Get to Know Some of New Jersey’s Most Endangered Species

The Nature Conservancy’s protected lands and waters provide a haven for endangered animals and plants in the Garden State.

There are more than 16,000 endangered species in the world and New Jersey is home to more than 700 of them. One of the biggest threats to their survival is the loss of quality habitat, so it’s important to understand how we can help protect them. If you’re visiting a preserve, make sure to stay on marked trails to minimize disturbance. If you’re lucky enough to see an endangered animal, keep your distance and admire it from afar.

New Jersey is also home to some unique endangered plants. When out exploring, don’t pick the plants and flowers. And never, ever litter. The best way to appreciate the beauty of nature is to appreciate it from a distance and share photos of what you encounter without disturbing the local habitat.

Here are some of NJ’s most endangered species and what’s being done to help protect them:

CHRISTINE HAINES FOR THE NATURE CONSERVANCY PHOTO CONTEST 2019 / American Bittern

ENDANGERED ANIMALS

American Bittern
Status: State Endangered (Breeding Population)

American bitterns are medium-sized wading birds. They live in wetland areas and their nests can typically be found near shallow water in thick vegetation. Most American bitterns migrate south in the fall, but some remain in New Jersey through the winter.

What’s being done to protect them: Designated protected lands such as South Cape May Meadows, Garrett Family Preserve in Cape May and Maurice River Bluffs Preserves in Millville make for attractive breeding areas.

KENT MASON / Bobcat

Bobcat
Status: State Endangered

Once nearly extinct in New Jersey due to massive deforestation and development, bobcats are slowly growing in numbers in the northern part of the state, but they still have a long way to go. Bobcats wander an average of 7 miles per day – which means there is a lot of area to protect.

What’s being done to protect them: There is an area up north called Bobcat Alley, a 32,000-acre forested corridor that is the perfect habitat for bobcats. It spans from the Highlands to the Appalachian mountain ranges. So far it is about one-third protected. The Nature Conservancy and other organizations have a goal of protecting an additional one-third of the land by 2027.

SHUTTERSTOCK / JAY ONDREICKA / Bog Turtle

Bog Turtle
Status: Federally Endangered

Bog turtles need wetland habitats for foraging, nesting, basking and hibernating. They are most active in the spring, when they come out of hibernation to breed. Declining populations due to habitat loss and collection for illegal wildlife trade landed the bog turtle on the endangered species list for New Jersey in 1974 and then on the list of federally threatened species in 1997. Bog turtle habitats are being lost due to development, pollution and invasive species.

What’s being done to protect them: Areas that are optimal for bog turtles are being preserved, such as the Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve in Frelinghuysen.

SHUTTERSTOCK / Eastern tiger salamander

Eastern Tiger Salamander
Status: State Endangered

The eastern tiger salamander is the largest salamander in New Jersey, and they pretty much stay in wetlands and ponds in Cape May, southern Atlantic and Cumberland counties. They migrate to their breeding ponds in late winter or early spring, and about three months later the juveniles burrow underground, where they will spend most of their lives.

Illegal dumping, as well as the filling of these ponds, has destroyed many of their breeding sites in New Jersey. Pollution from insecticides and fertilizers can kill their eggs and larvae, or cause their breeding ponds to be uninhabitable. Because of this, many of the salamanders instead go to man-made pools, such as old gravel pits and farm ponds. Habitat loss caused by the development of upland forests is another major threat to their survival.

What’s being done to protect them: There are protected wetlands and forests in Lizard Tail in Cape May Courthouse, Maurice River Bluffs in Millville and Eldora Preserves in Delmont.

SHUTTERSTOCK / HARRY COLLINS / Least tern

Least Tern
Status: State Endangered

Least terns are small, colonial shorebirds that migrate to New Jersey beaches each year for their nesting season. They were once very common along New Jersey coasts, but egg collecting and hunting in the early 1900s caused their population to plummet. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 helped their population rebound. Unfortunately, coastal development that took off in the 1940s and the increased use of beaches for recreation has led to another decline.

