Human Impacts & Conservation - The New Jersey Pinelands and … · 2018-04-26 · Human Impacts &...

Human Impacts & Conservation

HC-2 | The Pine Barrens: Up Close & Natural | Inquiry Based Curriculum

Disturbance is a natural and necessary aspectof a working ecosystem, and the Pine

Barrens is no different in this regard. Natural dis-turbance, principally wildfires and storms, createopenings in the forest canopy, allowing plants thatcannot grow in the shade of a mature forest toflourish. Wildfires also return nutrients to the soil,in the form of ash, and help to shape the plant andanimal communities by favoring those speciesadapted to survive and benefit from fires.

Human disturbance of the ecosystem began withNative Americans, whoare known to haveused fires to alter for-est habitats in waysthey found advanta-geous for the wildlife,like deer, which theyhunted in the PineBarrens. Today’shuman disturbance inthe Pine Barrensincludes a wide varietyof impacts, including:

• Forestry (cuttingdown trees),

• Development ofland, replacingforests with farms, houses, malls and roads, withresulting loss and fragment of forest habitats,

• Alteration of water quality (both surface andground water) through addition of nutrients,toxic chemicals and other pollutants,

• Draining of aquifers and surface waters,Suppression of wildfire, and

• Vandalism from irresponsible Off-Road Vehicleuse, collecting of plants and animals, anddumping of waste on the ground.

ForestryForestry is the only one of these human disturbancethat may have some positive ecological impacts,such as creating openings in the forest, if it is con-ducted in a manner that ensures native forest com-munities are permitted to regrow after trees are cutand removed. The impacts of forestry on PineBarrens habitats has received little scientific study,but it is important to remember that the PineBarrens we have today is the result of a forest that

was repeatedly cut and permitted to regrow sincethe early days of European colonization.

Development and FragmentationDevelopment of land has a direct impact by

replacing forests and meadows with buildings,roads, lawns and farms. Even low-density or scat-tered development may fragment the forest withbuildings and roads. Most native species of plantsand animals do not thrive in close proximity todevelopment. Many bird species, for example, will

not breed in even a rela-tively wooded housingdevelopment. ManyPine Barrens plants willnot grow and reproduceif native soil is alteredwith additional of top-soil, nutrients or otherchemicals that accom-panies development. Inthe 930,000-acrePinelands Area today,only about 11% hasbeen replaced withurban, or industrialdevelopment, andapproximately 7% has

been replaced by monoculture farming. Forest stillclaims about 54% and wetlands about 28% of thePinelands Area.

The impact of this direct loss of habitat has notbeen quantitatively measured, and would be verydifficult to measure, in terms of plant and animalpopulation changes. However, several species thatwere considered abundant in the past have becomefar less abundant in the region today. For example,Botanist Witmer Stone found White-fringedorchids were very abundant in Pine Barrens savan-nas in the early 1900’s, but today this spectacularflower is a rare find, apparently due to the conver-sion of streamside savannas to commercial cranberryagriculture. In addition, the combination of hunt-ing and diminishing habitats have led to the extir-pation, or near extirpation, of black bear, wolves andbobcat from the Pinelands. One bird species, theHeath hen (tympanuchus cupido cupido) was extermi-nated as early as 1870 from the Pine Plains throughunrestrained hunting.

Human Impact & ConservationIntroduction

Pitch Pine resprouting

Human Impacts & Conservation: Introduction | HC-3

Water Quality ChangeAlteration of water quality is a far less visible,

but equally harmful, form of human disturbance tothe Pine Barrens ecosystem. If distinctive PineBarrens plant and animal communities are createdand sustained by the harsh chemistry of the soil andwater, what should we expect to happen when thatchemistry changes? The New Jersey PinelandsCommission’s science program has been studyingPinelands watersheds to guage how well thePinelands Comprehensive Management Plan isworking to preserve healthy Pine Barrens plant andanimal communities. The scientists began this ini-tiative in the Mullica River watershed.

The Mullica River watershed is mostly undevel-oped (only about 15% of the entire watershed isdeveloped or farmed), but there is intensive devel-opment of its western headwaters area. In a seriesof related studies, the scientists looked at PineBarrens streams whose drainage areas were com-pletely undeveloped - that is, pristine streams - astheir reference points for undisturbed Pine Barrensecology. The scientists recorded the chemical char-acteristics of the water for pH, nitrogen and otherfactors. They also examined the plants growing inand around the streams, the fish species living in thewater, and the frogs calling in the immediate vicini-ty. They compared their results with the work ofearlier naturalists and other modern scientists whohave detailed the plants and animals of the PineBarrens. In this way, the scientists developed a pic-ture of a Pine Barrens stream ecosystem unaffectedby development or other disturbance of the land.This picture of an unaltered stream became the ref-erence point or baseline against which they wouldcompare other streams in the watershed.

The baseline picture of a pristine Pine Barrensstream habitat included average pH of 4.4 (veryacidic). The stream vegetation was made up ofplants that botanists early this century identified asnative to the Pine Barrens. The fish species theyfound were limited to the native varieties discussedearlier, such as Blackbanded Sunfish and PiratePerch. Frogs were also restricted to the nativespecies as well: Pine Barrens Treefrog, Green Frog,Southern Leopard Frog, Northern Spring Peeper,Fowler’s Toad, and Eastern Spadefoot.

With their baseline picture of conditions in anundisturbed stream basin, the scientists went out tosurvey numerous additional stream locations forthese same factors of pH, plants, fish and frogs.The results of these studies are striking, but not sur-prising.

With respect to pH, the Pinelands Commissionscientists found a strong correlation between pHand high levels of nitrogen (in the form of nitrate),

on the one hand, and human land uses, on theother. Based on these results, the PinelandsCommission scientists concluded that “Water-quali-ty conditions recorded for the 26 stream sites clearlyrelated to watershed conditions. … The strikinglydifferent characteristics of the reference-stream sitesand the degraded-stream sites illustrate the effect ofland-use patterns on Pinelands water quality.”(Zampella et al. 2001)

With respect to stream vegetation, the PinelandsCommission scientists found that stream watershedswith a higher percentage of development, pH andnitrate concentrations also had differences in thecomposition of the plant communities growing inand along these streams, when compared to acidic,low-nutrient reference streams. The scientistsderived a list of 36 “disturbance-indicator” species,meaning those species that were consistently foundat stream sites whose basins were relatively heavilydeveloped. In every case, the more human distur-bance in the stream basin, the more non-native, dis-turbance indicator plants they found there.

