With 1,174 residents per square mile, it is the most densely populated state in the country. Its "Meadowlands" is not known for wildlife diversity, but rather football diversity (the only stadium home to two NFL teams). The longest hike many visitors may take is along Atlantic City's neon-lit boardwalk. In short, New Jersey is probably better known for providing habitat to "The Sopranos" than to species.

Yet even this most urban of states provides the latest reminder of how important conservation is to Americans, evident with the approval of the state-wide Green Acres conservation bond this past November 3.

In an election where the incumbent governor who supported the Green Acres bond lost, and the "economy" and "taxes" were the runaway top-two issues cited by voters in exit polls, this $400 million conservation bond received 53 percent of New Jersey voters' support.

A massive project to restore a wildlife habitat in the Meadowlands has raised fears of increased bird strikes at nearby Teterboro Airport, which already has the highest rate of hits in the region.

The Federal Aviation Administration said more migratory birds would be drawn to the 250-acre plot of wetlands in the Richard P. Kane Natural Area, creating a "threat to public safety."

Teterboro averaged five bird strikes per 10,000 landings and departures last year, more than double the rate at Newark Liberty International and La Guardia airports, according to an analysis by The Record. Teterboro's 651 recorded bird strikes since 2000 is more than any airport in the region except John F. Kennedy — despite having hundreds of thousands fewer departures and arrivals.

After hearing passionate testimony from differing views on the annual county-run deer hunt in South Mountain Reservation, Maplewood's Township Committee voted to go forward with the deer hunt. Reflecting concerns about the hunt, Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca voted cast the sole dissenting vote.

Officials painted the hunt as regrettable but necessary. The deer, they emphasized, are overpopulated and consequently tearing apart the forest's flora and fauna. Officials and supporters presented evidence demonstrating how plant life has dramatically improved as a result of controlling the deer population and other efforts by government workers and volunteers.

Along the shores of Branchport Creek in Oceanport, residents swim, fish and boat in what looks to be an idyllic setting. But a closer inspection of the water there after a hard rain as recently as a year ago would have turned up some nasty findings -- fecal matter from the nearby Monmouth Park racetrack.

Although some interim measures have temporarily stopped the messy runoff, officials from Oceanport and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority say they have hammered out a $21.5 million deal designed to be a more permanent solution.

- Two environmental groups announced at the former National Lead site in Sayreville today they have filed a federal lawsuit against 11 parties representing seven public and private entities, over pollution in and around Raritan Bay.

The non-profits, Edison Wetlands Association and NY/NJ Baykeeper are suing National Lead Industries, Sayreville's Economic and Redevelopment Agency, O'Neill Properties Group, Sayreville Seaport Associates, Middlesex County, the Turnpike Authority and New Jersey Department of Transportation.

For years, day trippers have flocked to the Jersey Shore to lay on the beach and soak up the sun and surf.

But there's now a new visitor heading to the shore: ecotourists who, experts say want to experience nature rather just observe it. And their desire to hike trails, climb rocks, spot birds or watch whales and dolphins is starting to translate into big dollars for local economies.

The peregrine falcon, which had been completely wiped out east of the Mississippi River by the early 1960s because of the pesticide DDT, is making a strong recovery in urban areas, and has been spotted this spring perched on three bridges that span the Hackensack River in Bergen County.

About three dozen students from four schools in the city took wooden canoes they crafted from blank pieces of wood, and caste them on the murky waters of the Passaic River this weekend as the culmination of a program that taught them math, history, environmental science and carpentry skills.

Their excitement quickly turned into nervousness as they worried whether their hand-crafted vessels would hold their weight.

"I've never been in a boat. If we fall, I can't swim," said a clearly worried Jazmine Serrano, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from William H. Brown Academy.

But she said she also couldn't pass up the chance to try a boat she helped make from scratch.

It was a typical Saturday morning in South Orange's Cameron Field Park. There was sunshine, friends, bagels — and rubber gloves and heavy-duty rain boots.

About 50 residents including Seton Hall University students, members of the Pure Progress campaign, and local business owners met for the Main Street South Orange annual Rahway River Clean-up. The volunteers grabbed a quick bite, threw on rubber gloves and went to work to help beautify South Orange's section of the Rahway River.

[NJ] State police plan to haul submerged cars out of the Hackensack River next month in an effort to rid the waterway of an environmental hazard and prosecute those who abandoned the vehicles.

Troopers from the State Police Marine Services spent this week locating cars and trucks using sonar and guidance from environmental advocates.

For more than 20 years, a 292-acre property in Clinton Township was a key battleground in New Jersey's sprawl wars.

Environmentalists saw it as a vital buffer to a major reservoir.

Residents saw one last open tract needed to protect the rural aesthetic they cherished.

Builders saw a wonderful opportunity to provide housing in great demand, a place to build up to 1,000 houses for commuters near Route 78. They would call it Windy Acres.

Years of marathon meetings and lawsuits failed to resolve the issue. Then, the housing market crashed.

For a second year in a row, sharpshooters will help thin the deer population in a 2,000-acre northern New Jersey land preserve.

Last spring, volunteer marksmen in Essex County killed 213 of an estimated 300 to 400 white-tail deer in the South Mountain Reservation.

The nature preserve borders hundreds of high-priced homes in the thick of the country's most crowded state.

What would New Jersey look like if every human being suddenly vanished?

Over time, miles of unused roads would be uprooted by trees, as unrestrained forests grew. Patchy grasslands would swallow contaminated industrial sites and local wildlife would gradually find new dwellings in once thriving urban areas.

It's a post-human scenario not too different from an area of Jersey City's Liberty State Park, according to researchers at Rutgers-Newark.

Garret Mountain in West Paterson, designated "an important bird area" by the National Audubon Society, is being threatened, environmental advocates say, according to a report in the Herald News.

The population of at least a dozen species at the preserve has dropped because of human encroachment, pollution, deer overpopulation and the growth of invasive plants, according to the local environmental group Friends of Garret Mountain, the paper reported.

A little-noticed provision of the energy bill, which is expected to become law, phases out the 125-year-old bulb in the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient lights that will cost consumers more but return their investment in a few months.

...

Under the measure, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today's products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient.

What we have now: power generation largely using coal and transportation almost exclusively using petroleum, both putting out gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Where we want to be: power generation and transportation almost exclusively using renewable energy methods, putting out very little CO2 into the atmosphere. The problem: we need to reduce CO2 faster than we can realistically shift from fossil fuels to renewable power. The (possible) solution: algae.

Humankind will be nearly extinct by the end of the century and there is little we can do but prepare for the worst, says James Lovelock, the scientist famed for his Gaia hypothesis of earth science.