Conservation group warns CAFRA change would set 'dangerous precedent'; committee advances bill to amend permit restrictions The committee advanced Assembly Bill 1620, which would allow DEP to lift conservation restrictions tied to CAFRA permits under certain conditions. The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters opposed the idea, arguing an existing state-house-commission process should be used instead.

A controversial bill aimed at lifting conservation restrictions in New Jersey has sparked fierce debate, as environmental advocates warn of the dangerous precedent it could set.

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Pinelands Commission science staff report long-term water-quality shifts and rising disease risk for snakes Commission scientists reported long-term groundwater and surface-water monitoring showing recent dry-period lows and a statistically significant upward trend in stream pH and conductance at many sites; staff also detailed extensive snake and turtle monitoring and flagged snake fungal disease prevalence and a timing conflict with permitted Enduro events.

Decades of monitoring in the Pinelands reveal alarming shifts in water quality and rising disease threats to snakes, prompting urgent calls for conservation action.

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