1991 from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and her MS from Louisiana State University. For more information about the Refuge check out www.fws.gov/northeast/forsythe.

For more information, contact the LBIF at (609) 494-1241 or visit the LBIF Science Committee's website at www.LBIFScience.org. You can also stay up-to-the minute with all of the LBIF's happenings by joining its Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/LBIFAS and following its Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/LBIF.

8 miles moderate pace around the lake and through the woods. May be some very wet areas, hiking sticks maybe useful. In the parking lot across from the office. Bring lunch/water.

Leaders Toni (6 0 9) 652+0112 and Jan (6 0 9) 404+4990

Sponored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

The Pinelands Commission usually meets on the second Friday of each month. These meetings are open to the public and are most frequently conducted at the Richard J. Sullivan Center for Environmental Policy and Education, 15C Springfield Road, New Lisbon, New Jersey. The Commission does sometimes meet at other locations in the Pinelands during the year, so please confirm the meeting place by calling the Commission's offices.

Committees of the Commission meet between the regularly scheduled monthly meetings. The committees include Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) Policy and Implementation, Permanent Land Protection, Personnel and Budget, Public and Governmental Programs, and Science.

The Pine Barrens Up Close and Natural (film by Pinelands Preservation Alliance)
FREE
Belleplain State Forest,
Conference Room
(609) 861-2404
Note: ½ hour DVD presentation; ADA accessible

FREE. Double Trouble State Park. Note: Produced by NJ Forest Fire Service this video will air every half-hour; limited seating.

The Weymouth Township Environmental and Shade Tree Commissions are holding their Sixth Annual Spring Seminar on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Attendees will qualify for CEU credits under the NJ Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act. The program is as follows:

9:15 am: Registration & Refreshments

9:30 - 11:30 am: Ned Gaine will talk about native tree care and landscaping, including health, pruning, spacing, mulching, blooming and undergrowth management. He will also discuss which plants bloom and which put off color, bloom and foliage care, and common tree pests and their identification. Ned has a MS in Biology from Rutgers University.

Break

11:45 am: Registration & Refreshments

12:00 - 1:00 pm: Rare and unusual wildflowers of the Pinelands - Presentation by Michael Hogan.

Location: Weymouth Township Municipal Building, 45 S. Jersey Ave., Dorothy, NJ 08317

Attendance at one or both presentations is welcome, and free to the public. For more information contact Jill Baxter at 609-476-2086 or hoganhoto@verizon.net.

Walks are 3 - 5 miles long, and led by experienced leaders. $5 donation/person, reservations requested.

On Saturday, Mach 10, Sue Puder, President of the Southern Ocean Birding Group, and Linda Gangi, Southern Ocean Birding Group Vice President, will be our presenters. Join Susan and Linda to learn about ways to identify birds; why New Jersey is such a wonderful place to view birds; where the local birding hot spots are; and why bird watching is such an exciting and growing outdoor activity.

This program is part of Wings Over LBI Day, an annual bird watching celebration that takes place at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and the LBI Foundation.

Susan Puder is the founder of the Southern Ocean Birding Group which meets the second Thursday of the month at the Hunting Shanty, Tuckerton Seaport. She is a serious nature and wildlife photographer and has been an avid birder since moving to Barnegat in 2004. Her first book, combining photography and birding, "New Jersey Birds and Beyond", will be published in Spring 2012 by Schiffer Publishing.

Linda Gangi is a master naturalist and has been an avid birder for over 20 years. She was the Project Manager for the NJ Audubon Society's Birding and Wildlife Guides for the Skylands and the Meadowlands regions. She also writes a blog, Linda's for the Birds, for WildNewJersey.tv.

For more information, contact the LBIF at (609) 494-1241 or visit the LBIF Science Committee's website at www.LBIFScience.org. You can also stay up-to-the minute with all of the LBIF's happenings by joining its Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/LBIFAS and following its Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/LBIF.

We will be honoring Marilyn Schmidt and the ABC's for the dinner is: Author from Buzby's in Chatsworth.

Buffet Dinner at 4:30 to honor Marilyn Schmidt, Author from Buzby's in Chatsworth

Host: Paul Schopp

Entertainment: Jimmy Murphy - Gabe Coia & Rene Brecht

Speakers - The Fayers

5 miles, easy pace. This is our 3rd annual Daylight Savings Time hike at Turkey Swamp Park. This wooded Park is 2,173 acres with miles of trails. David Roche, Monmouth County Park volunteer docent, will be our guide on trails through the Pitch Pines and Oak Tree forests. Park information and directions: www.monmouthcountyparks.com/ Turn into the Main Entrance - 200 Georgia Road, Freehold - drive to the Oak Point picnic area parking lot. Bring lunch and beverage. Leashed dogs are welcome! Leona and George F. 609-259-3734 or Leona@pineypaddlers.com

Serenade for Wildlife (March 11th, 3 p.m.) Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge invites you to join them for a delightful afternoon of classical music, with all proceeds to benefit the Refuge.

The concert will feature William Stokking, retired principal cellist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Nancy Stokking, along with violinist Jonathan Beiler from the Philadelphia Orchestra and pianist Norma Meyer, a founding member of Piano4.

Not to be outdone by the professionals, two of our resident owls will also be making an appearance and hopefully adding their vocalizations. Refreshments to follow at the musicians' reception. This will be the 18th year for this annual event and is a wonderful welcome to the spring season. It will be held at the Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Tabernacle. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Please call the Refuge at 856-983-3329 ext. 100 for tickets or information. www.cedarrun.org

A short bushwhack is necessary to see this pinelands gem. Join us as we walk to this rarely visited pond in Brendan Byrne SF. Ten miles or so along sandy roads, trails and around mud puddles, at a moderate (3mph) pace. Bring lunch, and a sense of adventure. If it is a wet winter, our feet may get wet. Leaders; Faye and Jay

phone (9 0 8) 692-5765

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

As the last rays of sun fade into the darkening sky, sounds of calling frogs and toads begin to fill the warm, night air. Explore the distribution, reproduction, habitat preferences and vocalizations of the frogs and toads of the Mullica River basin.

