THE STATE WE’RE IN
By Michele Byers
New Jerseyans know all too well how fast forests can be converted to asphalt. But a study completed last August by the U.S. Forest Service sounds the alarm far beyond the borders of the Garden State.
”Forests on the Edge: Development Pressures on America’s National Forests and Grasslands” warns of residential development impacts on rural land just outside the boundaries of our federally owned forests.
America’s national forest system includes 155 forests and 20 grasslands, totaling about 192 million acres. The report projected substantial increases in housing density on nearly 22 million acres of privately owned lands within 10 miles of our national lands. Outside the Bitteroot National Forest in Idaho and Montana, for example, 42 percent of adjacent private lands are expected to be developed.
According to the study, our national forests provide the largest single source of freshwater in the United States, along with habitat for a third of all federal threatened and endangered species. More than 205 million people visit these lands every year for recreation and to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The study found that allowing development right up to the edges of our national forests leads to decreases in native wildlife, alterations in forest structure and function, lower water quality, increased fire frequency and damage costs, greater loss of life and property, reduced scenic quality and recreational opportunities and more — all things we have seen as New Jersey’s forests have been pinched and fragmented by development.
In New Jersey and other eastern states, forests were cleared for agriculture 200 years ago but grew back as cities rose to prominence in the 1900s. Now healthy, young forests are again threatened by housing and other development, as well as deer overpopulation and invasive plant species.
New Jersey’s forests are protected to some degree through regional planning: in the Pine Barrens through the 1979 Pinelands Protection Act, and in the Highlands through the 2004 Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. But in spite of New Jersey’s strong wetlands and environmental laws, forests are still vulnerable.
The “Forests on the Edge” study also highlights the fate of America’s privately owned forests. Fifty-seven percent of our nation’s forests are in the hands of private owners, with no protections other than landowners’ good intentions. Data gathered as part of the initial report indicates more than 44 million acres of private forest will see increased housing development by 2030.
The trend is expected to be particularly pervasive in the East, where most privately owned forests are located. New Jersey’s privately owned forests need better protection and stewardship. Without it, unchecked residential development, over-browsing by deer and invasive plants will destroy ecological and water conservation functions.
The report on development pressures is part of a larger “Forests on the Edge” initiative by the U. S. Forest Service that aims to increase public awareness of the value of, and pressures on, America’s private forests, national forests and surrounding, privately owned lands. You can read more at www.fs.fed.us/openspace/fote/national_forests_on_the_edge.html.
Projects like “Forests on the Edge” provide hope that we can learn from past mistakes and successes, and preserve these lands and the benefits they provide.
Michele Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. For more information, contact her at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s Web site at www.njconservation.org.