Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) Action Regions for New Jersey

The CHANJ project represents a strategic plan for wildlife conservation that delineates and provides a common vision for a connected statewide landscape that, if protected and appropriately managed, will restore and maintain gene flow between viable breeding populations of terrestrial, native wildlife species, helping to ensure their long-term viability in New Jersey. CHANJ not only delineates a connected landscape, but also provides recommendations and resources for the actions needed to preserve and restore habitat connectivity for terrestrial wildlife in New Jersey. This initiative is designed to help 1) prioritize land protection, 2) inform habitat restoration and management, and 3) guide mitigation of barrier impacts on wildlife and habitats. The CHANJ products are intended to allow land-use, conservation, and transportation planners to operate in a more collaborative way, leveraging New Jersey’s open space investment, increasing road safety, increasing permit efficiency, and ultimately improving the prospects for the long-term sustainability of New Jersey’s terrestrial wildlife. More information about CHANJ, including a short promotional video, can be found can be found at www.chanj.nj.gov. The CHANJ Action Regions delineate the regions within the state that CHANJ Action Teams work to coordinate work on habitat connectivity.