Despite being the most densely populated state in the U.S., forested land comprises a significantly high percentage of land area in new jersey

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey $946,974 on October 1, 2025, under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202), also known as McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research funding.

Rutgers, through its New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), will conduct forestry research projects addressing ecosystem health and urban forest management. The award supports research on vertebrate scavenger ecology and biodiversity-based ecosystem functioning in forests; development of empirical tools to evaluate tree growth, water use, tree stability, and risk in urban forests; and a New Jersey Forestland Conservation Needs Assessment with program design. NJAES will also use McIntire-Stennis administrative funds to ensure compliance with federal research program administration and expenditure policies, and will develop enhanced training opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows pursuing careers in forestry.

Performance occurs in Piscataway, New Jersey, with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. The McIntire-Stennis program distributes funds to State-certified institutions within each state to increase forestry research in production, utilization, and protection of forestland and to train future forestry scientists.

According to statistics from the U. S. Forestry service titled forests of new jersey, 2021, there are 1,967,004 acres of forested land in new jersey. Most of this forested land (42%) is publicly owned and 86 percent of new jersey's forestland consists of timberland. While there is no commercial timber industry in new jersey, these forests serve other important functions. New jersey's forests provide watershed restoration and preservation, diverse wildlife, environmental sustainability, and recreational space. Mcintire?stennis funds are used productively and in compliance with federal regulations to provide support for our research scientists and staff to develop new research projects that solve emerging forestry?related issues. Njaes continues to expand its mcintire?stennis project portfolio, with new innovative projects studying the role of vertebrate scavengers in biodiversity-based ecosystem functioning in forests, tools founded on empirical observations and balanced testing to better evaluate tree growth, water use, tree stability, and risk in urban forests, and a large ambitious project to conduct a new jersey forestland conservation needs assessment and program design. Njaes will use administrative mcintire?stennis funds to ensure that policies governing research program administration and expenditure of mcintire?stennis formula funds are met. We will continue and expand upon our grant program supported with mcintire stennis funds, using this program to develop enhanced training opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in careers in forestry