An Ecological Approach to Managing Forests in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

by Bob Williams

Since 1978, when the U.S. Congress created The Pinelands National Reserve, the Pine Barrens of New Jersey have been under the regulatory jurisdiction of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, which is charged with its protection. Spanning 1.1 million acres, the reserve is the largest open space on the eastern seaboard between Boston, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Virginia. It lies next to the most concentrated highway, rail, and air-traffi c corridors—and the most densely populated region—in America. But if you stand on Apple Pie Hill, the highest spot (209 feet) in the Pinelands, what will you see?