New Jersey

Places We Work » New Jersey

Every year New Jersey adds nearly 16,600 acres of new development while losing more than 9,600 acres of farmland, 4,200 acres of forest, and 2,600 acres of wetlands. At this rate, New Jersey will be the first state in the nation to reach build-out.  Often known of for its tough cities, polluting industries and miles of developed beach resort areas, it’s not surprising that New Jersey’s natural beauty is sometimes overlooked. It’s true that of all the states in the nation, New Jersey ranks 47th in land area, but tenth in population, yet much of New Jersey’s landscapes are surprisingly diverse and unpopulated, from the northern Appalachian Highlands and Great Swamp to its flat sandy eastern coastline and the biologically diverse Pine Barrens in the south.

New Jersey has been known as the Garden State since 1876, when a man named Abraham Browning coined the term, comparing New Jersey to “an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and the New Yorkers from the other.” Its massive urban neighbors have continued to grow in size and impact since then, but on the Delaware bay shore, farmers and fisherman still harvest food for their neighbors, and most of New Jersey’s farms remain small family operations that average about 86 acres, making the state one of the top ten producers of cranberries, blueberries, asparagus, spinach, sweet corn, and tomatoes. Many of these crops fill farm markets in nearby New York City and Philadelphia.

Across the small state, natural ecosystems abound. Along the Barnegat Bay Watershed, fresh and saltwater combine to create a productive aquatic environment. Fourteen endangered or threatened species find refuge in the region. The Pinelands provide a distinctive habitat for more than one thousand species of plants and animals while its cranberry and blueberry bogs support the local economy. Birdwatchers travel to the southern tip of Cape May to watch raptors migrate each fall, and in the forests of the Highlands, which cut a wide swath across the state’s northwest corner, 350,000 acres provide drinking water to more than half of New Jersey’s residents.

• One-third of the state’s land has already been developed, and another fifth is protected park and farmland, leaving nearly half the state still vulnerable to expanding development. 
• Although it is the third most productive farm state in the Northeast, farmland in the state is steadily declining, from 26,900 farms in 1950 to 8,100 in 1990.

OSI At Work

• Conservation organizations, including OSI, are working to protect natural landscapes and family farms. We are working with DEP's Office of Green Acres that has set a "Million Acre Conservation Goal" to protect an additional 20 percent of the state.
• With a number of partners, OSI has saved 10,000 acres to date in New Jersey through our Conservation Finance Program.
• Assisted the New Jersey Conservation Fund acquire the 9,400-acre DeMarco Cranberry Farm in the heart of the Pinelands. This acquisition will link Wharton, Brendan Byrne, and Bass River State Forests, resulting in almost a million acres of preserved lands.
• Provided a loan to the Morris Land Conservancy to purchase the 240-acre Napolitano tract, which contains significant wetlands and forests. The easement provides a buffer that will help protect the adjacent state wildlife management area. 
• Loaned funds to the Monmouth Conservation Foundation to buy the 40-acre Stern Fisher property, a critical habitat for endangered and threatened species. It also opened access to the Millstone River for recreational use.

Recreational Resources in New Jersey

• NJ Travel Recreation
• Division of Parks and Forests
• New Jersey Parks
• New Jersey Attractions
• New York-New Jersey Trail Conference