by Albert D. Horner on 2/17/2011 7:28:38 PM6 Comments
Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan have nothing on a section of our precious pinelands called "The Scar"! This beautiful piece of wetlands in the pinelands has for decades been abused and misused and now it could be on the long road to recovery. It surely isn't going to take 30 or 60 days to recover, more like decades, but at least there is an attempt in the works to getting started in rehabing this long overlooked piece of our pinelands.
As many of you know I started blogging about this spot near Hampton Furnace back in July of last year. There was a lot of interest in what was and had been going on there. Reckless and thoughtless ORV operators had taken up residence at what they referred as "1/4 Mile"! With their oversized tires and over built vehicles they managed to take a prestine wetlands, laced with vital vernal pools, and turn it into an unrecognizable wasteland. This 1/2 mile square area became the Spectrum of the Monster Truck wantabees. They left it scarred and litered and considered it their own piece of the forest with no concern for it's value as an ecosystem or the fact that this area is within Wharton State Forest that it belongs to the people of New Jersey not just a reckless few.
In came the White Hats. The State of New Jersey is under a lot of financial pressure and things like our state forest are not top priority. The stewards of our lands, the people that manage our forest everyday, have their hands tied with staffing problems and hour cuts. They are aware of the problems that exist in many areas of Wharton State Forest, and beyond, in addition to "The Scar", but there wasn't much they could about it and still manage a forest of 125,000 acres for the thousands of visitors that they get every year. The White Hats turn out to be a group of 4 x 4 clubs and offroad enthusiast along with geocachers who did not like what they were seeing, did not want to be blamed for the destruction being carried out by others, and certainly did not want to lose the privilege to use our state forest for their family activities and the safe and sane operation of their vehciles on the thousands of miles of sand roads that lay within the Pinelands National Reserve. This "band of bothers" contacted Russ Juelg, then with Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) and now with NJ Conservation Foundation (NJCF) at the Franklin Parker Preserve in Chatsworth, about setting up a group that encompassed as many user groups of the pinelands as possible and have the group assist the state with maintaining the forest in anyway that was acceptable to the stewards of the lands, a partnership of public and private stewardship all with the common goal of preserving the Pineland National Reserve, especially the Wharton State Forest. After months of meetings and defining goals the group was formed and their purpose defined - assist with saving the forest for the future of this state and generations to come and stop the destruction going on within that bounderies of our state forest. The NJTLC was born! The group is called the New Jersey Trail Lovers Coalition, they can be reached at http://www.njtlc.org/ and they invite all parties interested in preserving and using the pinelands in a sensibale manner to join them.
on the evening of 2/16/2011 the groups fourth or fifth meeting ended with incredible results. The meeting was a packed house, standing room only, with members from user groups like 4x4 enthusiast, geocachers, photographers (me) and artist, history buffs, hikers, canoe and kakyers, trial bikers groups, cross country skiers, mountain bikers, campers, and equestrians. Also in attendance were Rob Auermuller the Supt. of Wharton State Forest and Tom Keck the South Regional Manager of State Forest, representatives from the DEP, Pinelands Preservation Alliance and REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc). The long and the short of it is a plan was discussed to prevent vehicle traffic from entering "The Scar" (aka 1/4 Mile) and letting the area start to recover from all the abuse from the last 10 or more years. Entry will be possible by foot, horseback and mountain bike, all nonstructive means of entry. Once the vehicle traffic is successfully stopped we can then start working on rehabing the area, no easy task! This was agreed by all and plans are now underway to start this program. And it can't start soon enough for NJTLC members.
The success of this project should be the start of many other projects to restore and prevent destruction in many other areas of the Pinelands National Reserve and Wharton State Forest in particular. Another area of concern, which will eventually be addressed as well, is the many hundreds of 4x4 riders that come from all over the northeast region, Conn. to Maryland, because they think that Wharton State Forest is an open range. These operators need to understand what the rules are, and will be, here in our state forest before they make plans to come to Southern NJ and potentionally destroy our resources. Once we can get a handle on the problems that exist within our state forest and educate the public about what this ecosystem means to the citizens of New Jersey, and the world, perhaps we can save this precious resource.
