LIBRARY RESOURCES

• Canoe Rentals
• Cranberries in New Jersey
• Dominant/Distinctive Vertebrates Listing
• Fact Sheet
• Fire in the Pinelands
• History of the Pinelands
• Library Materials & Holdings
• National Reserve Profile
• Reading List 
• Related Terms
• Speakers Directory
• Surface Water in the Pinelands
• Vegetation of the Pinelands
• Vertebrates of the Pinelands

LOCAL & STATE RESOURCES

• Batsto Village
• Cranberry Recipes
• Jersey Devil of the Pine Barrens
• New Jersey Pinelands
• Comprehensive Management Plan Summary
• Photos of the Pinelands
• Pinelands Commission 
• Pinelands Preservation Alliance
• Pineylore
• Pineypower
• Plants of the Pinelands
• Wharton State Park
• Whitesbog Village

PINELANDS FACT SHEET

Size
Ownership
Population and Economy
Little Known Facts about the Pinelands
Pinelands Commission
Pinelands Preservation and Land Use
Pinelands Development Credits and Housing
Management Programs
Acquisition
Implementation
Other Major Elements Of Comprehensive Management Plan

• Pinelands National Reserve includes approximately 1.1 million acres and encompasses portions of 7 counties and all or part of 56 municipalities

• Pinelands Area (state) includes approximately 927,000 acres which encompasses portions of 7 counties and all or part of 53 municipalities

OWNERSHIP

• Almost forty percent in public ownership

• Approximately 308,000 acres in state ownership (as of January 1, 1989)

• Approximately 90,000 acres in federal ownership (Fort Dix, McGuire, Lakehurst, NAFEC and wildlife refuges of Forsythe and Cape May)

POPULATION AND ECONOMY

• 700,000 year-round residents live in the 53 Pinelands Area municipalities

• Density ranges from 10 to 40,000 persons per square mile

• Major activities include farming (blueberry, cranberry and other types of agriculture), recreation, resource extraction (sand and gravel), shellfishing, public service (government), and construction on the periphery.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE PINELANDS

• Lies above a 17 trillion gallon aquifer, enough pure water to cover New Jersey 10 feet deep

• Is home to 54 plant and 39 animal species threatened with extinction in New Jersey

• Contains the Pine Plains, most extensive pigmy forest of its type in the country

• Has over 1,000 known prehistoric sites which show that man lived here as early as 10,000 BC

• Supported an early bog-iron industry which supplied cannon and shot to Washington's army during the Revolutionary War

PINELAND COMMISSIONS

• 15 member Commission consisting of 7 county representatives, 7 gubernatorial appointees and 1 representative of the Secretary of the Interior

• Executive Director heads 50 member staff

PINELANDS PRESERVATION AND LAND USE

• Preservation Area - 294,000 acres; resource-related uses and limited residential development

• Special Agricultural Production Area - 36,300 acres; berry agricultural uses and related development

• Agricultural Production Area - 67,300 acres; agricultural uses and related development

• Forest Area - 246,800 acres; resource-related uses and low density residential development

• Rural Development Area - 116,700 acres; moderate density development

• Regional Growth Area - 77, 100 acres; moderately high residential development and commercial and industrial development

• Military and Federal Installation Area - 46,000 acres; current uses recognized

• Towns and Villages - 52 interspersed throughout Pinelands Area; development consistent with existing character

PINELANDS DEVELOPMENT CREDITS AND HOUSING

• PDCs transfer development opportunities from the Preservation Area District, the two agricultural areas and other environmentally constrained lands to Regional Growth Areas

• Approximately 5,600 PDCs established

• Each PDC yields 4 residential units when used in Growth Areas

• Opportunity exists in the Pinelands Area for more than 175,000 residences to be developed

  • 81,000 in Growth Areas

  • 72,000 in other areas

  • 22,000 from PD-Cs in Growth Areas

MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

• Resource protection programs relative to wetlands, vegetation, fish and wildlife, water resources, air quality, scenic resources, and cultural resources

• Management program dealing with agriculture

• Development programs relative to forestry, resource extraction, waste management, recreation, and fire management

ACQUISITION

• 102,000 acres recommended for state acquisition (66,324 acres acquired through December 1994)

• Costs estimated at $78.8 million

  Recommended funding

  $39.2 million - Federal "502" (Pinelands Act)
  $5.8 million - Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds
  $33.8 million - State "Green Acres"

IMPLEMENTATION

• County and municipal plans and ordinances to be revised to conform to the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP)

• Pinelands Commission may review local approvals which raise substantial issues with respect to resource protection standards of the CMP

• State agency actions to be consistent with the CMP

• Coastal area review program to implement programs in National Reserve outside state Pinelands Area

• Memoranda of Agreement with federal land management agencies

• Pinelands infrastructure program provides $30 million to help growth municipalities with capital improvements

OTHER MAJOR ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSION MANAGEMENT PLAN

• Allow municipalities to adopt "grandfather", building provision for small lots owned before February 8, 1979, provided that

  • lot is in Forest, Rural, or Agricultural Management Area

  • owner wishes to build for self or family

  • lot is at least one acre

  • lot meets all environmental standards

• Waivers from Plan may be available if no vacant land is available to enable applicant to comply with lot size standards or a compelling public need exists. Pinelands Development Credits may be awarded to alleviate hardships in certain cases

• Municipal Reserves - Recommends municipal designation of portions of Rural Development areas for higher levels of development if future growth demands warrant

• Recommends in-lieu-taxes payments to municipalities for land removed from tax rolls due to state acquisition