Archive for August 2026

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Northern diamondback terrapins are the only turtles in the world that spend their entire lives in brackish coastal environments, where freshwater and saltwater meet. Naturally, they love our state! Like many wild residents of this state we’re in, terrapins have a long and complicated history with…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation On any summer morning along New Jersey’s coast, you’ll find people casting lines from the surf, dropping bait from small boats, or simply standing at the water’s edge, waiting. Fishing here is a tradition, a livelihood, and can be a way for people to learn about…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation If you think fall isn’t just around the corner, take a look at the birds! If you’ve been at the Jersey shore recently, you may have noticed tiny sandpipers known as sanderlings pecking and scurrying along the water’s edge. They just spent their summer breeding in…

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Photo – Bog Turtle (c) Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program New Jersey has been a leader in protecting the species and ecosystems that make our state unique. But we can’t escape the toll that the Trump administration’s recent rollback of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections will take…