Your Turn

Nearly 30 years ago, President Jimmy Carter delivered an important message of conservation that resonates in New Jersey to this day.

"This new law (the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978) reaffirms our nation's commitment to the preservation of our heritage, a commitment which strives to improve the quality of the present by our dedication to preserving the past and conserving our historical and natural resources for our children and grandchildren," Carter said upon signing the act, which created the 1.1 million-acre Pinelands National Reserve of southern New Jersey and set the stage for the state to establish a comprehensive plan to protect the region's unique resources.

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission, the agency charged with overseeing land use and natural resource protection in the Pinelands, has not forgotten this message. In fact, there's plenty of proof of the commission's success in protecting an area that covers more than 20 percent of the state.

Commission scientists just completed a comprehensive study that evaluates the current status of the Pinelands ecology by analyzing landscape and watershed conditions throughout the region. The study shows that the Pinelands protection program, which preserves environmentally sensitive areas while steering growth toward appropriate areas, has successfully maintained characteristic Pinelands habitat in a vast majority of the region.

Results of this study will be used to assess current Pinelands land use and zoning designations and to ensure that important natural areas, such as habitat for rare plants and animals, are afforded the protection they deserve.

Commission scientists are nearing the final stages of a sixyear study that will help us to determine how current and future water supply needs in the 17 trillion-gallon Kirkwood- Cohansey aquifer can be met while avoiding adverse impacts on the environment.

The commission is now implementing new storm-water management regulations devised to significantly reduce the effects of "nonpoint" pollution. The commission is testing new septic system technologies that can remove 60 percent or more of the pollution generated by standard septic systems.

In November, the commission approved an agreement that permits the extension of public sanitary sewer service to the Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow Township, Camden County, enabling the facility to decommission an aging and failing waste-water treatment plant on-site. This will remove a significant source of pollution to a Pinelands stream while heading off a potential future health problem in that area.

This year, the commission dedicated $4.2 million from the Pinelands Conservation Fund to permanently preserve a total of approximately 3,000 acres in Atlantic, Burlington, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

All of these properties contain exceptional Pinelands habitat and will strengthen our efforts to preserve this region. Currently, more than 53 percent of the Pinelands is permanently protected.

In February, the commission joined forces with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service to launch a new initiative aimed at identifying and implementing specific measures to mitigate wildfire hazards and risks in Barnegat and Stafford townships, both of which have an extensive history of wildfires.

Last but not least, the commission continues to place a strong emphasis on raising awareness about the Pinelands.

For example, the March 1 Pinelands Short Course in Burlington County featured 30 presentations on Pinelands history and ecology. The event attracted a record crowd of 622 people.

Although much more work lies ahead, I'm proud to say that the bold message of conservation delivered three decades ago resounds in the Pinelands.

John C. Stokes is the executive director of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, an independent state agency that oversees land use and natural resource protection in the Pinelands Area of southern New Jersey.