Protect New Jersey's Pine Barrens
2024 Summer Camp Guide
2024 Summer Camp Guidep

Community News

Protect New Jersey's Pine Barrens
8/10/2017 Volume XLVII, No. 32

From the highest point in the Pine Barrens - the fire tower on Apple Pie Hill in Wharton State Forest - the region stretches out like an unbroken sea of green. Pine-covered plains extend nearly as far as the eye can see, with the distant skylines of Philadelphia and Atlantic City visible on clear days.

The Pinelands National Reserve covers over a million acres, including 800,000 acres of forest and 60,000 acres of farmland. Its forests are home to many rare animals  and dozens of rare plants, including some found nowhere else on Earth.

What’s beneath this sea of pines is extraordinary: the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, a shallow underground reservoir holding 17 trillion gallons of clean, fresh water. The aquifer provides more than 35 billion gallons of water per year to residents, farmers, businesses, and industry in southern New Jersey.

It’s no accident that the Pine Barrens comprise the largest surviving open space along the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine’s great forests.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, citizens, scientists and elected officials realized the need to take swift action to protect this unique treasure. The National Parks and Recreation Act and New Jersey’s Pinelands Protection Act were enacted in 1978 and 1979, respectively.

These ground-breaking laws established an innovative system of regional planning, with  all development governed by a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) and a mandate to protect the region's natural resources. A central goal is to safeguard the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer by protecting the forests that collect and cleanse rainfall.

A 15-member Pinelands Commission oversees and implements the Comprehensive Management Plan, which designates conservation and growth zones and applies stringent environmental standards.

Today the Pine Barrens face many threats, including underground gas pipeline proposals, contamination of the aquifer by nitrogen runoff in developed areas, saltwater intrusion into the aquifer from pumping too much freshwater, and the destruction of forests and habitats by illegal or improper off-road vehicle use. An overriding threat today is the diminished independence of the Pinelands Commission under the Christie administration.

In January, New Jersey will have a new governor.  That governor must take action to ensure the integrity of the Pine Barrens and the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer.  Here are a few critical actions for the next administration:

  • Appoint commissioners and staff to the Pinelands Commission who believe in and will support the mission of the agency, along with consistent implementation of the Comprehensive Management Plan;
  • Support changes to the CMP to ensure that infrastructure projects are truly consistent with the Plan before they can move forward;
  • Adopt a comprehensive, scientifically based plan for controlling motor vehicle use on the region’s public lands to protect natural areas and the rights of non-motorized recreational users;
  • Direct state parks and forests superintendents to block motorized vehicle access to wetlands, streams and rare species habitats.
  • Protect water quality and quantity by taking multiple steps, including requiring new stormwater control measures to reduce pollution; expanding stream buffer requirements for new construction; revising the CMP to more effectively protect high-quality habitats; and barring new or increased water withdrawals in locations where wetland and stream ecosystems would be harmed.

The Pine Barrens is not only a New Jersey treasure but also a global treasure – designated a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Biosphere Reserve – and the waters of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer are a priceless resource for this state we’re in.

To learn more about the Pine Barrens and what makes them special, visit the Pinelands Preservation Alliance website at www.pinelandsalliance.org or the state Pinelands Commission at www.state.nj.us/pinelands.

And for information about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.

POSTS

Still the Garden State!

Protect New Jersey's wildlife homes

Preserved lands protect clean air and water

To tree or not to tree?

Hard cider in the Garden State

Turkey Time

American shad return to New Jersey river after 173 years

Act now to avoid worst climate impacts

NJ Natural Lands Trust celebrates 50 years

Must love bats!

Move and improve your health!

Renewable energy: Save money and our land, water, air and health

Speak up for endangered species!

Save the bugs!

Check out New Jersey's fall bird migration

A little bit of respect...for native plants!

Explore New Jersey's wildflower meadows

All aboard floating classrooms

Catch the Perseids meteor shower!

Check out the 'fun' in fungi

Too hot to think? Studies shows heat affects your brain

Love NJ's outdoors? Take action now!

New Jersey's official reptile, the bog turtle

Sea level rise and New Jersey: Not perfect together

These New Jersey plants have an appetite for insects

Explore the Pine Barrens through paddles, hikes and tours

Like to jog? 'Plog' instead and keep NJ clean

Love Jersey fruit? Thank our native pollinators!

Good news for globally rare swamp pink lilies

Say cheese! Remote cameras aid wildlife research

Begone, single-use plastic bags!

3,000 birds and counting for 'bluebird grandfather'

The Pine Barrens gets some help from its friends

A clean energy future for New Jersey

Cowtown and rare grassland birds, perfect together

Fight light pollution during International Dark Sky Week

New film tells story of how Petty's Island was saved

Ten years of nipping invasive species in the bud

Welcome spring in a county park

Go for a walk and feel better!

Grab a friend and go outside

Recycle your way to zero waste!

Last call for winter wildlife watching on Jersey coast

Without its 'understory' layer, the forest will collapse

From whale songs to poetry, a remarkable journey

A cleaner, greener New Jersey

Let's keep New Jersey the Garden State, not the Pipeline State

New Jersey's winter hikes

'Trees don't vote' but Byrne saved Pine Barrens anyway

Governor-elect Murphy should set new course on the environment

ARCHIVE

December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011

CLICK FOR RECENT POSTS