Volunteers Needed for Horseshoe Crab Tagging, Spawning Surveys

COURT HOUSE — Cape May National Wildlife Refuge will be tagging horseshoe crabs on Tues., May 19 and Mon., June 1 at 8:30 p.m. at Kimbles Beach in Cape May Court House, NJ. Volunteers are needed to use cordless drills to attach tags to the horseshoe crabs shells as they come up onto the beach to lay eggs.
Please wear shoes and pants that can get wet, bring a headlamp if you have one, and be prepared for gnats and mosquitoes! Volunteers can be all ages. There will be an information session at 8:30 p.m. to go over the tagging procedure. Volunteers will work in groups of five to six people to tag and record data. Volunteers will be required to sign a Volunteer Agreement.
Volunteers are also needed to conduct horseshoe crab spawning surveys. A meter square will be used to count the number of female and male crabs along Kimbles Beach. Volunteers will need to wear shoes and pants that can get wet and will need to be physically fit to walk along the beach quickly. One to two volunteers will be needed to work each night and will work alongside an experienced surveyor for approximately 1.5 hours. Volunteers should be 16 years or older and will be required to sign a Volunteer Agreement.
Volunteers are needed for spawning surveys on the following dates:
Sat., May 16- 8:00 p.m.
Mon., May 18- 9:30 p.m.
Wed., May 20- 11:00 p.m.
Sun., May 31- 7:45 p.m.
Tues., June 2- 9:15 p.m.
Thurs., June 4- 10:45 p.m.
Sun., June 14- 7:45 p.m.
Tues., June 16- 9:15 p.m.
Thurs., June 18- 10:45 p.m.
Please contact Heidi Hanlon at heidi_hanlon@fws.gov to participate in the spawning surveys.