Budget concerns are causing the New Jersey Audubon Society to make some cutbacks.

The Rancocas Nature Center in Mount Holly and the Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood will close as of January 1st.

Except for some special events, the Nature Center of Cape May and the Cape May Bird Observatory will be closed to the public from January through mid-April.

New Jersey Audubon Society President Eric Stiles says other nature centers around the state will remain open.

“We still have a suite of places that people can come and connect with nature. Our programs that we run year round are also throughout the state. So even though we don’t open those centers per se we’ll still be doing programs in those communities.”

Stiles says the non-profit Society is no longer in a position to fund nature centers operating at a deficit.

He says the Audubon Society is seeking funding for a program called ECO Schools to provide learning opportunities for students.
 

“It could be a garden. It could be a wildlife garden. It could be taking a look at an energy audit, reducing energy consumption in the schools, doing an inventory of wildlife on their school property. You have modules online that provide great content and curriculum for that, and then we have live staff available as resources.”