New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve (also known as Pinelands National Reserve) is a national reserve that encompasses the
New Jersey Pine Barrens
The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguou ...
.
The Pinelands is a unique location of historic villages and berry farms amid the vast oak-pine forests (
pine barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
. It is protected by state and federal legislation through management by local, state, and federal governments and the private sector. The reserve contains
Wharton State Forest
Wharton State Forest is the largest state forest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey, encompassing approximately of the Pinelands northeast of Hammonton. Its protected ...
,
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly the Lebanon State Forest) is a state forest in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Its protected acreage is split between Burlington and Ocean Counties.
Description
The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest is the ...
,
Bass River State Forest
Bass River State Forest is a state park in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park, named for the Bass River which crosses through it, shelters a portion of the environmentally sensitive Pine Barrens but also provides a variety of rec ...
Double Trouble State Park
Double Trouble State Park is located in Berkeley and Lacey Townships in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The park was once the Double Trouble company's company town. The park's wilderness is part of the Pine Barrens ecosystem. Th ...
, which provide public recreation facilities. Established by Congress in 1978, it is one of the nation's first national reserves, established along with Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve.National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, .
History
Between 170–200 million years ago, the Atlantic coastal plain began to form. Over millions of years, the rising and falling of the coastline deposited minerals underground, culminating with the end of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
about 12,000 years ago, when plants and trees began growing in what is now
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Around 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Lenape people first inhabited the Pine Barrens. During the 17th century, the area was explored and settled by the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, and the English, eventually becoming a part of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of New Jersey. Settlers in the region used the area's
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
,
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, and pitch trees, as well as local tar and turpentine, for
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
,
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
, and shipbuilding industry.
The earliest efforts to protect the
New Jersey Pine Barrens
The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguou ...
started in the 1960s. In 1964, the Pinelands Regional Planning Board proposed building a "supersonic jetport" in
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.New York metro. This project would develop a satellite city of about 250,000 people, and would cover about in ecologically sensitive parts of the Pine Barrens. The proposed airport generated public opposition and united conservation efforts among farmers, hunters, and environmentalists, who believed that the region was vulnerable to the spread of urban sprawl of the northeastern United States. Due to the large size of the forest, as well as 300 years of human development, the area could not be protected and preserved in its entirety. The
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
worked with officials from New Jersey, as well as the state's Senate and Congressional delegation, to develop a development management plan for the Pinelands. The main point of disagreement was the role of federal oversight.
On February 24, 1977, Senator Frank Church (D- ID) sponsored the ''National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978'' as an
Omnibus bill
An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. ''Omnibus'' is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a ...
, which included legislation for the Pinelands National Reserve. New Jersey
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
s Edwin B. Forsythe and William J. Hughes proposed bill H.R. 9539 an H.R. 9539 to preserve the Pinelands, which became attached to the omnibus bill in an amendment, sponsored by Congressmen Forsythe, Hughes, and
James Florio
James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from ...
. The bill passed in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on October 27, 1977. A similar bill passed in the House of Representatives on July 12, 1978. After further changes passed by both houses,
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
signed the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 on November 10, considering it "the most significant conservation legislation to pass the
95th Congress
The 95th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977, ...
" in his
signing statement
A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. They are usually printed along with the bill in ''United States Code Congressional and Administrative News'' (USCCAN). ...
. The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 created the Pinelands National Reserve, which consisted of of land in 56 South Jersey municipalities. It was the "largest tract of wild land along the Middle Atlantic Seaboard", according to President Carter's briefing on a September 20, 1978 trip the president took to Atlantic City.
Upon the passage of the bill, the Pinelands National Reserve became the country's first National Reserve. The act authorized $23 million for land acquisition of critically important ecological areas. Congress noted the need for local, state, and federal government, along with the private sector, to collectively manage and preserve the water and land resources of the Pinelands, without large-scale direct federal acquisition of the land. The bill also directed for the Interior Secretary to request the state of New Jersey to establish "a planning entity to a comprehensive management plan for the Pinelands National Reserve." In accordance with the law, New Jersey Governor
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a priva ...
issued an executive order on February 8, 1979, creating the Pinelands Commission.Gov. Brendan Byrne Executive Order No. 71 (Feb. 8, 1979). This was affirmed by the New Jersey legislature in the Pinelands Protection Act, which passed in June 1979.Pinelands Protection Act, P.L. 1979, c. 111, codified at N.J.S.A. 13:18-A-1, ''et seq.'' The state Pinelands Area omitted of land east of the
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jerse ...
and near the Delaware Bay.
On August 8, 1980, the Pinelands Commission approved the Protection Area, an area of unbroken forest covering 39% of the National Reserve. For the remainder of the reserve, the Pinelands Commission created the Preservation Area on November 21, which consisted of towns, farmlands, and other areas. The plan became effective under state law on January 14, 1981, and two days later, Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus approved of the Comprehensive Management Plan. In the same year,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
established the Rutgers Division of Pinelands Research to support local ecological research. In 1983, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
) designated the Pinelands as a
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
, labeling it jointly as the ''South Atlantic Coastal Plain Biosphere Reserve/Pinelands National Reserve''. In 1988, UNESCO redesignated it as a singular
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
.
Comprehensive Management Plan
The text of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 directed for the planning entity to develop a comprehensive management plan (CMP), which became effective on January 14, 1981. The Pinelands Commission set a one year period from the effective date, with $600,000 provided by the New Jersey Legislature from 1980–1982, for municipalities and counties to conform to the standards of the CMP. In July 1981, New Hanover Township became the first municipality to have its master plan approved by the Pinelands Commission. In January 1982, after the one year approval period ended, the Pinelands Commission worked with the remaining municipalities and counties updating their master plans. For the towns that refused to comply, the commission announced it would implement the CMP, thus overseeing the local development approval process. In June 1982, Atlantic County sued the Pinelands Commission on behalf of Galloway Township, which wanted to opt out of the CMP; the New Jersey Appellate Court ruled on June 16 on behalf of the Pinelands Commission. A subsequent appeal by the county failed.
By December 1983, 70% of the municipalities within the Pinelands National Reserve had revised local master plans and met approval by the Pinelands Commission; by the same time, four out of seven counties developed master plans to focus growth in selected areas. In that same time period, 85% of all approved requests for property development occurred in regional growth areas.
Pinelands Commission
The Pinelands National Reserve is administered by the Pinelands Commission, an independent body consisting of 15 members. One member is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior; seven are appointed by the
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...
subject to the approval of the New Jersey Senate; one member is appointed by the respective governing bodies of the seven counties in the Pinelands National Reserve:
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
Cape May
Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The so ...
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and
Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
counties. Commission terms are three years in length and include no official compensation. The commission meets monthly, as do most of its sub-committees.
Its mission statement indicates its role "is to preserve, protect, and enhance the natural and cultural resources of the Pinelands National Reserve, and to encourage compatible economic and other human activities consistent with that purpose."
Geography and populated places
As legislated by the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, the Pinelands National Reserve consisted of about 1,140,000 acres (461,000 hectares) of pine-oak forest. The territory crosses seven
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
and encompasses all or parts of 56
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, with about 870,000 people as of the 2010 census. Included in the Pinelands National Reserve are 29 villages located in 16 municipalities, with 19 of the villages located in forest areas.
Within the Reserve is the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which contains over 17 trillion gallons of potable water.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Pinelands National Reserve has two climate zones; warm summer humid continental (''Dfb'') in northern, central and western sections with humid subtropical (''Cfa'') in eastern and southern sections. Average annual snowfall totals increase from southeast to northwest and range from 15-22 inches (38–56 cm). According to the USDA, there are three
plant hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
s; 6b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -5 to 0 °F (-21 to -18 °C) in interior sections away from the coast, 7a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 0 to 5 °F (-18 to -15 °C) north of Great Bay near the coast to south of Great Bay just inland from the coast, and 7b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 5 to 10 °F (-15 to -12 °C) south of Great Bay near the coast.
Florida Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimm ...
. There are 580 native species of plants, 54 of which are threatened or endangered. The Pinelands Reserve hosts 299 species of birds, 91 fish, 59 reptiles and amphibians, and 39 mammals. In 2015, a new lichen species, ''Lecanora layana'', was discovered in the Pinelands National Reserve. According to the text of the act passed by Congress, the ecological diversity "provides significant ecological, natural, cultural, recreational, educational, agricultural, and public health benefits."