Wetlands Institute Opened in U.S.A.

Forest and Bird, Issue 186, 1 November 1972, Page 2

Wetlands Institute Opened in U.S.A.

THE Prince of the Netherlands, President of the World Wildlife Fund, dedicated the South Jersey Wetlands Institute at Stone Harbour, New Jersey, in the United States in September. The institute is the centre-piece of 5,000 acres of coastal marshlands which have been conserved as one of the World Wildlife Fund’s biggest projects and investments in the world. The president of the institute is Mr Herbert H. Mills, former executive vice-president of the World Wildlife Fund in the United States. Research Laboratory '* The buildings contain a research laboratory, lecture hall, natural history display area, and an observation tower. -

Scientific research and educational programmes at the Wetlands Institute are being conducted by Lehigh University and are aimed at increasing the understanding of wetland ecosystems; ascertaining the effects of disturbance caused by human activities; providing scientific information; training scientists and engineers in methods of solving and preventing ecological problems in coastal areas; and educating the general public on the importance of wetlands and the general ecology of coastal areas. It is hoped the institute will contribute to the elimination of pollution from marshlands, rehabilitate both finned fish and shellfish in the area, and provide information about the viruses and other diseases of fish migrating through the oceanic sludge dumps off North Jersey and Delaware Bay.