Call 609-296-8868 for more information and to register. Cost is $2.00 per person (payable at the door). Participants can bring lunch or take advantage of our lunch option for $6.00 (registration required for lunch a day in advance).

The Pine Barrens Up Close and Natural (film by Pinelands Preservation Alliance)
FREE
Belleplain State Forest,
Conference Room
(609) 861-2404
Note: ½ hour DVD presentation; ADA accessible

FREE. Double Trouble State Park. Note: Produced by NJ Forest Fire Service this video will air every half-hour; limited seating.

FREE. Wharton State Forest. Note: 2-mile to 4-mile hike

5 miles, moderate pace. Walk along the old bogs on the Bull's Branch of the Tulpehocken Creek, with a short stop at the Blueberry Monument honoring the first commercial blueberry farm. Meet at Friendship. Leader: David Bicking, (6 0 9)-332-2109, dbickin@yahoo.com

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

Many of us are familiar with GPS and its uses, but how do animals find their way around? Join our naturalist and experience different kinds of navigation used by animals and people. Cost is $5 per adult, $3 per child (age 4 and up), children under 4 and members free.

Hike to Deep Hollow Pond about 5 miles moderate pace. Hike from the Ranger Station to Deep Hollow Pond. Meet at the Ranger Station. Bring water and lunch. If in doubt contact leaders: Janet Horton Cell (609) 706-5691 janeth1@comcast.net

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

Wednesday Walk in the Woods. FREE; preregistration requested. Bass River State Forest. Note: 5-mile to 7-mile walk on flat ground, fast pace; bring drink and lunch

Meet in Field next to Atsion Office on Rt 206 across from the lake

Hike 6-7 miles around the lake at a Moderate Pace. Bring lunch and beverage. Check Web page for cancellation or change of date due to bad weather. Meet in Field next to Atsion Office on Rt 206 across from the lake.
Leaders Pat Burton camperpat@hotmail.com (856) 767-8064 and
Chris Denneler (856) 461-5379 cdenneler157@yahoo.com

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

Description: Helen Henderson of the American Littoral Society will present on how and why we need to protect Barnegat Bay. The Barnegat Bay/Little Egg Harbor (BB/LEH) estuary is suffering from eutrophication issues due to the over-enrichment of nutrients from watershed sources as well as atmospheric sources. This talk will focus on what individuals and policy-makers can do to reverse the degradation.

Cost: $10

SPACE IS LIMITED; REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

Registration: Regsiter online or call 609 859-8860 x14 or email tomdunn@pinelandsalliance.org

PPA's Pinelands Lecture Series features a variety of guest speakers on Pinelands-related topics.

A free, public screening of the first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold and his environmental legacy on Wednesday, March 21st, at the Shawnee High School Auditorium, 600 Tabernacle Road, Medford, NJ. Green Fire shares highlights from his extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation and the modern environmental movement. It also illustrates how Leopold's vision of a community that cares about both people and land continues to inform and inspire people across the country and around the world. Leopold's ideas remain relevant today, continuing to inspire projects nationwide that connect people and land.

Join the Board of Trustees of the Rancocas Conservancy at 6:30 PM for light refreshments and conversation before the screening at 7:30!

The Pine Barrens Up Close and Natural (film by Pinelands Preservation Alliance)
FREE
Belleplain State Forest,
Conference Room
(609) 861-2404
Note: ½ hour DVD presentation; ADA accessible

Burlington County College. Featuring presentations, field trips and bus tours.

Sponsored by the NJ Pinelands Commission and Burlington County College.

• Barnegat Bay Sneakbox Display
• Waterfowl & Shorebird Identification
• Wing Display by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
• Duck and Goose Calling
• All about Decoy Carving
• Dog Retrieving
• The Art of Camouflage
• Barnegat Bay Traditions
• Live Down Home Music with the Piney Hollow Drifters and lots of activities
• Some very special 100% handmade artists and crafters

6 miles at a Moderate pace to view a beautiful cedar swamp and a small pond. Bring lunch and beverage. As always, check web for cancellation due to bad weather. Meet at Friendship on Carranza Road, stay on Carranza Rd, past the Memorial and Batona campsites and go straight onto the dirt road all the way to the end in the open field.

Leaders
Pat Burton camperpat@hotmail.com (856) 767-8064 and
Chris Denneler (856) 461-5379 cdenneler157@yahoo.com

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.

Join us for an evening celebrating the bounty and beauty of New Jersey through art, wine and food! This celebration features environmental awareness and the members of EarthShare New Jersey. Guests are invited to enjoy the sounds of Stringzville and participate in the eco friendly chance and silent auctions which feature exclusive environmental experiences, tickets to sports events/concerts/shows, and items from some of your favorite businesses across the state.

Ticket price is $45 each and $50 at the door.

The Pine Barrens Up Close and Natural (film by Pinelands Preservation Alliance)
FREE
Belleplain State Forest,
Conference Room
(609) 861-2404
Note: ½ hour DVD presentation; ADA accessible

5 miles Moderate. We'll bounce around Batso utilizing several trails and maybe hike across the street to the Forks. Who knows where our boots will take us. Bring lunch/beverage for after the hike at the picnic tables. Meet at Basto Village. Bad weather cancels. Leader: Rosemarie Mason romason@comcast.net Phone: (609) 404-9587 / Cell: (609) 271-2167

Sponsored by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey.