The Pinelands is our country's first National Reserve and a U.S. Biosphere Reserve of the Man and the Biosphere Program.
This internationally important ecological region is 1.1 million acres in size and occupies 22% of New Jersey's land area. It is the largest body of open space on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond and Boston and is underlain by aquifers containing 17 trillion gallons of some of the purest water in the land.
In 1979, our state formed a partnership with the federal government to preserve, protect and enhance the natural and cultural resources of this special place.
Today, with the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, the region is protected in a manner that maintains its unique ecology while permitting compatible development.
