Pinelands CMP

Southern New Jersey has an unique landscape called the Pinelands. The UN-recognized landscape benefits from a variety of strategies and protections including the New Jersey Pinelands Commission's Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). First adopted in 1980, the plan is an important tool for guiding growth while protecting these unique resources, including the very large Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer. If the CMP is too much for you, this StoryMap offers an easy point of entry.

The Original Pinelands Comprehensive Plan of 1980

I was pretty excited when I found out that both parts of the original 1980 New Jersey Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan are available online.

Forked River Mountains

The latest The State We Are In column introduces many readers to the Forked River Mountains of the Pinelands. Well worth a read, especially as spring fever sets in. You will surely want to take a trip down to explore some section of the Pinelands, if not this one.

Environmental planning job

The NJ Pinelands is a Truly Special Place. How great would it be to help keep it that way?

PLANNER-LAND USE/RESOURCE

The NJ Pinelands Commission, an independent state agency with regulatory jurisdiction over the million-acre Pinelands Area, seeks a full-time Resource Planner. Responsibilities include publication of the Commission’s periodic economic monitoring analyses, review of complex land use issues and municipal ordinances, coordination with other state agencies on infrastructure planning, and management of various water supply and water quality planning projects. GIS skills and experience with demographics, data manipulation and analysis required.

Bachelor’s degree in land use planning or related field and one year land use planning or related experience required or equivalent combination of education and experience. Master’s degree in related field is a plus and may substitute for one year required experience.

Only candidates selected for interview will be notified. For more information, see www.state.nj.us/pinelands 

Send resume and cover letter by February 17, 2017 to Pinelands Commission, P.O. Box 359, New Lisbon, NJ  08064 or Fax: 609-894-7330 or

E-mail: humanres@njpines.state.nj.us or complete an application at the Commission’s office, 15C Springfield Road, New Lisbon, NJ  08064.

EOE.

Pine Barrens

"He asked where I was going, and I said that I had no particular destination, explaining that I was in the pines because I found it hard to believe that so much unbroken forest could still exist so near the big Eastern cities, and I wanted to see while it was still there.” 

 - John McPhee, The Pine Barrens

Mark your calendars

Special Panel Discussion

The Pine Barrens: The Past, the Politics & the Future

SUNDAY, MARCH 3 - 2 p.m.

Princeton University - McCosh 50 Lecture Hall

Join us for a rare conversation with former Governors Brendan Byrne and James Florio,  "The Pine Barrens" author John McPhee, Michele S. Byers of New Jersey Conservation Foundation and Carleton Montgomery of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. Panelists will discuss how the Pine Barrens were preserved and how to ensure their continued protection. Hosted by NJTV's Michael Aron. 

Free and open to the public. Reservations not required, but seating is limited. Click here for map of Princeton University and McCosh 50.

Eating up the Pinelands

The southern pine beetle has chewed its way through 14,000 acres of the Pinelands this year.  The Star-Ledger reports that this is easily the worst year ever. (While this link will go stale fast, you can see that it was front page news).

Who is Howard Boyd?

"If it weren’t for Howard {Boyd], there would be no Pine Barrens," said [Louis] Cantafio, a Ph.D. conservationist.

Di Ionno tells you all about this 96 year old Pinelands hero.

Searching for the Jersey Devil

Getting serious about the search for the Jersey Devil, the NY Times Dan Berry heads out with what looks like a senior team of scientists (except for the senior and scientist parts).

Studying the PInelands

It sounds like some RU-Camden faculty and students are having a fun and productive summer using the Pinelands as an outdoor laboratory.

Snakes stop developments

A news story this weekend has highlighted the role of 2 species of snakes
to slow or stop development in the Pinelands. It is interesting to guess how this reached the newspapers, but it sounds like the developer probably reached out to the media while the Pinelands was given a chance to respond. But is also raises the larger concerns about the complexity of these projects that interweave multiple interests:

Local officials said they were upset that the project had died, saying the development was tied to a deal that would have preserved nearly 400 acres of farmland - also endangered in New Jersey.

This all reminds me of a fun novel, called Rattled, published about a year ago by Debra Galant looking at how a fictional developer deals with snakes in NJ.