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July 31, 2001

DIVISION OF FISH & WILDLIFE'S WEBSITE TAKES 3RD PLACE
IN NATIONAL COMPETITION

For more information contact:
Paul Tarlowe at 908-637-4125

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) Division of Fish and Wildlife was recently awarded third place for its website, NJFishandwildlife.com, at the 2001 Association for Conservation Information's (ACI) national conference held July 8-12 in Cape May, New Jersey.

ACI is an international network of professional natural resource conservation communicators from the U.S. and Canada, including representatives from state and federal agencies as well as private organizations. Founded in 1938, it is the oldest and largest association of its kind in the country.

The ACI annual conference provides strong agendas that emphasize message improvement, an exchange of ideas and communication techniques, and the presentation of current environmental and wildlife conservation communication issues. The annual awards program is part of the conference each year and is conducted among members for the purpose of advancing craftsmanship through competition. Also honored in the website category was the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which received first place and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which ranked second.

"It is extremely gratifying to be recognized by the national Association for Conservation Information," said Division Director Bob McDowell. "We have put a lot of time and effort into making our website an informative, fun and user-friendly experience. It is a valuable learning tool that enables us to reach a vast audience with news and information about wildlife in New Jersey."

Highlights of the Division's website includes monthly feature articles, the latest news releases, on-line fishing license sales, current regulations, places to fish, endangered species information and a wealth of educational resources as well as links to other environmental websites.

Recently an expedition to the Arctic by Division Endangered and Nongame Species biologists, part of an on-going study of migratory shorebirds, provided daily reports and photos of their work. Another recent highlight was a live "web-cam" featuring a "birds-eye view" of nesting peregrine falcons high atop a building in Jersey City. In addition, a "search" function allows visitors to quickly find the pages they're looking for and e-mail inquiries are individually responded to in a timely fashion.

To learn more about New Jersey's wildlife and opportunities to enjoy it, visit the Division of Fish and Wildlife's award-winning website at www.NJFishandwildlife.com.