I would like to thank everyone involved in this cause and would encourage anyone reading this blog to not give up on your cause, get linked to the right people (by the way, they find you the same as you find them), and ask you to join the NJTLC.
Special thanks to Rob Auermuller and Tom Keck and, of course, Russ Juelg. LET'S MAKE THIS WORK!
Update 3/20/11
This morning five members of NJTLC (New Jersey Trail Lovers Coalition) http://www.njtlc.org/, along with Rob Auermuller, Supt. of Wharton State Forest, and another volunteer, posted the entrances to "The Scar" aka 1/4 Mile. The signs forbid entry into the area by motorized vehicles. It is still permissible to walk, horseback or mountain bike back through the region. In addition we painted over some graffiti on trees and bridges and picked up quite a bit of trash, mostly beer cans. This joint effort will hopefully be the beginning of a long standing relationship between NJTLC and our State Forest to help correct some of the problems that exist from misuse.
by Albert D Horner on 11/21/2010 5:06:39 PM33 Comments
One of the many ironies of our state park system, especially Wharton State Forest, is some people use it because they love the outdoors, the solitude, the fresh air, the wildlife and flora, others use it to purposefully destroying the ecology, raping the wet lands, fouling the air, running over it's vegetation, killing its wildlife and making loud noises by running their ORV (off road vehicles) anywhere they care to. There is lots of the latter going on in Wharton State Forest. Obviously the ORV group performing these daring acts don't care that the Pinelands National Reserve is a one of a kind ecosystem that is owned by all the citizens of New Jersey and is treasured by the world. By all appearances the state of New Jersey doesn't much care what the ORV operators do either, because they do very little, if anything, to stop them. Here is a sign that the State of New Jersey has hanging in the parking area of Harrisville Dam.
Now based on this sign alone one would think everyone would be wowed! by the fact that we have a one of a kind ecosystem laying within the most densely populated state in the country. Most of all, you would think the mission for one and all would be to protect it. That is not happening! The next image is one of a signs that you see throughout the state forest. The sign outlines the rules and regulations for use of the state land. A lot of rules aren't being obeyed because they are not enforced. The ORV crowd ain't paying noattention to such matters as:
No alcoholic beverages, dumping and placing of trash, damaging and removing plants, annoying conduct, open fires forbidden, motor vehicles being restricted to established roads. The list goes on and on. But the state is not paying attention to their own signs either. The section concerning "operation of all terrain vehicles (ATV's), motorized trail bikes and off-road vehicles (ORV's) is prohibited" is not enforced. The state issues permits for trail bike races (enduro) throughout the pinelands, they issued permits for large groups of 4 x 4 vehicles to attack the Pinelands in a manner that resembles Marines on maneuvers. They rarely stop ORV's for violations of the motor vehicle code defining Class I vehicles or even warn them about the use of their vehicles in the state forest.
At the present time the state is short on cash and personnel so it is somewhat understandable that it is difficult to keep up with what is going on in 120,000 acres of Wharton State Forest that lays within our world class ecosystem. Then again the DEP is considered the stewards of our forest so it would seem that their primary focus, in tough times or good, would be the stewardship of the land as opposed worrying more about who is camping at one of the campsites without a permit. This destruction has been going on for years, when there was money and personnel available. Seems more like an old habit rather than a budget issue.
The Ugly
The Scar (aka 1/4 Mile) - This former wetlands (now it is a mud hole), located southeast of Hampton Furnace, is one of the most abused areas in the entire pinelands region. It looks like is a virtual war zone. The destruction here has been going on for years, perhaps ten or more, but little is done to control the continued abuse of this beautiful area.