With respect to fish, the Pinelands Commissionscientists conducted a similar study to the one forstream vegetation comparing the fish species theycaught at several undisturbed reference sites withthose they found across a broader range of disturbedand undisturbed streams. Disturbance was againmeasured in terms of pH and specific conductanceof the water in the streams and development in thestreams’ drainage basins. The scientists then studied54 stream and 30 lake sites, ordered these sitesaccording to the same disturbance/non-disturbancefactors they used in the plant studies, and plottedthe occurrence of the fish species at these sites.They found that nonnative species only appear atsites that are high on the scale of disturbance factorsof high pH and suburban/urban development of thedrainage basin. The scientists concluded that thespecies composition of fish communities provide anexcellent indication of water quality changes in PineBarrens streams and lakes.

It is important to notice that altered stream habi-tat does not just mean we find species of plants andanimals that are not native to the Pine Barrens. Italso means we do not find the native species, or donot find them in the abundance they naturallywould enjoy. In some cases, individual species maybe entirely displaced by invasive species that nor-mally could not prosper in the Pine Barrens. Forexample, Pinelands Commission scientists havefound that in altered habitats Pine BarrensTreefrogs - the emblem of the New Jersey PineBarrens - disappear, while Bull Frogs, a large non-native species, invade. This suggests that Bull Frogsprobably displace the much smaller Pine Barrens


Treefrogs. Similar displacements may be occurringwith other species of plants and animals, wherenon-native species eat or out-compete natives.

What is causing these changes in water qualityand natural communities in waters near developedor farmed areas? The principal agents are nutrientsand liming compounds. Because the availability ofnitrogen and phosphorous in forms that plants canuse tends to be the major factor limiting plantgrowth, fertilizers containing these chemicals areapplied to farm crops and residential lawns indeveloped areas. And because the naturally acidicsoils of this area tend to inhibit the growth of non-native food crops and lawn grass species, farmersand residents often put liming compounds on farmfields and turf to neutralize the acidic pH of thesoil. In practice, these treatments are not very effi-cient - that is, much or most of the chemicalsapplied do not remain in the top soil and are notused by the plants growing there, but instead arewashed through the sandy subsoils into theKirkwood-Cohansey aquifer. Soon they are trans-ported through the ground to streams and wetlands.Those streams and wetlands closest to where thechemicals are applied receive most of the chemicalinput, and are most dramatically affected by theecological changes these chemicals bring about.

Another source of nitrogen can be found in thethousands of septic systems in people’s homes.Septic systems generally do not treat the humanwaste we flush into them, but instead simply allowit to seep gradually into the soils. The effluent fromour homes includes lots of nitrogen from our bodilywastes, as well as metals, household detergents andmany other chemicals. Some of these contaminantsare filtered and retained in the soil, but, especially inthe sandy soils of this region, much is transportedthrough the aquifer into streams, wetlands, wellsand, ultimately, the coastal estuaries.

The full range of impacts that fertilizers, limingand septic effluent have on ground water quality isnot yet well understood. But these impacts appear

to be complex and extensive. For example, scien-tists with the United States Geological Survey havefound that nitrogen, calcium and magnesium leach-ing from fertilizers and lime enter the water tableand cause naturally occurring radium - a radioactivemolecule - to break away from soil particles towhich it is normally attached and move with theflow of the aquifer through the ground, ultimatelyentering wells that pump water from the shallowaquifers. (Szabo & DePaul 1998) As anotherexample, there is evidence that, in addition to thedirect discharge of compounds like nitrogen, septicsystems may interact with pollutants deposited fromair pollution to release mercury into the aquifer.Such a process may explain why as much as 10% ormore of wells in the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquiferare testing positive for dangerously high levels ofmercury. The long-term environmental effects ofcontamination such as radium and mercury have yetto be studied.

Draining of surface waters and aquifers

Reported withdrawals for water supply from theKirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system exceed 34 bil-lion gallons per year, much of it from the Pinelands.Studies have shown that depletive ground-waterwithdrawals can reduce the flow of Pinelandsstreams, as well as lower the water table. Indeed,this is already occurring. The extent to which thewater table has been lowered on a regional basis is amatter of uncertainty and controversy.

In addition, semi-confined aquifers, like theAtlantic City 800-foot Sands, are fed in whole or inpart by water leaking down from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system above them. Overuse ofthese deeper aquifers and the Kirkwood-Cohanseyon which they depend has steadily lowered theirwater levels to below sea level over wide areas that

Cedar Creek

Pine Barrens Treefrog


extend into the Pinelands, and resulted in saltwaterintrusion in some areas to the northeast, west, andin Cape May County. The falling water levels indeeper aquifers also increase the downward leakageof water from the overlying Kirkwood-Cohanseyaquifer, so that less groundwater is available in thisshallow aquifer to feed Pinelands streams. Othermore fully confined aquifers, such as the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy (PRM), depend for replenish-ment on small areas of land near the DelawareRiver, where these aquifers slope up to intersect thesurface. The PRM is a major source of fresh water.During the 1980’s, in response to an unsustainable,depletive level of exploitation, the New JerseyDepartment of Environmental Protection (DEP)established two water-supply “critical areas” cen-tered around Camden County and easternMonmouth County. This designation mandatedthat withdrawals from affected aquifers be reduced,shifting demand to other less heavily exploitedaquifers.

The pressure on all the available aquifers has ledto the adoption of alternative means of supplyingfreshwater for human use and consumption. Onesuch alternative was the construction of a desalina-tion plant in Cape May County that convertsbrackish groundwater to drinking water. This plantcan produce up to 3 million gallons of drinkingwater a day. The state is now working to increasethe use of sewer plant effluent for irrigation, hopingto reduce the demand on water in the aquifers whilealso returning more of the water that has alreadybeen used back to the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer.

In many areas, the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifersystem is being considered as one alternative sourceof water supply, where deeper aquifers are over-taxed. This is not a new idea. One of the mainreasons why Joseph Wharton purchased so muchland in the Pine Barrens in the late 1800s was thathe planned to build a series of shallow ponds, reser-voirs and canals, and sell the water from the vastunderground water reserves to the City ofPhiladelphia. Fortunately, the New Jersey StateLegislature learned of his plan and passed a lawprohibiting the exportation of any of the state’swater outside state boundaries. This concern ofexporting water outside the Pinelands still existstoday, however, since by law water can be sent 10miles beyond the Pinelands. This is a vast area, andis one of the threats to the future viability of thePinelands.

Suppression of wildfireThe ecological effects of our modern suppression

of wildfire have not yet been well studied.However, the decline of species adapted to naturalsuccessional habitats is apparently attributable in

part to fire suppression. For example, Wild Lupinwas described in 1911 as “one of the most conspicu-ous” native wildflowers of south Jersey’s outercoastal plain, and as “frequent” in a 1983 publica-tion, but today is listed as a “species of concern” bythe state Natural Heritage Program due to itsincreasing rarity. Similarly, Virginia FalseGromwell is thought to have been virtually lost andis now listed as endangered by the Natural HeritageProgram. In addition, scientists expect that contin-ued wildfire suppression, and the use of only verylow-temperature, cold-season controlled fires, willover time change the composition of Pine Barrensforests by favoring oaks in their competition withpines for dominance of the forest. This potentialfundamental alteration of the ecosystem will begradual and will only be visible over a period of sev-eral decades or more.

Vandalism from irresponsibleOff-Road Vehicle use, collectingof plants and animals, anddumping of waste on the ground

The impacts of irresponsible Off-Road Vehicle(ORV) use and dumping of waste by individuals areevident in most of the Pinelands’ State Parks andForests. ORVs, including motorcycles, quads andtrucks, often destroy stream banks, tear up wetlandsand destroy rare plant populations. Although it isillegal to ride these vehicles off road on publiclands, and on private land without the owner’s per-mission, there is little or no enforcement of theselaws due to both resource shortages and the diffi-culty that traditional law enforcement officers havein catching illegal riders. Even in the most isolatedparts of the Pine Barrens, one is likely to comeacross someone’s private trash dump, whether onpublic or on private lands. This trash often includestoxic materials, such as oil and other chemicals, thatleach into the water table. While the cumulativeimpacts of this dumping are probably impossible tomeasure, water testing in the region often turns up

Pine Barrens Wildfire


ground water contamination with pollutants such asvolatile organic compounds (VOCs), long-livedpesticides, mercury and solvents.

The collecting of rare, threatened and endan-gered plants and animals is another form of humanimpact carried out by individuals. Collectors seekout animals such as Timber Rattlesnakes, CornSnakes and certain turtles for the pet trade or fortheir own pleasure. Others collect rare orchids andother wildflowers. Again, it is impossible to judgethe cumulative impacts of this activity on the abun-dance and distribution of the species being collect-ed, but anecdotal evidence suggests that collecting isrampant, and has been for many years, in thePinelands.

The movement to save the Pine Barrens

The popular movement to save the Pine Barrensecosystem from the impacts of development reallygot started in response to an extraordinary proposalto build a massive airport and city in the heart ofthe Pine Barrens in Ocean and BurlingtonCounties.

In 1958, the Burlington County Freeholdersendorsed and publicized a proposal to build aninternational airport that would occupy 16,000 acresin Lebanon, now Brendan Byrne State Forest. Thefederal government refused to fund the planning forthis project, deeming it not practical. In 1959,however, the Port Authority of New York and NewJersey announced plans to build a huge new airportin the Great Swamp of Morris County in northernNew Jersey. This proposal sparked intense opposi-tion from people living in the area, leading the PortAuthority to look into other possible locations.Taking advantage of this opening, the BurlingtonCounty Freeholders renewed their efforts to site anairport in the Pinelands, forming a PinelandsRegional Planning Board and winning the supportof many state legislators and the entire New JerseyCongressional delegation. In response, environ-mentalists and sportsmen formed the Citizens’Committee to Save State Lands, which began a let-ter-writing and publicity campaign to raise publicawareness about the airport issue and other pro-posed uses of public lands for development.

In 1962, the Pinelands Regional Planning Boardhired a consultant named Herbert Smith to help itmake the case to the Port Authority that the PineBarrens was an excellent place for the new airport.Smith created a development plan that called forbuilding the largest airport in the world. Coveringover 32,500 acres, this airport would be 4 timeslarger than Newark, Kennedy and LaGuardia air-ports combined. The plan also called for building a

“New City” from scratch, which would occupy anadditional 10,000 acres and provide housing andemployment for 250,000 new residents. The air-port was to be located on the West Plains andwould have destroyed the dwarf pine forest there.The New City was to be located on the ForkedRiver Mountains, and would have destroyed thatarea’s plant and animal communities.

Then Governor Richard Hughes led the effort topromote this plan over the next several years, but itsproponents were never able to persuade the federalgovernment to adopt the plan. Simultaneously,conservationists successfully advocated to theUnited States Department of Interior to take stepsto protect the Pine Barrens as a NationalMonument. As a result of this effort, theDepartment of Interior assigned the National ParkService to perform new ecological studies of thePine Barrens.

In 1967, John McPhee published his book ThePine Barrens. At the time, he was not optimisticand expressed the feeling of many that, because ofconflicting land-use interests, the Pine Barrenswould not be protected. At the end of the book, hewrote: “Given the futilities of that debate, given thesort of attention that is usually paid to plans putforward by conservationists, and given the greatnumbers and the crossed purposes of all the big andlittle powers that would have to work together toaccomplish anything on a major scale in the pines,it would appear that the Pine Barrens are not verylikely to be the subject of dramatic decrees or actsof legislation. They seem to be headed slowlytoward extinction. In retrospect, people may oneday look back upon the final states of the develop-ment of the great unbroken Eastern city and be ableto say at what moment all remaining undevelopedland should have been considered no longer apotential asset to individuals but an asset of thesociety at large perhaps a social necessity.”

Also in 1967, the National Park Service commis-sioned Dr. Jack McCormick to conduct new eco-logical studies, focusing on the 365,000 acres ofland proposed for the airport development. Dr.McCormick recommended that the United Statesrecognize 160,000 acres of the Wading River water-shed and an additional 8,000 acres of wetlands inWharton State Forest as National Landmarks. TheSecretary of Interior’s Advisory Board on NationalParks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monumentsthen asked the National Park Service to develop aplan to protect the Pine Barrens’ ecological values.

Soon afterwards, the National Park Serviceissued a report which recommended against creat-ing a large national park or national monument asthe means to protect the Pine Barrens. The agencyinstead recommended protection through regional

Disturbance & Conservation: Introduction | HC-7

land use planning – that is, controlling developmenton a regional, rather than a local, scale. The agencysuggested four possible options that varied by thesize of the area to be included and the role of stateand federal governments in the process. The pro-posals included one to create a national scientificreserve of 175,000 or 245,000 acres; one to create astate forest or national recreation area of 267,000acres; and one to create a state-managed PinelandsRegion of 373,000 acres.

By 1970, the federal government and the PortAuthority had both decided anew international airportin New Jersey was notneeded, instead choosingto focus on expanding theexisting airports in theNew York metropolitanarea.

In 1972, the New Jerseystate legislature created thePinelands EnvironmentalCouncil (PEC). The PECwas charged with protect-ing the Pine Barrens envi-ronment, and particularlyits ground water resources,and to protect farming,over an area of 320,000acres in Burlington andOcean Counties. It wasempowered to develop acomprehensive land useplan, and to review devel-opment projects for sub-stantial conformance withthe regional plan, but thePEC had no actual powerover development; its decisions were purely advisory,and real control still lay with local, municipal coun-cils and planning boards. In 1975, the PEC issueda draft regional plan to the public. This report wasso controversial that it led to a stalemate and pre-vented the PEC from having any further significantinfluence. The plan strongly favored developmentof most of the planning area and concluded that the320,000 acre planning area could accommodate167,000 new housing units and about 500,000 newresidents. At the time, the total population of thisarea was about 7,500 people. The Commissioner ofthe Department of Environmental Protection, in aletter to the PEC chairman, described the plan as “aland-speculator’s dream.” Conservationists con-demned the plan. After the plan was released, thestate refused to appropriate any further funds for theoperations of the PEC.

During these years of debate, development was

growing rapidly around, and within, the PineBarrens. Suburban sprawl became the dominantmodel for development across the country, and NewJersey was certainly no exception. In 1972, a devel-oper proposed a huge 80,000 person developmenton the Wading River in southern BurlingtonCounty. The township rejected the proposalbecause local officials and residents were dedicatedto protecting their Pine Barrens environment, butthe proposal indicates the scale of interest in devel-oping the region’s vast forests. In 1976, New Jersey

legalized gambling in AtlanticCity, based on the expect-ed economic benefits thatwould come from a revi-talized and booming cityon its coast. Public offi-cials and developerslooked to the mainlandoutside Atlantic City toabsorb the great popula-tion growth they antici-pated the casino industrywould bring to the region.

During the 1970s, envi-ronmental activists andstate government officialscommitted to protectingthe Pine Barrens contin-ued to seek the help of thefederal government’sDepartment of Interior.The Administration ofPresident Jimmy Cartersupported this goal. In1976 the InteriorDepartment issued a keyreport that advocated

preservation of the Pine Barrens, in light of itsextraordinary natural resources, through a regionaldevelopment-control plan, with both federal andstate roles. That same year, New Jersey GovernorBrendan Byrne publicly endorsed the preservationgoal and created a Pinelands Review Committee.He charged this Committee with setting thePinelands boundary and devising a plan for stateactions to protect the region’s resources. TheCommittee recommended, and the Governorendorsed, the idea of creating a new state commis-sion with the power to control developmentthroughout the Pinelands – not just an advisorybody.

New Jersey’s Congressional delegation now led the effort to win national legislation to provide a foundation for preserving the Pinelands through regional land use management. ThenCongressman, and later Governor, Jim Florio

Governor Brendan Byrne at the naming ofBrendan Byrne State Forest-2002

sponsored the legislation that ultimately becameSection 502 of the National Parks and RecreationAct of 1978. Among three Congressional propos-als, Florio’s was the most ambitious, calling for acomprehensive management plan based on protect-ing natural resources across an area of 1.1 millionacres – almost a quarter of the state of New Jersey.The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978created the Pinelands National Reserve. Unlike aNational Park, where the government owns theland, the concept of a National Reserve was to markout a large area and institute programs to controldevelopment in order to save the area’s naturalresources.

The State of New Jersey then took the lead incarrying out this goal when it enacted the PinelandsProtection Act in 1979. With passage of thePinelands Protection Act, New Jersey and the feder-al government became partners in saving the PineBarrens ecosystem and rural landscape. The Actcreated a special government agency, the PinelandsCommission, to write and implement a land usemanagement plan called the PinelandsComprehensive Management Plan (“CMP”). ThePinelands Protection Act designated an area ofabout 930,000 acres within the Pinelands NationalReserve as the state Pinelands Area. Developmentin this Pinelands Area would be under the controlof the Pinelands Commission. The rest of theNational Reserve was left under the jurisdiction ofthe Department of Environmental Protectionthrough the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act(“CAFRA”), a preexisting statute which providedvery limited development controls in a designatedarea along the Atlantic and Delaware Bayshore.The Pinelands National Reserve and the CAFRAarea overlap along the coast. Because the coastalarea was rapidly being developed earlier than theinterior of the Pinelands, and because developmentof the coast for tourism has been seen as essential tothe state’s economic prosperity, the coastal portionof the Pinelands National Reserve has alwaysreceived far less rigorous environmental protectionthan the 930,000-acre Pinelands Area portion ofthe Reserve.

The Pinelands Protection Actand Comprehensive ManagementPlan

The Pinelands National Reserve and thePinelands Comprehensive Management Plan arelaws aimed at protecting the natural resources andecological systems of the Pinelands and coastal areasof New Jersey. They aim to protect these ecosys-tems by controlling development. These laws are

the primary (though not the only) tools that gov-ernment has adopted to manage development andprotect natural resources in the Pinelands andcoastal area. They are the foundation or keystone ofconservation in the Pinelands.

The Pinelands Protection Act is based on theidea of regional planning for development and con-servation. In New Jersey, as in many parts of thecountry, decisions about what can be built where arenormally made at a local town government level, byvolunteer members of local planning boards andtown councils. With New Jersey’s relatively smallmunicipalities, this means the use and alteration ofthe landscape and its resources will be determinedon a largely haphazard basis. Decisions to preservea rural part of one town can be effectively negatedby contrary decisions in a neighboring town; differ-ent towns may compete with one another for tax-revenue–producing businesses, without regard to theoverall impact on natural resources and the charac-ter of each community; some town governments arevery concerned and knowledgeable about environ-mental protection, others less so. The Pinelandslaws, in contrast, create a single, unified and coher-ent development and conservation plan for a largearea of over 1.1 million acres.

The Pinelands CMP essentially dictates whatkind of development or other alteration of the landis allowed to take place in each part of thePinelands. The CMP says that development cantake place in its Regional Growth Areas and RuralDevelopment Areas, as well as in preexisting townsand cities, but little or no development can takeplace in the Preservation Area and Forest Areas.The CMP also has strong rules to protect the habi-tats of rare, threatened and endangered species ofplants and animals from the adverse impacts ofdevelopment in all parts of the Pinelands.

The core strategy of the CMP is to direct growthto the periphery of the Pinelands, and into alreadysettled towns and villages, while barring most formsof intensive development in the interior of thePinelands. It does so by placing the RegionalGrowth Areas and Rural Development Areasaround the edge of the Pinelands, reserving theinterior areas for Preservation Area, in which virtu-ally no development is allowed, and the Forest Area,in which only very low density housing develop-ment is allowed. Again, these decisions aboutwhere to direct growth are made without regard tomunicipal or county boundaries, but instead basedon factors such as natural resources, preexisting set-tlement and the goal of pressing as much develop-ment as possible to the edge of the Pinelands.

The Pinelands CMP also has a set of very strin-



gent environmental standards that apply to develop-ment in all parts of the Pinelands. These aim toprotect water quality, water supply, threatened andendangered species of plants and animals, culturalresources, and other values. One of the most inno-vative parts of the CMP is its system for “transfer-able development rights.” This rule gives landown-ers in the most heavily regulated forest and farmingparts of the Pinelands a “development credit” whichthey can sell to developers who need them to getapproval for certain projects in the growth zones.When a landowners sells these rights, his or herland is then placed under a permanent “deed restric-tion” against most forms of development. This sys-tem both helps to protect land from development incore and farming areas and gives highly restrictedlandowners a share of the wealth generated bydevelopment in the growth areas.

Buying land for conservationA vital part of the movement to save the Pine

Barrens ecosystem is the purchase of land for con-servation. As of 2005, over 400,000 acres within

the Pinelands National Reserve’s 1.1 million acresare held in public or private preserves and parks.This conservation strategy has been built into thepreservation effort since the adoption of theNational Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, whichprovided millions of dollars in federal funding tosupport state purchases of land. The state of NewJersey owns hundreds of thousands of acres in StateForests, State Parks and Wildlife ManagementAreas in and near the Pinelands. County govern-ments also own some important nature preserves inthe Pine Barrens, such as Ocean County’s WellsMills County Park and Atlantic County’s EstellManor County Park. Nonprofit organizations havehelped preserve many areas that were ultimatelyincorporated into state and county parks.Organizations such as the New Jersey ConservationFoundation and The Nature Conservancy have pre-served and continue to manage numerous preservesin the region. These preserves serve many functions– principally, habitat protection for plants andwildlife, scientific research and education, publicrecreation and aquifer recharge.

Pinelands CMP Management Areas


ObjectivesStudents will be able to…• Describe the trends in human population growth.• Describe the basic attributes of exponential growth.

Overview:In just under 8 minutes the students will demonstrate the growth of human population in the last 500years.

Procedure:m Draw a chalk circle on the floor about six feet in diameter. Yarn or tape may also be used to mark off the

circle.m Have the students stand around the outside of the circle.m The activity is based on 24 students. Each student represents 250 million people (approximately the

United States population in 1990). Each second represents 1 year.m Have two students move to the inside of the circle. They represent the world’s population in the year

1550 (500 million).m Using table 1 on the inquiry page count off 5 minutes adding students at the appropriate time.m Using table 2 have the students draw a line graph to illustrate the history of population growth over this

500-year period.m Using table 3 have the students draw a line graph to illustrate the history of population growth in New

Jersey over the last 210 years.

Materials:o Watch with a second hando Six-foot circle of chalk, yarn or tape

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards4.3, 4.14 & 5.12

GlossaryPopulation: All of the people inhabiting a specified area.Exponential: Containing, involving, or expressed as an exponent.Million: The cardinal number equal to 106.

HUMAN IMPACTS & CONSERVATION | Title: Population Circle

Length: 30 | Grade: 9-12

Human Impacts & Conservation | HC-11

1. What did you observe about how population changed over time?2. Towards the end of the simulation, how long was it taking to add 250 million people to the Earth?3. Based on what you saw happening by the end of the simulation, how do you think this activity would be

different if we came back in five years and did it again?4. What would happen if we continue to grow at this rate?

Pinelands Preservation Alliance

Population Circle

tion Alliance

Adapted from Population Circle by Population Connection, Census data from 1790 – 2000 can be found at the following web site. Quality and depth ofdata varies from data set to data set. Student research can focus on the population trends in greater detail by county or by town and/or region.

http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/index.htmhttp://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi25/pub/NJSDC-P3.pdf

Table 1

Year World Population Total Students Interval to Add Participants Number of students (in millions) in Circle Next Date at the end of this to Add to Circle

(1=250 million) Time Interval

1550 500 2 200 years 3 mins., 20 sec. 1 1750 750 3 60 1 min. 1 1810 1,000 4 80 1 min., 20 sec. 2 1986 1,500 6 41 41 secs. 2 1927 2,000 8 22 22 secs. 2 1950 2,500 10 10 10 secs. 2 1960 3,000 12 15 15 secs. 4 1975 4,000 16 12 12 secs. 4 1987 5,000 20 12 12 secs. 4 1999 6,000 24

Table 2

Year Population

1500 500,000,000 (million) 1600 545,000,000 1700 610,000,000 1800 1,000,000,000 (billion) 1900 1,600,000,000 1930 2,000,000,000 1960 3,000,000,000 1975 4,000,000,000 1987 5,000,000,000 1990 6,000,000,000

Table 3

Year Population Year Population

1790 184,139 1900 1,883,669 1800 211,149 1910 2,537,167 1810 245,562 1920 3,155,900 1820 277,575 1930 4,041,334 1830 320,823 1940 4,160,165 1840 373,306 1950 4,835,329 1850 489,310 1960 6,066,782 1860 672,035 1970 7,171,112 1870 906,096 1980 7,365,0111880 1,131,116 1990 7,730,1881890 1,144,933 2000 8,414,350


ObjectivesStudents will be able to…• Independently develop an area of the Pine Barrens as specified from a specific Pine Barrens topographic

map.• Compare their plans as they consider the environmental effects of their developmental strategies on the

biodiversity, distribution and composition of the community from human and non-human perspectives.

OverviewProgram DescriptionYour consulting firm (group) has been hired to suggest ways to develop the area of land outlined by thetopographic map set before you. Decisions about the following aspects of community infrastructure must beworked into your plan:

• Current and future size potential of the community.• Sources of water and energy for sustained community needs.• Positioning of homes, schools, retail businesses and industry, medical facility, agricultural areas,

recreational areas, local governmental services (waste disposal, recycling), public and private trans-portation routes.

Other suggestions: Factory(ies), Homes (Single, Multiple, Trailer Dwellings), Strip Mall(s), Park(s),Farm(s), Subdivision under construction (w/without Rain Gardens), Parking Lots (impervious surfaces).

Consideration should also be given to runoff from impervious surfaces, waste disposal from home use, haz-ardous waste disposal from businesses (factories), fertilizers and herbicides from the agricultural areas, recy-cling initiatives and handling of potential pollution sources.

Each consulting firm (group) is competing for this lucrative contract to construct this “designer community.”Each firm has been asked to be cognizant of the special nature of the Pine Barrens.

ProcedureStudent participants gain background on their roles.m Students should scrutinize their map to gain an appreciation for its topography.m Students need to read the lines for the highest and lowest points on the map, locate streams and identi-

fy their direction of flow, and find the watersheds or areas that drain into any other body of water on themap.

m Students should be cognizant of the regulations governing development in the Pine Barrens. An exami-nation of the Comprehensive Management Plan might be in order.

m Students should be cognizant of the endemic species in the designated area and those native species thatare protected by federal and state laws.

m Students should be cognizant of the goals of landowners and developers and municipalities who dependupon fast growth for sources of income.

m Student participants develop their community plan with a goal to be awarded the contract for their“community design.”

m Students present their “community” for input by other “firms.” This can be the assessment if one sointends.

HUMAN IMPACTS & CONSERVATION | Title: To Build or Not to Build

Length: variable | Grade: 9-12


Optional ActivityStudents in individual groups can beassigned specific roles. LandscapeArchitect, Lawyer, Ecologist,Business Person, and EnvironmentalActivist are a few possible choices.In these roles they can assume theperspectives of those individuals asthey scrutinize the topographic mapand decide upon their community.

Assessments

m Have a copy of a modified topo-graphical map and have studentsidentify various characteristic areassuch as elevation, streams, water-shed areas.

m Have the lawyer/activists preparean information sheet on the high-lights of the law.

m Teacher organized quiz of factualinformation.

Materialso Topographic maps o Markers or paper to cut and situate building etc. or post its o Scissors o Copy of the Comprehensive Management Plan

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards5.1A, 5.5B, 5.8A, B&D, and 5.10A&B

GlossaryBiodiversity: The number and variety of living organisms and ecological communities.Contour lines: The lines on topographic maps that indicate the elevation of the land and are typically tenfeet apart.Impervious Surfaces: A surface that does not allow water to drain through it into soil.Non Point Pollution: Any pollution not associated with a distinct discharge point.Pervious Surfaces: A porous surface that allows water to pass through.Point Pollution: Any pollution whose discharge point can be identified.Smart Growth: A term used for well-planned, well-managed development in areas of the state where exist-ing infrastructure can be used to support growth.Sprawl: Ill-conceived land use and poorly designed development that threatens drinking water supplies,consumes open space, spoils landscapes and creates traffic congestion.Topographic maps: Maps that delineates the steepness or contours of the land.Watershed: An area of land that drains into a particular body of water such as a river, lake, stream or bay.

Webbs Mill Boardwalk


ObjectivesStudents will be able to…• Describe the connections between land use and stream systems.• Describe how land use can increase pH in Pinelands stream systems.• Describe how increased pH and habitat alterations can result in the presence of non-native species.• Describe the effects of non-native species on community structure and diversity.

OverviewThe connections between land use and ecological disturbance continue to be revealed in ecosystems on aglobal scale. In the New Jersey Pinelands, an ecosystem of unique chemistry, biology and geology, data isbeing documented pointing to a rather curious relationship. It is a common generalization that regions withgreater biodiversity are healthier. Additionally, every chemistry student can reference a healthy pH value inmost living systems will be near neutral. Interestingly, in the Pinelands, both higher species richness andelevated pH can be signs of disturbance.

m In this exercise you will inspect a series of GIS maps of a site within the New Jersey Pinelands. Each ofthe four maps will provide certain sets of data that, when considered together, will reveal a picture of dis-turbance and land use. Prior to beginning the exercise each student should answer the preliminaryinquiry questions on the student activity page. Information can be obtained from Pinelands PreservationAlliance and/ or the Pinelands Commission web sites.

http://www.pinelandsalliance.orghttp://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/

Procedurem Students answer preliminary questions about Pinelands ecology and disturbance.m Students are given a map of a Pinelands watershed that indicates several sites to be monitored for eco-

logical quality; answer questions posed.m Students are given a map displaying various land uses within the watershed; answer questions posed.m Students are given a map of pH values at each test site; answer questions posed.m Students are given a map of non-native diversity at each test site; answer questions posed.m Students answer summary questions and discuss overall themes and impacts of disturbance in the

Pinelands.

Optional Activitym Introduce Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to students, data available at NJDEP web site.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/gis/m Topographic map instruction – teach students how to interpret USGS maps.

http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/usgsmaps.html#Topographic%20Maps

HUMAN IMPACTS & CONSERVATION | Pinelands, Land Use and Disturbance Indicators

Length: 3-5 periods | Grade: 9-12


Assessmentsm Students type out responses to each question.m Students review and report on active research projects on the Pinelands commission web site.m Students put together a PowerPoint or GIS project and construct a poster presentation on non-native

species in the Pinelands.

Materialso Disturbance maps, GIS program – Arcview (optional), pH test kit/ probe and Pinelands

water samples (optional).o Pinelands, Land Use and Disturbance Indicators Student Activity page.

NJ Core Curriculum Standards5.1B, 5.5B, 5.6B, 5.10A/B

GlossaryBiodiversity: The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region. The vari-ability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and with-in and between ecosystems.Non-native species: Species of plants and animals that are not native (natural) to an area are known as:non-native species, introduced species, exotic species, non-indigenous species, alien species, transplants, and/ or invasive species.pH: In chemistry, pH is a measure of acidity.GIS: Global Information System Indicator species: A species whose presence, absence, or relative well-being in a given environment isindicative of the health of its ecosystem as a whole.

Ariel View of Forest and Development


1. What are typical pH values found in Pinelands streams?2. What is the reason for these pH values being so low?3. What is a native and non-native species?4. Name and describe four native and four non-native fish found in the Pinelands.

Map 1What is a watershed?Why are we interested in testing multiple sites within the same watershed?What do you think the selection of these monitoring sites is based upon?Are there natural lakes within the Pinelands?How is a stream different from a lake in terms of habitat and ecology?

Map 21. Identify and describe the land use types shown on the map.2. Are the monitoring sites placed so as to detect any potential impacts of all land use types on the map?3. Access the CMP Pinelands map. List the main management zones and identify which of the regions

have specific connections to disturbance. What are the disturbances you would predict to be associatedwith each management region.

Map 31. Describe the three pH ranges represented on the map.2. Is there any relationship between monitoring site location and pH values? Explain.3. What could cause the elevated values of pH at some sites? Consider land use.4. Could the elevated values be due to natural phenomenon? Explain.5. With what frequency should the sites be monitored for pH? Explain.

Map 41. Describe the biodiversity ranking system used for the monitoring sites.2. Is there a relationship between pH elevation and presence of non-native species? Explain.3. How could elevated pH alone be primarily responsible for the presence of non-native species?4. What are the habitat requirements for the non-native species you described above?5. What is the effect of non-native species (plants and fishes) on the native community?

Summary1. Give a concluding statement about disturbance, pH and non-native species at the monitoring sites.2. What could be done at or near these sites to ameliorate the effects of disturbance?3. Are there other factors you would monitor to help determine the health of a community/ ecosystem and

the extent of disturbance? Explain.

Pinelands, Land Use and Disturbance Indicators

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ObjectivesStudents will be able to…• Identify the various components of the typical suburban built environment.• Identify the impacts and implications of the built environment.• Compare and contrast two different examples of the built environment.• Suggest ways to design the built environment that would have less of an impact on the natural

environment.

OverviewThis suggested field trip is focused on surveying two contrasting examples of the built environment --onethat exhibits typical suburban post-war planning and design, and one that exhibits examples of sustainableplanning and design.

This suggested itinerary will take students to a suburban housing development in their town, and then toone of the recommended locations listed below. However, the locations can be customized to account forlogistical constraints.

ProcedureA. Classroom Preparationm Divide the class into working groups.m Students create a map of the watersheds in which field trip destinations are located. NOTE: Students

can use the maps they created during the “Relief Mapping the Topography of Pine Barren’s Watersheds”Lesson in the Water section.

m Have students study the land use and land cover.m Review the concept of the Transect: the idealized continuum of wilderness, rural, suburban, town, and

city. (Student worksheet 1)m Review the scale of the built environment: region, city, neighborhood, block, street, building. (Student

worksheet 1)m Review examples of most apparent aspects of the local built environment: residential, commercial, roads,

bridges, sidewalks, etc.m Review examples of the less apparent supporting infrastructure: storm water, wastewater, mass

transit, etc.m Review impacts of built environment on: land (water, waste, pollution), wildlife (habitat) and humans

(public health).

B. Field Trip Itinerarym Travel to typical suburban neighborhood.m Conduct the following area inqiry using Built Environment Survey (Student worksheet 2).m Examine the setting for topography, vegetation, and human impact.m Describe approximate % of land cover.m Describe types of development (residential, commercial?; high or low density?).m Describe infrastructure (sewer, water, roads, energy, etc).m Describe any open space or wildlife habitat (relation to developed areas, vegetation, wildlife, buffers

between open space and developed areas).

HUMAN IMPACTS & CONSERVATION | Built Environment Field Trip

Length: variable | Grade: 9-12


m Describe any waterways (name of waterway, condition of banks, outfall pipes, buffers, etc.).m Describe means of transportation (car, bus, train, walking & bicycling).m Travel to location exhibiting elements of sustainable design.

Examples include:• Traditional pre-war town centers in and around the Pinelands: including Egg Harbor City,

Hammonton, or other pre-war centers like Freehold, Collingswood.• Neo-Traditional recent developments: Easthampton Town Center (Eastampton Township,

Burlington County) or Washington Town Center (Washington Township, Mercer County).m Repeat inquiry.m Have each group review conclusions of Built Environment Survey: Data Worksheet from both sites.m Have each group present their finding to the class.

Materialso Watershed mapo Maps of particular Pine Barrens Watershed Regions o Corrugated cardboard or thin Styrofoam sheets o Scissors o Markers/colored Pencils o Glue o Student worksheet one and twoo Built Environment Survey: Data Sheet

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards5.1, 5.3, 5.4 , 5.5 , 5.8 & 5.10

Glossary Map Symbols: See the USGS for a multitude of official symbols for surface features, mines and caves,vegetations, glaciers and permanent snowfields, water features, building and related features, roads, railroadsand others.Map Key: Student designed feature of this activity based upon the Map Symbols chosen for the Relief Map.Map Scale: Is the relationship between distance on a map and the distance on the earth’s surface.Physical Map: A map of the locations of identifiable landmarks such as country borders, major cities andsignificant bodies of water.Topographic Map: A map that shows a surface by contour lines that join points of equal elevation on thesurface of the land above or below a reference surface along with symbols that represent features such asstreams, buildings, streams and woods.Political Map: A map that shows governmental boundaries of countries, states, and counties, along withmajor cities. They usually include significant bodies of water.Relief Map: A map that shows the hills, valleys and mountains of a particular area.Natural Resource Map: A map that identifies natural resources that are useful to humans found in a partic-ular area. These resources include food, energy sources, plants and animals for example.Contour Lines: A line drawn on a map connecting points of equal height.Watershed: An area of land that drains down-slope to the lowest point. These drainage pathways convergeinto streams and rivers becoming progressively larger as the water moves downstream. May be used inter-changeably with drainage basin or catchment basin.Relative Location: A location estimated by comparison to something else.



Built Environment Survey: Data Sheet

The following checklist will help you to assess the characteristics of your site. Please check all that apply.

Site Name:____________________________________________________________________

School:______________________________________________Date:_____________________

Build Environment-Student Worksheet Two

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Land Use:Residential___Commercial___Mixed Use___

Residential:Single family Detached___Single family Attached___Mix of Single Family,Multi- family, Rental___

Overall Density:

Low___Medium___High___

Lot Sizes:acre(s)___

Proximity to TownCenter:mile(s)____No Town Center_____

Variety of HousingPrices:

Many___ Some___ Few___

Affordable Housing:

Yes___ No___ Not Sure___

Parking:

Rear of Buildings___Front of Buildings___On-Street___Parking Garage___

Infill Development:Yes___ No___ Not Sure___

Brownfields/Contaminated Sites:Yes___ No___ Not Sure___RehabilitatedBuilding/Redeveloped

Sites:


Infrastructure

Wastewater:Sewer___ Septic___

Stormwater:Narrow inlets___Vegetated basins___Pet waste signage___Pervious Paving___

School (walkable from site?)

Yes___ No___Approx Distance:_____Recycling: Yes___ No___


Land Use

Transportation and Mobility

Natural Resources

Streams: Yes___ No___ Name: Lakes: Yes___ No___ Name: Vegetatedbuffers between development and waterway: Yes___ No___ Describe vegetation: Widthof stream buffer:>50 yards___ >25 yards___ >10 yards___ No Buffer___ Wildlife habi-tat: Large wooded undeveloped area___ Vegetated stream corridor___ Mature streettrees/and/or vegetation in yards___

Other Site Observations:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

How does this site compare with the other site you have observed?

Do you think this is an example of “Smart Growth”? Why? Why not?

Sidewalks:

Few___ Some___Many___

Sidewalks/Paths connect site to otherresidential/commercialareas:Yes___ No___

Traffic Calming:Textured crosswalks___Speed Humps___Sidewalk bulbouts___

Bicycles:

Bicycle Lanes___Bicycle Parking___

Road Network:

Connected___Disconnected___

Mass Transit:

Bus___ Train___Park/Ride___

Station/Bus Stop, within:

1/4 mile___ 1/2 mile___1 mile___

Open SpacePublic Open Space:

Yes___ No___ Type:

Ownership:

Municipal___County___State___

Park Type:

Passive recreation___Active recreation (sportsfields)___

Preserved Land:


Parks within walking distance of site:

Yes___ No___Approx. Distance:__________


ObjectivesStudents will be able to…• Consider and discuss a variety of issues that surround “The Preserve”.• Play the role of one of the stakeholders in a town meeting.• Consider of the stakeholders points of view in developing a resolution to the issue.

OverviewThe Preserve is a development on the edge of the Pinelands in which a local population of endangeredTimber Rattlesnakes has been found on. Students are given information related to the rattlesnake casestudy and put into various groups in order to bring resolution to the issue. Each group will develop andpresent arguments based on their respective point of view.

Procedurem Read “The Preserve” Case Study background information together as a class.m Divide the students into 5 different groups and assign each group one of the roles listed on the Case

Study.m Students will be given time to research and develop arguments that best support the point of view of the

role that they were assigned.m A “town meeting” will be called and each group will be given the opportunity to present their arguments

surrounding the case and ideas for resolution.m The groups will collectively come to a resolution that best satisfies each point of view.

Materialso Copies of The Preserve Town Meeting Student Activity pages.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards5.1.A.1, 5.1.A.2, 5.1.A.3, 5.1.A.4 & 5.10.B.2

GlossaryPreserve: To keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged.Hibernaculum: The shelter of a hibernating animal.Endangered Species: A species present in such small numbers that it is at risk of extinction.

HUMAN IMPACTS | Title: The Preserve Town Meeting

Length: 2, 45 minute class periods | Grade: 9-12


Town Meeting – The Preserve

Biodiversity, Land Use and Endangered Species

“The Preserve”

July 2003The morning sun was a welcome sight. Three

days of rain had dampened the spirit of summer.Fifteen year old Justine Kendal waited at the end ofher driveway for her ride to soccer practice. Stilltired despite a solid nine hours of sleep, she decidedto recline to catch another minute of slumber.Sitting on the warm asphalt, she placed her bagbehind her head and stretched to reach the cool grass at the edge of the driveway. She wasn’t the onlyone enjoying the heat radiating from the dark impervious surface.

The Timber Rattlesnake, a young one, maybe two years old, took exception to the clasped handscoming down a bit too close to its head. Normally a rattle would have warned of a coming attack andthough this species is rather shy, the bite came quickly.

After spending the morning in the emergency room and learning that the bite had been dry (novenom injected) she returned home with her parents. The next day she bragged to her friends about theincident, but her parents did not take the issue so lightly.

The Preserve is a development on the edge of the Pinelands. Five years ago, permits had beengranted for road and sewer line installation. The construction crew reported seeing snakes on severaloccasion and a local naturalist identified them as Timber Rattlesnakes, a state listed endangeredspecies. Rumors swirled about the developer’s attempts to keep their presence quiet – dismissingreports, slipping a few bucks to the construction crew and even enlisting the help of a licensed biologistto sign off that no snakes were present. The state DEP finally addressed the issue and did documentsnakes and a large hibernaculum in a cedar swamp on the property.

A town meeting has been called to decide the fate of the snakes and the Preserve. Should thedevelopment be torn down? Should future building on the large tract of property be allowed? Shouldthe developer be paid for the land? If so, how much? Should the snakes be removed? The 5 groups listed below have been called to this meeting to bring resolution to this issue.

ROLESm Pinelands Commission: A committee of appointees charged with upholding the Comprehensive

Management Plan and dealing with necessary conflicts.m SAD Development: The corporation who owns the land and applied for and received development

rights.m Preserve Community: People who live in the community.m PPA: Pinelands non-profit that monitors the activities of the commission, the state and all activities in

the Pinelands.m NJDEP: Department of environmental protection. State agency responsible for upholding laws and

protecting the environment.

Pinelands Preservation Alliance

The Preserve Town Meeting

Timber Rattlesnake

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