The State We're In

Jan 30, 2026

By Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation

New Jersey’s new governor, Mikie Sherrill, takes the helm at a time of urgent need for climate leadership, environmental justice, and stronger protections for public land and water.

Hopes are high given Sherrill’s record in congress and her selection of Ed Potosnak, who led the state’s chapter of the League of Conservation Voters, to head the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

As we look back at the final chapter of the Murphy Administration and the close of the legislative session, we see some essential environmental victories worth celebrating, along with setbacks that remind us of how fragile progress in environmental protection can be. New Jersey’s small size and large population brings many environmental challenges, and we can expect the state to continue to grapple with familiar tensions between development and conservation, short-term convenience, and long-term resilience. Add the environmental rollbacks at the federal level, and the hill gets steeper!

This is just a small sampling of the wins and losses of late, starting with some recent good news:

• Native plants and ecosystems in this state we’re in got a boost with the recent passage of the Invasive Species Management Act. It bans the sale of certain invasive plants and reinstates the New Jersey Invasive Species Council.
• The DEP adopted rules aimed at strengthening community and business resilience in the face of sea-level rise, extreme weather, and chronic flooding. With this measure, our state is finally addressing serious risks to our coastline from erosion, sea-level rise, and hazardous storms. In addition to elevation requirements for new residential development in affected areas, the rules require better stormwater management for redevelopment. The measure also focuses on new “nature-based” solutions to coastal problems, including restoration and better protection of wetlands.
• The New Jersey Appellate Court upheld the state’s Environmental Justice Law, affirming that economic benefits associated with development proposals don’t justify adding pollution in already overburdened communities.
• New Jersey’s coastal wetlands, forests, and urban tree canopies gained much needed funding from the DEP’s Natural Climate Solutions grants to local governments and nonprofits. These grants are helping communities capture carbon, reduce flooding, and build a greener, healthier New Jersey.

Unfortunately, there’s also been bad news, much of it coming from Washington:

• The Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, a dirty and environmentally destructive pipeline designed to bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York City, recently got green lights from New York and New Jersey. The project includes a pipeline that will run under the Raritan Bay and a massive, polluting compressor station in Franklin Township, Somerset County. Construction will disturb over 1 million tons of toxin-laden muck, further polluting the bay and ocean and impacting marine mammals.
• At the federal level, 2025 brought environmental rollbacks that made protecting New Jersey’s natural resources more difficult. Changes to the National Environmental Policy Act rules weakened environmental reviews and reduced opportunities for public input. Efforts to winnow protections under the Marine Mammal Protection Act – a cornerstone law that prohibits harming whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals – and the Endangered Species Act pose significant threats to New Jersey’s wildlife. Other damaging federal actions by the Trump Administration and Congress have reduced protections for clean water, stymied advances in clean energy, curtailed funding for organic agriculture, and much more.

Murphy’s leadership was essential in the successful effort to stop the unnecessary and damaging PennEast gas pipeline early in his second term. In opposing the project, he stood up for the State’s right to protect its drinking water and preserved lands. He also worked to advance a broader clean energy agenda, but the legislature failed to enact the kind of bold clean energy legislation we need to cut our reliance on fossil fuels.

The new administration should take up the charge now. Governor Sherrill promised to look at energy affordability, and that should be good news for renewables. She can take advantage of lower solar energy costs – as well as battery storage – to lower emissions that contribute to climate change while decreasing ratepayers’ bills. If she does, it will be a win for ratepayers and the climate.

With a new legislative session beginning and the Sherrill Administration establishing its agenda, now is the time to press for bold action and leadership!

To learn about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.