Archive for April 2026

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Photo: Pine Barrens’ Triantha novacaesarensis (c) David Taylor In a place as well-traveled and studied as New Jersey, it’s easy to assume that there aren’t many natural surprises left. And yet, deep in the Pine Barrens, a quiet botanical mystery has been unfolding for thousands of…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Sometimes, it takes only a single moment to change the way we see the world. A brief encounter with something wild can awaken a sense of wonder we didn’t know we were missing. Birds have been on earth for at least 150 million years and have…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Photo: Aerial photo of damaged homes along New Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy (c) Greg Thompson/USFWS New Jersey’s Resilient Environment and Landscapes (REAL) rules protect our natural ecosystems and human societies. But confusion and misinformation have spread about the new standards, fueling calls to roll back…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Some chemicals are forever. The presence of PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – in the environment first sparked concern in New Jersey when they were detected in our state’s waters two decades ago. They have now been detected in hundreds of water systems statewide. PFAS…