📉 The Scale of the Crisis
These numbers represent decades of decline — and they are accelerating. South Jersey sits at the intersection of several major pollinator migration corridors, making what happens here critical to the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Meet the Pollinators We're Fighting to Protect
Honeybees & Native Bees
The foundation of our food system — and in serious trouble across South Jersey and the nation
Bees are responsible for pollinating approximately one-third of all food humans eat — from blueberries and apples to almonds, cucumbers, and clover for dairy cattle. New Jersey alone has over 400 species of native bees, many of which are found nowhere else in such density.
Managed honeybee colonies in the US are collapsing at rates of 30–40% per year — a rate that would be considered catastrophic in any other agricultural context. Wild bumble bee populations have dropped by up to 87% in some North American species over the past two decades.
In South Jersey, bee populations face a triple threat: loss of native forage plants, pesticide exposure from agricultural and residential use, and habitat fragmentation that prevents colonies from finding adequate nutrition.
📍 South Jersey Impact
Monarch Butterfly
North America's most iconic migrating insect — now listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List
The monarch butterfly performs one of the most extraordinary migrations on Earth — traveling up to 3,000 miles from overwintering sites in Mexico to breeding grounds across the US and Canada. South Jersey is a critical migratory stopover and breeding corridor along this route.
The monarch population has crashed from an estimated 1 billion individuals in the 1990s to fewer than 250 million today — a decline of over 70%. The western population has fared even worse, dropping by 99.9% since the 1980s.
The primary driver is the near-total loss of milkweed — the only plant monarchs can breed on. Since the 1990s, 58% of US milkweed has been lost, largely due to herbicide use in agriculture. Without milkweed, monarchs cannot reproduce. Without monarchs, the entire Eastern migration corridor collapses.
📍 South Jersey Impact
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The only hummingbird species that breeds in New Jersey — and its numbers are quietly declining
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the sole hummingbird species that breeds east of the Mississippi — and South Jersey sits within its core breeding and migratory range. These tiny birds are critical pollinators of tubular wildflowers including native bee balm, cardinal flower, and trumpet vine.
Long-term Breeding Bird Survey data shows consistent declines across the Northeast, tied directly to loss of native flowering plants, early successional habitat, and forest edge ecosystems. Climate change is also shifting the timing of flower blooms, disrupting the precise arrival-to-bloom synchrony hummingbirds depend on.
In South Jersey, hummingbirds face shrinking habitat as meadows and woodland edges are converted to manicured lawns and developed land. The loss of native nectar plants forces hummingbirds to travel further for food, reducing breeding success and survival rates on migration.
📍 South Jersey Impact
The Landscape Is Changing — Fast
Habitat loss is the single greatest driver of pollinator decline. In New Jersey — one of the most densely developed states in the nation — the transformation of natural landscapes over the past century has been staggering.
Native Meadow & Grassland Lost
New Jersey has lost nearly all of its native meadow and grassland habitat since 1900 — replaced by development, agriculture, and non-native turf grass lawns.
Wetland Habitat Converted
The coastal and inland wetlands of South Jersey that once provided critical nesting and foraging habitat have been drained, filled, and developed at alarming rates.
Milkweed Plants Eliminated
Since the widespread adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops in the 1990s, milkweed — the monarch's only breeding plant — has been systematically eliminated from the landscape.
Forest Edge Habitat Fragmented
The woodland edges and successional habitats that hummingbirds, bumble bees, and other pollinators depend on are increasingly isolated islands in a sea of development.
Native Plant Diversity Reduced
Non-native ornamental plants dominate most South Jersey neighborhoods — providing little to no nutritional value for native bees and insects that co-evolved with local plant species.
Acres of US Lawn — Zero Habitat
Lawns cover more acreage in the US than any single crop — and they support almost no native pollinators. Converting even a small portion to native plants would be transformative.
📍 South Jersey Specifically — What We're Losing
Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Atlantic Counties sit at the heart of some of the most critical — and most threatened — pollinator habitat in the northeastern United States. The Pinelands Preserve offers refuge, but surrounding communities are rapidly losing the connective tissue of habitat that makes the whole ecosystem function.
