New Jersey Audubon Conservation Priorities – September 2022 through August 2025

The New Jersey Audubon is a privately supported, not-for profit, statewide membership organization. Founded in 1897, and one of the oldest independent Audubon societies, New Jersey Audubon fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey’s citizens; protects New Jersey’s birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes the conservation of New Jersey’s valuable natural habitats.

Mission

New Jersey Audubon has a twofold mission: to connect all people with nature and to steward the nature of today for all people of tomorrow. To realize the twofold mission, New Jersey Audubon has articulated a set of quantitative and qualitative goals focused on engaging people, conserving and restoring habitat, saving species and addressing diversity, equity, inclusivity and justice challenges and opportunities.

People Goal

  • Educate and engage 500,000+ people in nature through a diversified platform of programs and visitor services
  • Engage 350+ organizations in strategic coalition building that heightens awareness and appreciation for nature, motivates behavior and social change, and advocates for conservation policies
  • Inform and engage 11 million people through print and digital media

Habitat Goal

  • Restore 14,000+ acres of habitat including, including young forests, grasslands and connected agricultural lands, high marsh habitat and tidal wetlands.
  • Create and/or enhance 2,000+ properties with the intent of connecting urban and suburban habitat patches for breeding and migratory wildlife.
  • Increase accessibility of 15+ miles of nature trails.

Species Goal

  • Use research, monitoring, and natural resource management to increase populations of keystone species that represent imperiled or impacted habitats.
  • Promote and advocate for policies that protect and restore habitat for species to thrive.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Goals

New Jersey Audubon is committed to a New Jersey where people and nature flourish – making nature welcoming, safe, inclusive, and accessible to all people through an equitable and just approach to conservation.  We have integrated our DEIJ goals throughout the organization and conservation priorities and continue to update and promote the DEIJ Toolkit, developed by Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed which is overseen by New Jersey Audubon.

How We Work

We will achieve these goals by deploying a set of core strategies across a suite of landscapes where we will track specific metrics. Taken together this provides the clarity of how we work and where we work. Our core strategies are:

Education and Outreach
We provide a wide array of conservation and nature-based recreation programs to New Jersey residents, visitors, and organizational members where they live, work and play while also welcoming members and the public to a network of nature centers, sanctuaries and strategic conservation projects. We work with a diverse set of constituents including individuals, teachers, state and federal agencies, academia, youth-serving organizations, other non-profits and business.

Public Policy and Advocacy
We engage representatives from state and federal government, businesses and other nonprofits to advance the conservation of wildlife and habitat through advocacy, participation in agency rule making and policy implementation, and coalition-building.

Wildlife and Habitat Stewardship
We engage with public and private landowners, land managers, farmers, producers, foresters, and businesses and work with these groups to take actions that steward, restore, enhance, and create habitat for rare, common, and imperiled plants and wildlife. We do this through a science-based approach to adaptive management and restoration, all while working with federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit organizations, landowners, and other stakeholders to ensure that New Jersey’s natural resources are protected.

Research and Monitoring
We utilize sound scientific principles and practices to design, implement, evaluate and adapt projects and programs. NJ Audubon, through staff and volunteer citizen scientists and stewards, collects and analyzes natural resources data in order to evaluate projects and to generally document and track the status of species and habitat in New Jersey and beyond.

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