This winter is no snow joke for New Jersey’s wildlife

A call for action and leadership

This winter may be the coldest New Jersey has experienced since 1961, but it is not an unavoidable act of nature. It is the result of climate chaos colliding with decades of overdevelopment and government failure to protect habitat and land. Extreme cold, deep snow, ice, and prolonged freezes are hitting wildlife already weakened by record heat, drought, habitat loss, and relentless sprawl. That dangerous combination is why this winter is so deadly — and why future winters will be even worse if we stay on the same path.

The brutal conditions of early 2026 followed a near-record hot summer in 2025 and an extremely dry fall that left forests stressed, wetlands depleted, and animals entering winter with few reserves. When snow and ice covered more than a foot of ground across much of the state, and temperatures plunged for weeks, wildlife faced a survival crisis. Cold alone didn’t cause it. The real problem is that New Jersey’s wildlife no longer has the land it needs to survive extreme weather — and state and local governments have allowed that land to disappear.

Climate change doesn’t just mean warmer temperatures; it means extremes stacked on top of extremes. A warmer-than-usual December allows the polar vortex to drop south because there is no sustained cold air to keep it locked in the Arctic. Sudden winter warm spells fool reptiles like box turtles and rattlesnakes into emerging from underground dens, only to be killed when temperatures crash again. Songbirds experience disrupted migration and foraging cycles. Mammals burn through fat reserves just to stay alive, while others enter torpor to conserve energy. Species like opossums and woodcocks are starving. Stressed, hungry, and exposed, wildlife becomes far more vulnerable to disease — especially in landscapes fragmented by development approved without regard for climate impacts.

What makes this winter potentially the worst for wildlife since 1961 is how much habitat has been lost. Forests that once provided deep shelter from wind and cold have been carved into thin strips along highways and subdivisions. Fields and farmland that once served as winter foraging areas are being replaced by warehouses, logistics centers, and sprawling developments rubber-stamped by planning boards. Wetlands that once filtered pollution and provided open water are chipped away one permit at a time.

Habitat fragmentation turns extreme winters into death traps. Deep snow buries natural food sources, forcing deer, foxes, and other animals into neighborhoods and across busy roads, leading to spikes in vehicle collisions. Animals are not “overpopulated” — they are displaced. When remaining habitat is boxed in by pavement, wildlife can’t migrate even short distances to find food, shelter, or unfrozen water. Yet local officials continue approving projects as if land were unlimited and climate change didn’t exist.

One of the most overlooked threats during severe winters is water. Snow and ice do not equal hydration. Birds can die in as little as three days without access to liquid water; squirrels in five. Wetlands that once provided winter water sources are gone or contaminated. The massive use of road salt — needed to support sprawl — washes into streams, ponds, and marshes, poisoning amphibians and aquatic life. Infrastructure built to accommodate overdevelopment is now accelerating wildlife losses.

Overdevelopment doesn’t just destroy habitat — it amplifies climate impacts and flooding. The loss of tree canopy increases temperature extremes. Impervious surfaces speed runoff, carrying salt and pollution directly into waterways and worsening floods. Instead of landscapes that absorb pollution and stormwater, we’ve built ones that magnify it. Wildlife isn’t just battling a brutal winter; it’s battling decades of bad land-use decisions, weak oversight, and a failure by the state to say no when it matters.

Every winter, instead of addressing habitat loss and sprawl, we hear renewed calls for expanded deer and bear hunts. That’s not wildlife management — it’s deflection. Killing animals doesn’t fix climate change or bring back forests, fields, or wetlands. Harsh winters already reduce wildlife numbers naturally through starvation, exposure, dehydration, disease, and vehicle collisions. Piling hunts on top of that only destabilizes populations further, takes food from natural predators, and ignores the real causes of conflict.

If state and local governments truly wanted balance, they would protect remaining forests, preserve farmland, restore wetlands, and stop paving over every last open space. Instead, they approve development and then blame wildlife for the consequences. That’s not management — it’s abdication, or worse, pay-to-play.

People can still help. Providing high-energy food like black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet can save birds during extreme cold. Food placed on the ground can help small mammals and opossums. Leaving brush piles, fallen logs, and evergreen cover provides shelter. Most importantly, providing unfrozen water through heated birdbaths or shallow dishes changed daily can mean the difference between life and death. Using less road salt and switching to wildlife-friendly alternatives protects waterways. Tapping car hoods before starting engines can save animals seeking warmth.

If you find wildlife in distress, contact a licensed rehabilitator or call the NJDEP hotline at 1-877-WARN-DEP. Helping wildlife is not just an act of kindness. It’s part of our responsibility.

This winter should be a warning shot. Climate change is here, and overdevelopment has stripped away nature’s defenses. In Lambertville, officials are allowing the clear-cutting of 12 forested acres for a 200-unit K. Hovnanian development, one of the last forested tracts in town. The impacts on birds, wildlife, and flooding will be severe. Until state and local governments confront sprawl, warehouse overbuild-out, and land-use failure head-on, these “once-in-a-decade” winters will keep coming — and each time, fewer animals will survive.

Protecting land is protecting wildlife. And no amount of hunting will fix what poor planning and political cowardice have broken. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has failed to protect habitat even for endangered species. In Monmouth County, the agency allowed the removal of a bald eagle nest so a development could proceed — ignoring the law and siding with builders over the symbol of our nation. This isn’t just symbolic; it exposes a serious problem within the DEP’s Division of Fish and Kill Wildlife.

State and local governments can no longer hide behind weather reports and talking points. Every planning board approval that clear-cuts a forest, every zoning decision that paves farmland, and every DEP permit that weakens protections make the next extreme winter deadlier for wildlife and more dangerous for people. The NJDEP must adopt strong rules to protect forests and threatened and endangered species habitat, manage public lands for biodiversity, and stop logging public lands.

Climate change is not a future problem — it is here, exposing the consequences of bad land-use decisions in real time. The State Plan must have real teeth to protect dwindling open space and address climate impacts from development. New Jersey’s affordable housing law lacks environmental criteria, increasing overdevelopment and pushing working families into flood-prone areas. Leaders must stop fast-tracking sprawl, stop sacrificing open space, and start treating land preservation as essential infrastructure — not an obstacle to development. If officials won’t change course, then the suffering we’re seeing this winter isn’t a natural disaster. It’s a man-made disaster — and a policy choice.