On The Way to High Crossing - One of the roads used to get to the "Scar", aka 1/4 Mile, is Hampton Gate Rd. that runs from Caranza Memorial Rd through the pines to Washington where it will connect you to either Jenkins on the left or Batsto Village on the right. It is a pleasant drive and a long one through some great forested areas. It goes through an area called High Crossing which I will show in the next video.
High Crossing - About one mile off Caranza Rd on Hampton Furnace road where it crosses the old Central Jersey R.R. tracks. This is a main intersection in the pines and used by the ORV operators as one of the ways to get to "The Scar". The area looks like a staging/practice area for things to come once they get to "The Scar".
Batsto River Bend Beach - located near the end of Stokes Rd just before it meets Quaker Bridge Rd this quiet part of the Batsto River is really beautiful. There is a little bluff there where you can watch the river and listen to the birds sing in the trees around you. The small beach there has been ruined by ORV Monster Truck Wantabies who think it is their playground.
Jemima Mount - This 1/4 mile long ridge in Wharton State Forest is without a doubt an unusual place for Southern New Jersey. You feel like you are in different world when you are up on this 100'+ mount. The ORV dudes and dudetes have destroyed the face of it and seem to want to carry their destruction even further along the ridge.
Vernal Pool near Paradise Campground - Not far off of Rt. 206 on the road to Paradise Campground you make a right just before the campground gate and you will come to this vernal pool that is getting more and more stress. This was a major breeding ground for Pine Barrens Tree Frogs. I wouldn't blame the frogs for getting out of town. Soon there could be no place for them to run. The activity here has picked up in the last few months.
Apple Pie Hill - This is a view that anyone coming to the Pinelands should seek out. I have photographed there many times. It is so discussing there from the graffiti and TV and computer monitors being thrown off the tower that I wouldn't send a person from Mars there. This is a manned fire tower, when it is needed to be, but the state still does not control the destruction there.
The Trash - The other outstanding feature in Wharton is the piles of trash that can, and do, accumulate. The area in this video is in Medford, off Jackson Rd., just across the road from the entrance to Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. There has been zero effort to clean this up even though there have been request made to do so and it gets worse by the day. The road that adjoins this area, that runs under the high tension line, is equally as bad.
I have more videos but I don't want to lose everyone's attention! The is Mount Misery Pit, the old blueberry field near Paradise Campground and my new favorite Rockwood Rd just off of Rt 206, all of these are posted on YouTube.
The Good
On October 24th, 2010 a group, formed originally by Mike Tarsia, comprised mostly of 4x4 vehicle operators who love riding in the Pine Barrens, and appreciate what is, gathered over 300 people for their 9th annual clean up of the pines. There were 1800 man hours put in, 120 cubic yards of debris collected, over 100 tires, plus piles of scrap metal and some hazardous waste, according to my sources. Several of the group went to the infamous "Scar" (1/4 Mile) and cleaned the place up considerable. I did a video from there a couple of days afterward (not shown here because it was not good) and it was still cleaned up. Believe that this one job was monumental in scope. I haven't been back recently but I am hoping people respect what this group did and keep it clean.
Bill Jones and several of his friends went up to Apple Pie Hill recently and replaced some really heavy duty railing and painted over all the graffiti on the rails that surround the area. All of this at their own expense ( the state should have a state income tax deduction for this donation to New Jersey). That same day they cleaned up the trash in several other areas in the Pines before calling it a day!
There presently is a group forming to represent as many user groups as possible to help look after the Pine Barrens, right now mostly Wharton State Forest. This group is made up of 4 x 4 enthusiasts, hikers, nature advocates, a geocacher, and at least one photographer. The goal is to help with projects that need to be done in the state forest so that it remains available for our children and grandchildren and those that follow. If you are interested in getting involved in this grass roots effort please visit their forum a http://njtlc.proboards.com/index.cgi
Simple Solutions
Here are a few simple things that may not solve all the problems but they are a step forward and don't cost a lot of money or personnel.