What’s being done to protect them: South Cape May Meadows Preserve boasts a mile of protected beach where least terns attempt to nest. In 2019 and 2020, after about four to five years of having no babies, there were eight tern chicks born in both years.

SHUTTERSTOCK / Piping plover

Piping Plover
Status: Federally Endangered
These small shorebirds make their way to barrier islands and beaches in New Jersey each year to breed. They were common during the 1880s, but became nearly locally extinct during the 1890s from market hunting and egg collecting. They were protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and for a while the population began to recover. However, during the late 1940s, numbers began to decline again because of threats like the red fox, raccoons and gulls; loss of habitat because of development; flooding; beach raking and dog walking.

What’s being done to protect them: There are two nesting enclosures on a protected beach in the South Cape May Meadows preserve that are helping minimize disturbance to these birds. There are call boxes that send out bird calls and plover decoys sitting on simulated nests in the enclosed areas. They haven’t come back to nest in a few years, but environmentalists are still hopeful they will return.

SHUTTERSTOCK / SARA GINN / Southern gray treefrog

Southern Gray Treefrog (Copes Gray Treefrog)
Status: State Endangered

The southern gray treefrog is limited to just four counties in New Jersey: Cape May, Cumberland, Ocean and Atlantic. They spend the majority of their time high up in trees. During breeding season, they make their way to freshwater ponds and wetlands to breed on branches hanging above the water.

What’s being done to protect them: In 1979, the southern gray treefrog was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey. Development of forests, illegal filling of vernal ponds and destruction of wetlands all play major roles in reducing this frog’s habitat.

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY / Hammond’s Yellow Spring Beauty

Plant Life

Hammond’s Yellow Spring Beauty
Status: Globally Endangered

Hammond’s yellow spring beauty is an extremely rare wildflower that is only found in a few secluded areas of northwestern New Jersey. The flower was discovered over 50 years ago by a local naturalist named Emilie K. Hammond. Its special habitat lies in the protected Arctic Meadows Preserve, which is a 100-acre preserve located in the foothills of the Kittatinny Mountain Range.

CHRIS MOODY / Lesser bladderwort

Lesser Bladderwort
Status: State Endangered

Lesser bladderwort is only found in a few locations in New Jersey, and the Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve is one of them. It is a carnivorous plant that uses small bladder-like traps to capture and digest prey. It doesn’t have roots, but it has thin underwater stems, so it favors the shallow waters of fens, wetlands and ponds. Habitat loss and changes in water quality are two of the main threats to this plant in New Jersey.

DAMON NOE / TNC / Sensitive joint vetch

Sensitive Joint Vetch
Status: State Endangered and Federally Threatened

New Jersey is one of only four states where sensitive joint vetch still remains. It’s part of the legume family and has yellow, irregular flowers and leaves that fold slightly when touched, hence the name. It prefers to grow on the lower edge of marshes where the soil may be mucky or sandy, especially where there are fewer plants in the area. Its major threat is sea level rise, but the dredging of marshes in Delaware and Pennsylvania caused local extinction. Recreational activities, pollution, sedimentation and invasive pests are also threats.

SHUTTERSTOCK / Swamp pink

Swamp Pink
Status: State Endangered

Over half of the known populations of this plant are found in New Jersey. You’ll find swamp pink in wetlands, spring seepage areas, headwater wetlands and forested wetlands where the water line rests just below its leaves. Its evergreen leaves can be seen year-round, but the flowers bloom between March and May. Swamp pink used to be found from New York down to Georgia, but it appears less and less due to development, destruction of wetlands and changes in groundwater hydrology. Pesticides and fertilizer use, construction and other human activities lead to pollution that disturbs this plant’s habitat.

Read More:
Where to See Bald Eagles in New Jersey
Saving New Jersey’s Endangered Bobcats
Osprey: From Surviving to Thriving
Gardening for Pollinators as a Family
Birds of NJ: Figure Out What’s In Your Backyard
Eco-Friendly Travel In And Near Cape May

 

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Get fun things to do in NJ delivered straight to your inbox.

Latest articles

More from NJ Family