From the NJ Republican staff
TRENTON, N.J. – For those who pass through on the Turnpike or Parkway, or who only know it as the comic’s punchline, New Jersey is concrete, smokestacks, and the roar of traffic through exits lined with Wawas and warehouses. For others, it’s a lyric in a Springsteen song or an MTV show about the shore. But natives, transplants, and nature lovers know the Garden State, the most densely populated in the nation, could easily be called the Wooded State, with its woodlands from the Pine Barrens to the northern hardwood forests, comprising 40% of its 5.6 million acres. Most wooded land is privately owned.
Assembly members Sean Kean and Dawn Fantasia want to ensure those areas remain protected from creeping overdevelopment. Their bill (S699/A682), supported by various state environmental groups and released by the Assembly Environment Committee on Monday, will establish a woodlands protection fund to acquire development easements on privately-owned woodlands.
That fund, to be operated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, would use federal money, private donations, and appropriations from the state Legislature to purchase easements. To qualify, woodlands must be at least five contiguous acres in size and be managed by the landowner according to state statute. Landowners would not be required to open those woodlands to the public.
“This bill does two things: it protects these natural spaces and respects property owners’ rights,” Kean (R-Monmouth) said. “With owners facing pressure to sell and build, the state needs to proactively preserve these areas to safeguard these ecosystems and protect private owners from those pressures.”
Some 950,000 acres of forest are privately owned, with 40% owned by people 65 and older. The state, local municipalities, counties, and federal government own the other 1.037 million forested acres.
Preserving forested land helps protect native species, air quality, vital watersheds, and other waterways. Economically, woodlands generate billions annually through tourism and forestry.
“This is personal for me. I live where I live because of the open space, the trees, and the rural landscape. When I’m not working, I’m outdoors, and I can’t imagine northwest New Jersey without those things,” said Fantasia (R-Sussex). “I want to protect our great outdoors from overdevelopment so that future generations can experience the beauty our state has to offer.”
The Senate passed a companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Robert Singer, in March.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month
