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Bobcat on a grassy hill looking at camera.
New Jersey Bobcat Endangered bobcat in New Jersey. © Jeff Wendorf

Stories in New Jersey

Building Bobcat Alley

Once nearly extinct in New Jersey, bobcats are trying to make a comeback. To survive, they need room to roam.

Key Takeaways

  • Bobcats are endangered in New Jersey and what they need most right now is room to roam. 
  • The Nature Conservancy is protecting critical habitat for these native wild felines by connecting preserved land between two great mountain ranges: the Appalachians and the Highlands.
  • TNC and our partners have protected over 1500 acres in this critical corridor since 2014. 

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In 2014, The Nature Conservancy launched an ambitious initiative to build Bobcat Alley, a protected wildlife corridor that provides state-endangered bobcats and other wildlife space to move between the Kittatinny and Highlands ridges within New Jersey’s Appalachian Mountains.

The project is critical for safeguarding a habitat stronghold within our own small and heavily populated state, which is under constant pressure of landscape fragmentation from roads and development. And further, it is of outsized importance on a continental level, as a migratory pinch point along the Appalachians that connects forested migratory routes between Central and Northern sections of the range. 

We know that many species live and migrate through the Bobcat Alley region. Studies also show that plants and animals are moving 11 miles northward and 36 feet upslope every decade in response to changing environmental conditions, and that the Appalachians are a resilient refuge where this occurs.

 

Quote: Eric Olsen

Protecting and connecting high quality habitat in New Jersey’s Appalachians is existentially important for biodiversity to persist.

Conservation Programs Director
Aerial view of green tree tops and mountains.
The Appalachians View of the Appalachians from New Jersey. © Shutterstock

The Appalachians: Nature's Superhighway

More than 400 million years ago, natural forces conspired to make the Appalachians one of the most resilient, diverse and productive places on Earth. This ancient chain of forested mountains, valleys, wetlands and rivers spans roughly 2,000 miles from Alabama to Canada. Bobcat Alley is a small but mighty component of this landscape.

A map showing Appalachians circled and animal migration routes in different colored arrows.
Nature's Highways As the climate changes, plants and animals are shifting their ranges to adapt and thrive. This map shows where mammals, birds and amphibians are moving–circled in red is the Appalachians landscape, a virtual superhighway for nature. © Dan Majka/The Nature Conservancy (adapted for print by Nicholas Rapp)
Animated gif showing migration routes in New Jersey Appalachians
Migratory Flow in Bobcat Alley Migration corridors in New Jersey's Appalachians
Two bobcats crossing a road.
Bobcats Once nearly extinct in New Jersey, bobcats are trying to make a comeback. To survive, they need room to roam. © Gordon Ellmers

Branching Out in Bobcat Alley

When TNC first developed a plan for Bobcat Alley, we set a long-term vision to ensure that 60% (19,200 acres) of a 32,000-acre corridor in Warren and Sussex counties is preserved. About 13,000 of the 19,200 acres are already protected, leaving 6,200 acres in play as our goal. To date, with partners, we have protected 1,560 acres in the designated region, representing 25% of our acreage goal and bringing the total amount of preserved land in the 32,000-acre expanse to 39%. That progress has been powered by generous TNC supporters like you!

Now, recognizing the magnitude of Bobcat Alley’s significance to biodiversity in eastern North America, TNC is reimagining the project’s scope, tripling its planned size to more than 96,000 acres. The expanded land footprint includes intact forests of the Kittatinny Ridge and the Highlands, which respectively connect to protected areas in Pennsylvania and the Hudson River Valley on to the Berkshires. “We’re redefining Bobcat Alley,” said Olsen. “Our updated goal is to work with partners to protect 20,000 pristine acres by 2030 within this larger region.” 

Animated gif showing Bobcat Alley land protection from 2013 to current year.
Bobcat Alley Animated map of land protection in Bobcat Alley from 2013 through 2022. © TNC
A map of Bobcat Alley focus areas.
New Jersey Appalachians Focal Area Map of Bobcat Alley with three focal areas highlighted.
TWo bobcats nuzzling in snow.
Bobcats Of all the wild cats in North America, the bobcat has the largest range © Melissa Groo

Our Future is Now

New Jersey will reach full build-out, when all land is either developed or preserved, within this century. We must make strategic choices now to ensure the state’s landscapes, native species and visiting migratory wildlife endure. Our decisions today will have rippling effects locally and for the integrity of the Appalachians, and in turn for the plants, animals—and people—that rely on their resources.

Protecting and connecting Bobcat Alley requires action over time through smart, focused, partnership efforts. Prioritizing the most ecologically valuable and vulnerable landscapes now, while they are still existing and before they degrade, is critical. And, support from communities, governments and nature lovers is, of course, essential. Let’s go!

New Jersey Bobcat Inforgraphic
Infographic Everything you need to know about New Jersey endangered bobcats. © TNC