Signs made up, similar to hand bills, bright yellow, of Tyvek so they are sturdy, about 11 x 14" in size (need to be noticeable), that states the rules of the road for the state forest. Nothing elaborate just the simple facts - no running your vehicles in wet lands, no trash (take it with you), tread lightly etc., etc., and appropriate phone numbers in case you see something wrong while visiting the forest. A phone number that someone will answer when you call. These hand bills could serve many purposes. They can be distributed at every ranger station and park office, they could be handed out to groups that form and meet at the parking lots, like the wheelers (they all meet there before they go to do their destruction), horseman, hikers, canoers, etc., the Park Police could give them out to people they stop in the forest for whatever reason, and they could be tacked to trees in areas, like those in the videos, so people know the rules.
Big bold yellow, so they are noticeable made of Tyvek, NO MOTOR VEHICLES IN THIS AREA signs. Also tacked onto the trees in areas that are closed to vehicle traffic, like 1/4 Mile.
Yellow caution tape, like crime scene yellow tape, to string across the trees in areas where there should not be any further motor vehicle traffic because of the destruction that has taken place there. And, oh yes, big rules of the road signs there too.
We all know that this stuff will be torn down pretty promptly but that is the reason it is inexpensive and replaceable. Perhaps after so many tear downs the Park Police will realize they have to monitor this area more often. The stuff might even stop the newbie coming from Staten Island from running his FJ Toyota up the face of Jemima Mount!
Require groups requesting the use of the Pinelands National Reserve, like the motocross bikers and jeep groups, to post a bond. Right now it is my understanding that this is not necessary in order to pull a permit for an event. Who is going to pay for any repairs that may need to be done to the sensitive landscape if necessary. As it stands now their is no one to chase and the only recourse would be to deny a permit next year. Some groups that use the Pines are For Profit it sure wouldn't burden them.
Most user groups have forums and post their intentions of going to the Pine Barrens for their forays and they state where they will meet and when. There are sites for Toyota, Jeep, Chevy, Ford, Subaru, you name it. These could have notices posted to them, not accusing any one, just stating what is expected when coming to the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. These sites can be monitor via Goggle Alerts so you know the groups intentions.
Defined trail/road maps. If everything is spelled out as to which road are usable and which are not it would make life much easier for everyone. With input from the many user groups the trails/roads could be outlined for the good of all.
Heavy Fines for not obeying the rules!
I am sure there are many other things that can be done that don't necessarily cost a lot of money or require a lot of time, especially if there are volunteer groups willing to help out with some of the cores. You can post your suggestion on the comments section of this blog.
Comments
The Pinelands National Reserve is, just as the sign at Harrisville states, a world class ecosystem and we need to treat that way. If it is not respected it will continue to get destroyed piece by piece, vernal pool by vernal pool, sand road by sand road, and soon there will be no Jemima Mount to walk on, it will be a sand and gravel wash. Mayor Giuliani clean up NYC by insisting that the jaywalking be controlled, the public urination be stopped, dumping of trash stopped - he built respect for the town and now it is far better place than it had been for years. The same rules apply everywhere. We have people coming to destroy our ecosystem from New York, Maryland, Delaware, Conn and Penna. because it is WIDE OPEN and there seem to be no rules. Travel to other states and you will see, for the most part, clean well maintained parks and forest, most modeled after our National Park System. We only have one of the Pinelands National Reserve and once we allow it to be destroyed there will not be another.
Update - 11/28/2010
Yesterday I was fortunate to have been asked to lead a group of 6th grade students from George J. Mitchell Elementary School in Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ on a field trip to 1/4 Mile aka "The Scar". The students Courteney, Jordan and Chris and their teacher Patty Naples are embarking on a project through eCybermission, sponsored by the USArmy, a national competition to point out problems in an environment or ecosystem, 1/4 Mile was a prefect choice. Courteney read the article published this summer by The Press of Atlantic City about the destruction there and asked Ms. Naples if they could do their project on the subject. These kids are doing this project on their own time before school even starts for the day so you can guess they have a ton of enthusiasm. We first showed them a vernal pool as it should be and then showed them 1/4 Mile and all of it's ugliness. The kids were appalled. They went right to work surveying the damage, taking dirt, mud,water and vegetation samples as required by the project and photographing every inch of the mess there. The parents were along as well and the surprised looks on their face once they saw 1/4 Mile should have been recorded. The party was lead by Tom Dunn of Pinelands Preservation Alliance. These kids realize this is their future and heritage, as well as the rest of the citizens of New Jersey, that is being destroyed faster then we care to admit. Here is a video I took while with them yesterday.
