DEP Plan Calls For Over 200 Miles Of Roads In 123,000 Acre State Forest In The Pinelands
Pinelands Preservation Alliance Folds And Backs The DEP Plan
(Caption: Source: Bill Wolfe, see: Anarchy In The Pines)
The Orwellian hacks at the Murphy DEP – an Agency led without objection from environmentalists by former corporate polluter lawyer Shawn LaTourette, DEP’s first Commissioner who served as a corporate lawyer – just revived a zombie off road vehicle promotional program – previously called the Motorized Access Plan – and renamed it the “Visiting Vehicle Use Map”.
As if “visitors” to a State Park in a federally protected “National Reserve” and a State legislatively protected and UN designated Biosphere Reserve have any reasonable expectation of driving 4 wheel drive vehicles around in the woods.
The DEP is trying to normalize a “visit” to a State forest as including a jeep ride through the woods.
Park visitors have a reasonable expectation of driving on roads to access specific recreational areas: trailheads, beaches, river fishing and canoe access, campgrounds, picnic areas, etc.
Park visitors have reasonable expectations to hike trails, canoe rivers, swim in lakes, find solitude, smell the flowers, listen to the birds and squirrels and the wind blow, and observe and photograph plants, landscapes, and wildlife.
But they don’t have a reasonable expectation to simply cruise around the woods in monster 4 wheel drive vehicles, especially not in the federally and State protected, strictly regulated, ecologically unique, and sensitive Pinelands forests. And we know from long experience that some fraction of those “visitors” will drive off roads and destroy sensitive lands (and we also know that DEP lacks the resources and resolve to strictly enforce, punish, and deter violations).
(Source: NJ DEP from the wetlands section of the road plan)
I can understand the leaderless and totally politicized DEP to cater to the ATV/ORV crowd, but it is mind blowing that the Pinelands Preservation Alliance – their mission is in their name – to support a DEP road plan, and not only to support it, but the spineless bastards even called for even more “visitors” in vehicles and even more DEP road maintenance!
More visitors means more damage: more DEP road maintenance means more visitors and higher speeds and thus more risk to other passive users and destruction. What the hell is PPA thinking?
And the cowardly PPA Executive Director Carleton Montgomery made his fine staffer Jason Howell deliver that compromise!
Watch the NJ TeeVee coverage and see that!
Jason has done outstanding work to educate the public on the destruction of the Pines by ATV, ORV and other motorized uses. Jason took me on this tour of destruction, see:
(*of course NJ Spotlight followed PPA’s compromise and misled readers by favorably portraying the DEP plan as “limiting” vehicle use instead of legalizing and promoting it!)
I gave Carleton Montgomery a piece of my mind and you should too:
Carleton: I was very disappointed to see Jason on NJ Spotlight news supporting the DEP road plan and calling for even more “road maintenance” and more vehicles in Pines forests (especially after all of Jason’s superb work on this issue).
It sure appears that PPA has elevated public access over PPA’s preservation and conservation objectives (and surrendered to the political power of try ATV crowd).
I have not followed the details of this DEP planning process, but in addition to opposing the DEP policy and objectives, I would doubt the science behind the DEP’s plan. So, I would encourager you to consider this study of regional road density network and conservation values.
Did DEP (or the Pinelands Commission) do anything remotely like this analysis in their road network “planning process”? See:
Density Analysis Using Weighted Metrics Sensitive to Landscape Conservation Effects
https://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc00/professional/papers/PAP404/P404.htm
Do better.
Wolfe