New Jersey Conservation Foundation
More clean energy can reduce electric costs
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation You’ve probably noticed your electric bill going up, and wondered what can be done about it. More clean energy like solar and wind could help lower those bills – and help protect the environment – but it’s stuck in line. While New Jersey has been making great strides in developing clean energy in-state, our power […]
Nature’s hidden homes
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Across the forests, riverbanks, and backyards of New Jersey, animals are building shelters that are marvels of engineering and ingenuity. Take a closer look, and you’ll find that some of our most familiar wildlife are master architects. Ever wondered who uses those large round leafy nests in the […]
One of the last stands for Atlantic white cedar
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Before many of New Jersey’s forests started being cleared and drained for agriculture some 400 years ago – drastically changing the landscape of this state we’re in – Atlantic white cedar swamps were abundant. In fact, this distinct habitat once occupied half a million acres along the East Coast, and in New Jersey, nearly […]
The bold vision that saved the Palisades and inspired a movement
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission – a pioneering model of environmental preservation. Long before conservation was a part of public consciousness, a group of determined citizens banded together to stop the destruction of the Palisades cliffs along the Hudson River. Their efforts saved an iconic […]
Crabs at the crossroads of science and survival
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Once there was a superabundance of horseshoe crabs; armadas of females blanketed the beaches of the Delaware Bayshore. Through the 1990s, New Jersey’s horseshoe crab breeding and coinciding red knot shorebird migration was a spectacular natural phenomenon. “On the sand, there were around 50,000 horseshoe crab eggs per square meter,” says Larry […]
Preservation in the Pines protects people from fire
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation The second largest New Jersey wildfire in 20 years broke out in Lacey Township, Ocean County on April 22, 2025. Started by an illegal bonfire west of the Garden State Parkway, the Jones Road Fire burned over 15,000 acres of the Pine Barrens, including much of the Forked River Mountains. Although the fire […]
The spectacular journey of New Jersey’s smallest bird
by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation For a brief but magical window in late April and early May, New Jersey becomes a crucial stopover for one of nature’s tiniest travelers: the ruby-throated hummingbird. As the only species of hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America, these dazzling little birds make an incredible journey north each spring from southern Florida, […]