New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak has released the following statement in response to the Legislature’s final passage of a bill to preserve the internationally recognized New Jersey School of Conservation by turning stewardship of the institution over to the non-profit Friends of the School of Conservation:

We are pleased that the Legislature has passed a bill to preserve the internationally recognized New Jersey School of Conservation by turning over stewardship to the Friends of the School of Conservation. When the School was threatened with permanent closure in the early days of the pandemic, the friends stepped in and continued to provide critical programming. They’ve worked tirelessly to bring the school back up to a state of good repair and have forged an impressive coalition of stakeholders ready to expand programming and research opportunities, with a special focus on children of color and others who have been traditionally excluded from outdoor education.

We thank the sponsors for their strong advocacy on behalf of this legislation, as well as for their fight to include $1 million in state investment in the state budget to make needed repairs to the facility. We look forward to Governor Murphy quickly signing this bill.