by Albert D Horner on 9/26/2010 2:35:56 PM1 Comment
I am in the Pine Barrens a lot! If I am not in Wharton State Forest then I am in Penn State Forest, Brendan Byrne (formerly Lebanon State Forest), the East Plains, the Franklin Parker Preserve, or I am along one of the rivers, the Oswego, the Wading, the Mullica or the mighty little Batsto River. Generally, I have a routine. I plan a photograph, some times for months in advance, and when I feel the conditions are right I go and take the image. My M.O. is usually getting up early, be on site before sunrise, take the image and once the sun hits the top of the trees I am on my way, hopefully with the image I envisioned for the last six months on the computer chip. Then I explore. I spend the best part of the rest of the day exploring for new locations, areas iconically Pine Barrens. It is not usual to travel 80 - 100 miles during one of these shooting trips because I can not resist seeing what is over the hill in front of me or around the next bend. On top of that my profession has me driving through the Pine Barrens at least four days a week on my way to the coast. So, on my way to any destination, or on my way home, I will make side trips, if time allows, within the Pine Barrens, looking for locations and watching lighting conditions. My wife loves to go on driving trips so on some weekends we will drive through the Pine Barrens. My Ford Escape seems to know actually where to turn on every road I am traveling whether it is route 70, 72, 539, 542, 532, 206, 9 or the Garden State Parkway. I am in the Pine Barrens a lot!
I can not tell you all about the flora and fauna nor can I recite all the history of the Pine Barrens. I do know that it is beautiful and that is why I photograph also most exclusively in the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. Fortunately for me I live next to the Reserve and getting into the depths of it is only a hop skip and a jump. There is nothing more rewarding then finishing another Pine Barrens print and hanging it in my home gallery and posting it to this website.
That name, Pinelands National Reserve, has really been ringing in my ears of late. Here we are in tiny, compared to most states, New Jersey the most populated state per square mile (not to mentioned the most heavliy taxed - that is another blog for sure), and we are the protectors of 1.1 millions acres of land that holds a 17 trillion gallon reservoir that has been preserved for "we the people" of New Jersey, the Nation, and the World. The Pinelands National Reserve is a first of a kind reserve in our nation. Wow! that is pretty heady stuff!
But are the stewards of the land really watching over it? Most of our citizens have never been in and around the Pine Barrens because there are no maps of the interior roadways or markers on those roadways. Many of the roads are just sandy tracks into forest and require a four wheel drive vehicle to be safe, but there are many roads that can be traveled by standard 2 wheel drive vehicles but how do you know where you are going. What is down the end of Red Road that starts at mile marker 12 on route 72 in the West Plains? Good luck finding that map or travel guide. If you are a hiker and venture to Brendan Byrn State Forest right now you will find that the office is closed indefinitely so you can not get a list of trails or activities available there. During the week there is no one available at Atsion Ranger station to guide you through to Quaker Bridge or Hampton Furnace and beyond, it is closed, open only on the weekends. Batsto Vistors center is open everyday from 9 to 4 PM (they have a wonderful walk through diorama on the history and ecology of the Pine Barrens and a great recreation of the Village of Batsto) but if you are on Route 72 and want to investigate Brendan Byrn S.F. it is one heck of a ride to Batsto and I am not sure they could help you once you get there. Be advised that the Pinelands National Reserve is not a National Park, the designated land is under the control of New Jersey as are the state forest that lay within it.
