PINELANDS PEOPLE FACT SHEET

The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve is:

home for half a million people in parts of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean Counties

the location of many historic and prehistoric sites reminding us of the Indians as well as the colonists that lived and worked in this region

a place where long-time residents and rural industries have adapted to changing consumer needs, environmental conditions, and the challenge of living near major population centers like Philadelphia and New York City

the second largest blueberry producing region in the United States and third largest cranberry producing region in the United States

a recreational resource with trails for hiking, rivers for canoeing, lakes for swimming and fishing, and parks for camping and picnicking

the last vast forested area on the mid-Atlantic seacoast between Richmond, Virginia and Boston, Massachusetts; contains the Pine Plains, the most extensive pygmy forest (with trees no taller than a man) of its kind in the United States

1.1 million acres in size and covers approximately one-fourth of New Jersey

crossed by tea-colored streams containing some of the world's purest drinking water and underlain by the 17-trillion gallon Cohansey Aquifer

home for 54 plant and 33 animal species threatened with extinction in New Jersey

the location of fire-prone forests and the home of many fire-adapted plants

 

The Pinelands National Reserve was established in 1978 by passage of Section 502 of the National Parks and Recreation Act.

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