What happens upstream doesn’t stay upstream. We sit down with ecology director Kayleigh Henry to unpack a year-and-a-half fight to protect the Black Run headwaters beside one of the Pine Barrens’ most loved preserves—and how a youth-powered movement helped to make it happen.

Together we trace the arc from first community hikes to packed council meetings, a 50,000-strong petition, and a pivotal Pinelands Commission decision to designate 2,400 acres as forest area. We explain how township master plans shape what can be built, why this technical step matters, and how aligning zoning with science gives communities real leverage.

We also explore a parallel front at Watchung Ridge in North Jersey, where public comment has been curtailed and organizers face a more closed process.to convert momentum into a permanent land acquisition.
If you care about conservation, clean water, headwater forests, or how local advocacy actually changes policy, you will get something from this discussion