Much of Wharton State Forest, a large part of the Pinelands, about 120,000 + acres, is wide open territory for wantabe Monster Truck operators. Instead of using an arena packed with paying cusotmers they use our state forest and wetlands to make their sloppy muddy runs through muck to gain the badge of courage, a totally muddy truck, by overcoming the fierce terrian of the Pine Barrens. They leave the wetlands devasted and the roads unsuable for others. They leave a pretty wide path of destruction. Then you have the Jeeping groups (these include Jeep, Toyota, and another other 4x4 manufacturer), along with the motor bike and ATV crowd going on maneuvers in groups assualting the sand and muddy roads, most all of this has be recorded by each group to show their prowess on YouTube.
There is another secret society in the Pine Barrens, The Dumpster Wantabes, they are not real visible since they operate mostly at night. Their M.O. is to dump all of the refuse of their life in the Pine Barrens, whether is a household garbage, animal carcasses, contruction materials, a discarded boat, landscape debris or waste oil, it all goes into the Pine Barrens.
These are the only people in New Jersey that apparently do not have a municiple waste facility to go to or waste removal in their town. I would never think there was such a place in New Jersey, but sure enough, there most be.
The questions are many. Why do people feel that they have the right to trash or mow over our National Reserve and State Forest? Do they feel it belongs to them and only them? Wonder if they are even paying taxes to support it in the first place? With no regard for the land do they have any regard for their fellow citizens and the property they support?
What about the State of New Jersey. These problems have presisted for years and years, way before the budget crunch so no money and no personnel does not seem to be an excuse. What is the state's M.O. for not taking up housekeeping of our National Reserve? You rarely hear about anyone being caught dumping their trash or destroying our wetlands but the evidence is in plan view. Heck, the Monster Truck Wantabes meet right at the Atsion Ranger Station in large groups before they go on assualts and they post it on their forums and websites to meet there, they come from New York and Pennsylvania to trash our ecology. It isn't like they are invisible.
by Albert D Horner on 7/9/2010 10:58:54 AM197 Comments
July 9th, 2010 Being landscape photographer I am constantly searching for unique areas to photograph. One of my favorite tools is Google Earth. My primary subject in recent years has been the NJ Pinelands National Reserve, a.k.a. "The Pine Barrens" www.pinelandsimagery.com . Last winter I located what appeared to be either a clear cut or a former burned out section in the Pine Barrens (see attached Google image) just southeast of Hampton Furnace in Wharton State Forest. I envisioned a landscape that would look mystical in snow or fog and I couldn't wait to get there to plan a few future shots. It would seem to be a simple task to drive to any area in Wharton State Forest, even with snow on the roads, in a small SUV, but not to this area, it can only be considered as off limits. The area could best be described as the home of "The Wheelers" , the drivers of large and small 4 x 4 vehicles equipped to go "mudding" in the Pine Barrens. They have over sized tires, exhaust stacks that reach about the vehicle roof, roll bars and winches to assist when getting stuck in mud or sugar sand. They "wheel" in groups and, in many cases, they do it for family fun like going bowling or to the movies. I have my own name for this area, I call it "The Scar". The Crying Indian of the 70's pollution commercials would break into hysteria if he visited this place. The entire area encompasses about a half a square mile and you can not travel completely around it because all of the sand road approaches are blocked with mud holes (wallows) large enough to swallow a normal size vehicle. It is nothing short of total destruction of the land. I believe the wheelers objective is to see who can get stuck the best (worst) in a mud hole and then have their comrades pull them out, all the while spraying mud, sand and debris in every direction. If the mud hole gets too deep there is usually a go around made next to wallow by mowing over the smaller trees in the area to bypass the mud hole and get to new territory. The Google map provided is dated July of 2006, it is clear this "wheeling" has been going on for sometime, you clearly see a 1/4 mile long sand patch that is nothing but ruts and mud and debris left behind by Wheelers having a good ole time. The area is littered with beer bottles and trash and there is even the remnants of someone's boat that was burned on one site. It is one of the foulest places I have ever visited during all of my hundreds, if not thousands, of travels within the Pinelands National Reserve.
