The State We’re In by Jay Watson, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation

New Jersey’s Bright Green Future

Season’s Greetings!

For the last three years, I have served in the unique capacity of Co-Executive Director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation, most recently alongside my colleague Alison Mitchell. This is my final time authoring this column, as I transition from Co-Executive Director at the end of 2024 to a new role to focus more on urban green infrastructure investments in Trenton and around the state, and Alison steps forward as the sole Executive Director.

I feel blessed to have served in this role and wanted to take this opportunity to look back at how much incredible progress has been accomplished in protecting land and natural resources in New Jersey, and what lies ahead.

This state we’re in is also blessed – with an abundance of permanently protected open spaces, from High Point to Cape May Point.  We have amazing parks, forests, natural areas, and other undeveloped open spaces that support our people, plants, and wildlife.

New Jersey has been forward thinking in our green investments since the 1960’s.  The first Green Acres ballot questions set the stage for a strategic agenda to preserve our forests, fields, farmlands and open spaces while also providing resources to improve our parks in just about every community – all of which contributes to a high quality of life.

We are the most densely developed and populated state in the nation and our people are as diverse as our landscape. Thus far collectively, we have managed to protect nearly 33 percent of our land base – 1.6 million acres of New Jersey’s 4.8 million-acre total land mass – and we have much left to do!

The incredible New Jersey Conservation Blueprint tool estimates that we have just 1.4 million acres left that are undeveloped and largely unprotected. That is a little less than the size of Everglades National Park and a little larger than Grand Canyon National Park! The ultimate decisions about what happens to these lands will be decided over the coming few decades. That means that all land use in New Jersey will be decided; all land stakes claimed.

Fortunately, this state we’re in is also blessed with incredible preservation partners that are working hard every day to build on our collective preservation successes in every region of the state. Nonprofit land conservancies, state, county, and local agencies are working together to make sure that we continue preserving those lands that provide critical ecosystem services like stormwater absorption, carbon sequestration, and habitat for our many species – from Bobcats to Bobolinks and Bog asphodel to Yellow Spring Beauty. This land also offers our people places to seek respite from the built environment and enjoy time in our wonderful outdoors.

These partners will continue working in major ecoregions like our Pinelands, Highlands, Sourlands and Delaware bayshore, while also making sure that we are investing in conservation, recreation, and engagement in our cities. Nature for All!

Earlier this year, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and others brought together many experts, groups, and agencies working in conservation and environmental protection in New Jersey to develop a report entitled “Nature for All – A 2050 Vision for New Jersey” to assess what is left in our state and create a collective vision for a future New Jersey that maintains a high quality existence for many future generations.

That report calls us to preserve half of what is left, with 500,000 acres of the most important lands for ecosystem services, climate, and habitat values protected by 2050; and beyond that, an additional 200,000 acres of remaining important lands. It is an ambitious agenda that will require more motivated, willing conservation sellers, public support, and incredible staffing, innovative approaches, and bold leadership across our landscapes and partnerships.

I cannot wait to see the good work and bright future for conservation ahead!

To learn more about the New Jersey Conservation Blueprint, please visit www.njmap2.com/blueprint/. Check out the “Nature for All – A 2050 Vision for New Jersey” report at www.njconservation.org/nature-for-all/. For more information about New Jersey Conservation’s Executive Director Alison Mitchell, visit www.njconservation.org/staff/.