The New Jersey Pinelands Commission, the state agency that oversees the protection of the million-acre Pinelands region of southern New Jersey, has issued a new report that details the panel’s accomplishments during Fiscal Year 2011.
“A Year in Review” highlights many of the commission’s efforts between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, including the permanent preservation of thousands of acres of land.
“With fewer staff, several vacancies on our board and an abundance of complex issues, the commission continued to advanced its mission to preserve this special part of New Jersey,” said Nancy Wittenberg, the commission’s executive director. “The commission can be proud of its accomplishments, which will have long-lasting benefits to the Pinelands environment.”
Among the accomplishments noted, the commission:
Appointed Nancy Wittenberg as its new executive director. Wittenberg is a former assistant commissioner with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Dedicated more than $4.3 million to preserve 4,330 acres in Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May and Ocean counties. To date, the commission has paid out a total of $4.1 million from the Pinelands Conservation Fund toward the permanent preservation of approximately 3,320 acres of land.
Proposed several changes to ensure the environmentally appropriate siting of solar energy facilities in the Pinelands.
Reviewed 1,602 active development applications to ensure compliance with regulations that protect Pinelands resources, such as water, wetlands and habitat for rare plants and animals.
Worked with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to analyze and expedite measures to combat southern pine beetles, which are killing pine trees in the Pinelands. Approximately 389 potential infestations totaling 14,100 acres were recorded in the Pinelands region in 2010, according to the DEP. Commission staff are reporting potential pine beetle infestations to the DEP. Additionally, the commission is working with the DEP to provide expedited review and permitting processes for pine beetle suppression activities.
Partnered with the DEP to conduct water-quality sampling in Barnegat Bay streams as part of Gov. Chris Christie’s comprehensive plan to address the ecological health of the bay.
Continued to manage a $5.5 million, multi-agency study of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which are layers of sand and gravel that lie beneath the Pinelands and hold an estimated 17 trillion gallons of pure water.
Continued to carry out scientific surveys of Pinelands watersheds as part of a comprehensive, nationally recognized, long-term environmental monitoring program. Since the 1990s, the commission has conducted surveys at hundreds of sites in the Pinelands in an effort to characterize the effect of existing land use patterns on aquatic and wetlands resources and to monitor long-term changes in these resources.
Educated more than 2,000 people about the Pinelands’ natural treasures.
Achieved status as a state-certified laboratory. Certification of the commission’s science office laboratory enables other agencies such as the DEP to accept the commission’s water-quality data. The commission has begun contributing the location of 295 monitoring sites and 11,880 data points to the DEP’s Water Quality Data Exchange database. The data were collected as part of the commission’s ongoing long-term environmental monitoring program and span from 1999 through 2010. The data can be used by the DEP in developing its list of impaired waterways.