(click on image to enlarge)
Most amazing is that this area really appears to be off the radar of the authorities in charge of New Jersey's state forest. There are not one sign forbidding this type of destruction and apparently no attempts have been made to stop the activity or reclaim the area. For property that is owned by the citizens of New Jersey it is not very well maintained by anyone given charge of it.
(click on images to enlarge)
The Federal Government declared the Pine Barrens an ecologically sensitive area back in 1978 and is under the stewardship of the State of New Jersey. Given the mess this area is in the stewards are not keeping tabs on our most precious enviormentally sensitive area. The Pinelands is not a National Park but it would probably be better off being one, no one would get away with this type of behavior in a National Park. I wonder if these groups went to Island Beach State Park, our beautiful state park on the New Jersey coast, if they would be permited to do this type of damage in the sand dunes? What happened to leave nothing behind but your foot prints?
On Ocotber 28-30th, 2010 the Jeep Jamboree 2010 will be holding their 17th Pine Barrens Run in and around Wharton State Forest, https://www.jeepjamboreeusa.com/trip-detail.cfm?TripID=7 . This is a large group of Jeep owners who will be riding through the Pine Barrens for a few days challenging it's terrain, which equates to mud wallows and large areas of sugar sand. 20 or 30 Jeeps, or perhaps more, with large knobby tires (probably street legal) running through these areas one after another testing their mettle can not be healthy for such an ecologically sensitive area. Because they have invested thousands of dollars in their vehicles doesn't seem to be a reason to be able to assault the Pine Barrens like a group of Marines on maneuvers. The fact that their PDF of rules for the "run" doesn't seem to mention anything about remediating the area after they run through it gives me cause concerning their cause. This group is probably not responsible for the damage illustrated by these images, that was done and continues to be done, by truly thoughtless people, but large groups traveling through the Pine Barrens in off-road heavy duty vehicles can not be healthy for the ecology. Here is a link to YouTube videos that clearly show what actives go on, on a regular basis, in the Pinelands National Reserve. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pine+barrens+off+roading&aq=2 You be the judge.
Update 07/20/10
Here are some new images I took on Sunday the 18th. Guy Thompson and I went back to the scar for a walkabout. The weather has been dry so the area held much less water. We covered most of the area visible on this Bing map.
(click on an image to enlarge)
The bottom left photo shows an area that looks as if it is vernal pond, or was. The image on the bottom right is where we found the remnants of a campfire still burning, the wood was cut from around the site. The area is so damaged it is hard to believe it was once a pristine forest it looks more like a construction site!!
Update 7/23/10
Thought it would be useful to show why I am so passionate about the area around "The Scar", as I call it. Below is are two images I made there yesterday morning within a few hundred yards of where all the destruction has taken place. I have been watching this spot for sometime now in hopes of capturing images like these.
(click on image to enlarge)
Being there and watching sunrise makes you wonder Who would want to drive their truck or ATV over this and destroy it all!!! Also, I made a short video while I was there.
Update 9/12/10
I am posting some of the articles and video that this blog has generated.
Here is a video journal done by The Newark Star-Ledger about The Scar
Nature advocates try to protect Pine Barrens from off-roader
Here is the NJN news report from August 18th, 2010 <br />
No alcoholic beverages, dumping and placing of trash, damaging and removing plants, annoying conduct, open fires forbidden, motor vehicles being restricted to established roads. The list goes on and on. But the state is not paying attention to their own signs either. The section concerning "operation of all terrain vehicles (ATV's), motorized trail bikes and off-road vehicles (ORV's) is prohibited" is not enforced. The state issues permits for trail bike races (enduro) throughout the pinelands, they issued permits for large groups of 4 x 4 vehicles to attack the Pinelands in a manner that resembles Marines on maneuvers. They rarely stop ORV's for violations of the motor vehicle code defining Class I vehicles or even warn them about the use of their vehicles in the state forest.