Acres in the Pinelands — under increasing edge pressure
Most densely populated state — highest development pressure on habitat
Of South Jersey milkweed habitat lost since 1990s
NJ agricultural value dependent on pollination services
The Journey Is Getting Harder
South Jersey isn't just home to pollinators — it's a highway for them. Several of the most critical pollinator migration routes on the East Coast pass directly through our four counties. As habitat disappears along these routes, the entire migration system breaks down.
Overwintering Grounds
Mexico (monarchs), Central America (hummingbirds)
Deforestation threatSouth Jersey Corridor
Critical migratory stopover & breeding ground for all three species
90% habitat lostNorthern Breeding Grounds
Canada & northern US — summer breeding range
Climate disruption🦋 Monarch Migration Collapse
The monarch eastern migration — once numbering over 1 billion butterflies — now counts fewer than 250 million. Cape May, NJ is one of the most important monarch monitoring stations on the East Coast, and counts there reflect the dramatic long-term decline. Without milkweed and nectar sources in South Jersey, monarchs cannot fuel their journey south.
🐦 Hummingbird Stopover Loss
Ruby-throated hummingbirds must nearly double their body weight before crossing the Gulf of Mexico — fueling up on nectar at stopover sites along the way. South Jersey woodland edges and garden corridors are essential refueling stations. As native flowering plants disappear, hummingbirds arrive at their wintering grounds underweight and underprepared.
🐝 Bumble Bee Range Collapse
Several bumble bee species that historically ranged across South Jersey have experienced dramatic range contractions — with some species disappearing entirely from counties where they were once common. Unlike monarchs and hummingbirds, bumble bees cannot simply fly around bad habitat. They need continuous corridors of native flowers.
🌡️ Climate Timing Disruption
Climate change is altering the timing of plant blooms and pollinator emergence — causing mismatches that leave migrating pollinators arriving to find flowers that have already bloomed and gone. Native plants that evolved with local pollinators are more likely to remain synchronized than non-native ornamentals.
What We Stand to Lose Right Here
The four counties we serve — Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Atlantic — sit at the nexus of pollinator crisis and pollinator opportunity. The threats are real. But so is the potential for restoration.
NJ Agriculture at Risk
New Jersey's blueberry, cranberry, peach, and vegetable industries depend almost entirely on pollination. South Jersey's Salem and Atlantic Counties are among the most agriculturally productive in the state — and the most vulnerable to pollinator loss.
Native Habitat Already Gone
Nearly all of the native meadows, wildflower fields, and wetland edge habitats that once supported thriving pollinator communities across our four counties have been converted. What remains is fragmented and under pressure.
Pinelands Acres — But Isolated
The Pinelands Preserve is irreplaceable — but it cannot function as a refuge if the surrounding landscape provides no connective habitat. Every native garden in Sewell, Swedesboro, or Mays Landing is a lifeline connecting the Pinelands to the wider region.
The Window for Action
Pollinator science is clear: early intervention yields dramatically better outcomes than late-stage recovery. South Jersey still has the ecological foundation — the Pinelands, the farms, the green spaces — to support thriving pollinator populations if we act now.
Restoration Is Possible — If We Act
The data is sobering — but it is not hopeless. Studies consistently show that native habitat restoration produces rapid, measurable increases in pollinator abundance and diversity. A single well-planted native garden can support dozens of bee species. A school pollinator garden can host monarchs within one season of planting milkweed. That's why what Grasso Pollinator Alliance does matters.
Plant Native Milkweed
Every milkweed plant is a potential monarch breeding site. We plant thousands annually — and teach communities to do the same.
Restore Native Wildflowers
Native coneflowers, bee balm, cardinal flower, and goldenrod provide the nectar and pollen that native bees and hummingbirds co-evolved with.
Educate the Next Generation
500+ students per year learning about pollinator biology and habitat creates a generation of informed stewards who carry these values for life.
Connect Habitat Corridors
Strategic placement of habitat across Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Atlantic Counties creates connected corridors that support migration and foraging.
Reduce Pesticide Use
We educate homeowners, schools, and municipalities on pesticide alternatives and integrated pest management that protect pollinators.
Partner with Municipalities
Converting public turf to native habitat in Mays Landing, Sewell, and Swedesboro creates high-visibility pollinator habitats that inspire entire neighborhoods.