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The State We're In

Showing articles in The State We're In

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    ‘Spill Spotters’ Needed to Keep Eyes on the Water
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    May 18, 2012

    After the devastation of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago, many New Jerseyans wondered whether our state’s w...

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    Watch Wildlife Now!
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    May 11, 2012

    When it comes to wildlife, New Jersey is well positioned. Not only does the Garden State have highly diverse geography – from th...

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    Garden State’s Rare Plants Need Protection
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    April 27, 2012

    Have you ever seen a Pickering’s morning glory, an American chaffseed flower or a three birds orchid? If you have, you&rsquo...

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    Escaping Technology, Preserving the Timeless
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    April 19, 2012

    According to English poet John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of itself.”  Art and Nan Kellam bought an unin...

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    Petula Clark was Right – Everything is Waiting for You Downtown!
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    April 5, 2012

    Does the prospect of paying $5 per gallon for gasoline make you wish you could walk instead? If so, a recent Monmouth University poll ...

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    What Books Would the Lorax Read?
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    March 30, 2012

    The box office success of The Lorax, with an environmental message delivered by a hairy orange tree advocate, has renewed interest in ...

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    Groundhog Day, with Some Halloween Thrown In
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    March 23, 2012

    In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray lives the same 24 hours over and over again. New Jersey is having its own Groundhog Day wi...

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    Politics Trumps Water Protections in Highlands
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    March 19, 2012

    “Thursday night massacre, kangaroo court, gutless, nasty, dirty politics, and Soviet style governance” are just a few of t...

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    Celebrating 75 years of Ducks Unlimited
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    March 9, 2012

    Ducks Unlimited celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about its work.  Duck...

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    ‘This Land is Our Land’ … Don’t Divert It!
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    March 2, 2012

    The familiar opening lyrics to Woody Guthrie’s 1945 folk classic, “This Land Is Your Land,” should be taken literall...

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    Stink bugs remind us why invasives stink
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    February 16, 2012

    Ask any biologist and they’ll tell you that invasive species stink. In the case of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, they really m...

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    Hit New Jersey’s Trails This Spring!
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    February 9, 2012

    This state we’re in often gets a bad rap. New Jersey is known more for hairspray and concrete than natural wonders. But, in trut...

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    Bird Watching Goes Viral
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    February 4, 2012

    Bird watchers are a unique breed.  The hobby rewards patience, quiet and stillness… but get a group of birders together an...

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    Conservation Trailblazer: Howard P. Boyd
    by Michele S. Byers
    January 20, 2012

    By the time Howard P. Boyd graduated from high school in 1932, he had earned every possible Boy Scout nature merit badge. Those two lo...

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    Governor’s Veto a Win for Agriculture
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    January 14, 2012

    It’s a sad reality that preserved farmland and open space need saving over and over again.  Though secured from housing spr...

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    Invasion of the ‘Frankenfish’
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    January 5, 2012

    Snakehead. The name sounds foreboding, especially for those with “ophidiophobia,” otherwise known as fear of snakes. But t...

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    Walking and Poetry: Perfect Together
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    December 28, 2011

    It’s not an exaggeration to say that nature inspires.  The visual arts are perfectly attuned to capturing everything from a...

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    Before You Step Under the Mistletoe...
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    December 21, 2011

    Mistletoe is one of our most iconic holiday symbols.  You see it in pictures, hear about it in familiar carols, and either look f...

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    Parks Partnerships Must Place Public Trust First
    by Michele S. Byers
    December 2, 2011

    Governor Chris Christie recently unveiled a plan to make New Jersey’s state park system pay for itself.  The need for park ...

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    This Holiday Season, Bring Your Own … Bag, That Is!
    by Michele S. Byers
    November 23, 2011

    As we head into the holiday season, we come face-to-face with a dirty little secret:  plastic bags and over-packaging. Why not jo...

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    Controlling Sprawl Requires Strong State Plan
    by Michele S. Byers
    November 20, 2011

    Governor Christie recently released a new "state strategic plan" for economic growth, with the aim of replacing our current ...

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    A TRAIN Wreck for Public Health and the Environment
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    September 29, 2011

    Picture a train bearing down on a beautiful maiden tied to the railroad tracks. A dastardly villain looks on, a wicked gleam in his ey...

  • Saving Colonial History at Petty's Run
    by Michele S. Byers
    September 22, 2011

      An amazing piece of New Jersey’s colonial history was just saved by an agreement between the state Department of Envi...

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    New Jersey: Garden State or Flooded State?
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
    September 15, 2011

    If New Jersey is the Garden State, our garden is watered by plentiful rivers, springs, streams and creeks flowing from corner to corn...

  • Buy “Jersey Fresh” and Keep the Garden State Green
    by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservati​on Foundation
    September 13, 2011

    As a recent national poll demonstrated, farms and farming are “top of the mind” for most people who are asked about New Je...