State: NJ

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States & States Program Administrator On Tuesday, April 7, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the closure of state forests and parks, purportedly to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The action was met with swift and sharp criticism from all sectors of the sportsmen’s community, including Co-Chairs of the New…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States & States Program Administrator Over the weekend the Trump administration issued guidance through the Department of Homeland Security that firearms-related businesses should be allowed to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as governors across the nation have issued well-intentioned orders aimed at minimizing person-to-person contact to slow the spread…

Contact: Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator Brent Miller On January 13, AB 2731, a bill to remove the statutory limits on the number of beaver permits that can be issued by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife became eligible for consideration by the Governor. The bill received strong bipartisan votes in both the…

Contacts: Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator Brent Miller & New England States Coordinator Joseph Mullin With state legislative sessions beginning across the northeast, members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) States Program Team are hard at work tracking and engaging on legislation throughout the region. In the coming months, northeast staff will continue to support…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States Today marks the start of the 6-day bear hunt in the Garden State, a hunt that has been the center of controversy for decades. Earlier this year, an appeals court in the state rejected a lawsuit brought forward by anti-hunting groups attempting to shut down the hunt entirely. The…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator The well-documented fight regarding New Jersey’s bear hunting season added another chapter recently as a lawsuit brought forward by anti-hunting groups in the Garden State was rejected by a New Jersey appeals court. The lawsuit challenged provisions approved in 2015 and included in the New Jersey Division of Fish…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator With a twist of poetic justice, New Jersey’s contentious bear hunting season was extended earlier this month amidst turmoil, protests, and the Governor openly calling for its cancellation. Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order in August urging the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to shut down…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator On October 15, two bills aimed at further expanding the prohibitions on bear hunting were introduced in the New Jersey State Senate Environment and Energy Committee. Senate bill 3007 would require the New Jersey Fish and Game Council to update the state’s comprehensive black bear management policy on an…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator On September 9, Catherine McCabe, the Commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an Administrative Order to prohibit the hunting of black bears on all state lands under DEP’s jurisdiction, including state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). These WMAs are paid for by New Jersey’s sportsmen and…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Several members of the bipartisan and bicameral New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus have spoken out against an executive order signed by Governor Phil Murphy on August 20. The order seeks to prohibit black bear hunting on all land under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of…

By Brett Stayton, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator On April 8, Senator Stephen Sweeney, Co-Chair of the New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus and Senate President, was presented the Conservation Leadership Award by the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (NJOA) during their 2018 Wild Game dinner. Sen. Sweeney has been one of the Garden States’ strongest advocates…

On February 8, New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus Co-Chair, Assemblyman Burzichelli introduced NJ A 3120, legislation that would authorize Sunday hunting for deer with a firearm on private property. This newly introduced legislation would authorize sportsmen and women in the Garden State to hunt deer on Sundays with a firearm on private property,…