Pinelands Preservation Alliance has a team of policy experts who keep track of almost everything impacting the people and places of the Pinelands. These issues include proposed development, water usage, energy production, pollution, and enforcement of regulations. We work to keep decision makers accountable in municipal offices, at the Pinelands Commission, and at the state level in Trenton.
We can’t do it alone! We strive to educate our members on key issues so that they can advocate for the Pinelands as well. Check out our map of “hot issues” for detailed explanations and histories of the issues we are currently working on. If there’s a specific issue not covered here that you think needs to be on our radar, submit a tip or email our Policy Director, Heidi Yeh: heidi@pinelandsalliance.org. Read the rest of this blog post for a quick round-up of issues ranging from back-burner issues, to the things keeping us up at night!
The things keeping PPA staff up at night
Perhaps an exaggeration, but these are the issues causing email flurries in our inboxes, which have looming deadlines:
Black Run Preserve
The fate of the headwaters of the Black Run Preserve is a nailbiter! 778 acres of forest neighboring the Black Run preserve could potentially be carved up to build 270 homes. The Pinelands Commission is in the middle of a months-long process to downzone the area, which would rein in the development potential. Simultaneously, the developer seems to be actively pursuing a development plan that would lock in the current zoning. Who will make their way through the bureaucratic red tape first?
What you can do: Comment on the proposed Pinelands CMP Amendments. Deadline is August 15, with a live option on July 15th, more information on our website.
Winslow Leaders Draining Aquifer
After the Pinelands Commission strengthened water withdrawal rules in late 2023 to protect the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer (read more here), Clayton Sand Company filed an appeal in early 2024, contending overreach and defective rulemaking. Winslow Township aligned with the challenge as amicus in late 2024. PPA has aligned ourselves with the Pinelands Commission as amicus to defend the rules. As of mid‑2025, the litigation remains pending in the Appellate Division, with briefs filed and public mobilization ongoing.
This is a new addition to our hot issues page! Check it out here.
What you can do: Sign the petition and look out for emails with updates and information on meetings that you can attend to show your support for the aquifer.
REAL Rules on Flooding being Watered Down
New Jersey is already facing climate impacts—wildfires, droughts, floods—while federal support is being rolled back by the Trump administration. FEMA is denying aid and targeting local climate laws. We can’t rely on federal help that may never come.
NJDEP has proposed the REAL Rules to protect our communities from future storms. This is part of New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJ PACT) suite of rules that has been rolling out since 2020. The latest package of rules is under threat from business interests; worse yet, even these watered-down rules may never see the light of day if the clock runs out: Governor Murphy has until August 4, 2025 to adopt the NJPACT REAL rules. We need your help to increase public pressure to adopt them as proposed.
What you can do: Urge Governor Murphy to protect our communities and strengthen climate policies. Sign the petition to support the NJ PACT REAL Rules!
Active Campaigns
These are the issues that we are making steady progress on—these issues are still “hot” but not like a raging fire. This includes raising awareness about the downsides of artificial turf, strengthening the Pinelands Commission, and sustaining support for public lands.
Artificial Turf
Artificial turf fields have been spreading in the Pinelands and beyond, despite a growing understanding of the threat that they pose to our health and environment.
Recent debate at the Pinelands Commission (read summary from the 5/9 meeting) suggests that the agency should examine the issue at future P&I committee meetings to consider potential changes to the Pinelands CMP.
What you can do:
- Make general public comments at Pinelands Commission meetings asking them to ban artificial turf in the Pinelands.
- Tell your NJ state senator to support bill S3783
- Encourage your municipality to put a moratorium on turf by introducing a model ordinance.
- Attend our July 23 webinar on Artificial Turf in the Pinelands. Sign-up will be posted here.
For the full history and context, read this page.
Pinelands Commission Appointments: One Seat Remains Glaringly Vacant
The Governor of New Jersey appoints seven of the fifteen members to the Pinelands Commission. One important seat on the Commission has been glaringly vacant since the passing of Ed Lloyd in August 2023. PPA is working closely with the Governor’s office along with our environmental allies to fill Ed’s seat with someone equal to his stature, expertise, and commitment to the preservation of the Pinelands.
For the full history and context, read this page.
Wharton State Forest Visitor Use Map: Support Needed to Sustain and Expand Upon this Victory
This important victory was won in 2024, but we can’t rest on our laurels: a vocal minority continues to push for the map to be revoked and is trying to make it a prominent issue in the current NJ Gubernatorial election. We need to ensure that whoever the next Governor is, that they realize the importance of protecting the Pine Barrens ecosystem and recreational areas. They must expand upon the success of the Wharton State Forest Map to prevent damage from illegal dumping, illegal offroad vehicles, and illegal bonfires. This should be a priority for every administration!
What you can do:
- We need to ensure that whoever the next Governor is, they realize the importance of protecting the Pine Barrens ecosystem and recreational areas. Preventing damage from illegal dumping, illegal off-road vehicles, and illegal bonfires should be a priority for every administration, and expanding the success of the Wharton State Forest Map
For the full history and context, read this page.
Open Space Funding: New State Budget Continues to Underfund
The Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act was passed by the NJ Legislature and signed by Governor Murphy on 6/30/2025. Appropriation for the Open Space Preservation Program, Garden State Preservation Trust Fund Account is $98,027,000. This budget does little to address the $1.4 billion backlog of capital needs across New Jersey’s state parks, forests, historic sites, and wildlife management areas. DEP’s long-term solution to address capital improvements across the system is the State Parks and Open Space Foundation, established last year.
Read the full “Fix Our Parks” Report to learn more about the history of state funding for open space on our website.
Simmering on the Back-burner
These are the issues that PPA staff check in on from time to time—no longer emergency status, but not yet resolved. PPA staff follow legal cases as they move through the courts, and monitor the shifting political winds that impact our priority issues. Plants take time to regrow within restoration projects. Land acquisitions for conservation take time to negotiate. Many issues can take years to resolve, so it is essential to have a dedicated team of advocates who can keep track of it all.
Dirty Dumping in Pemberton: Cleanup Ongoing, but with Very Slow Progress
We thought that the owner was being held accountable for illegally dumping tons of unvetted fill trucked in from recycling facilities in North Jersey, following notices of violation issued by the NJDEP in February of 2024. In subsequent months, the owner of Zero Magnolia LLC dragged their feet getting the required soil testing done.
More than a year later, the owner has apparently been making slow progress to remove the fill. An NJDEP staff inspection of the site in early June 2025 found approximately 6,000 square feet of fill still needed to be removed. PPA is continuing to push for real accountability for this violation.
For the full history and context, read this page.
Pole Bridge Forest: Awaiting Decisions from the Courts and Appraisers
718 acres of undeveloped forest, known as the Pole Bridge Forest in Pemberton, were the target of an egregious ‘redevelopment’ plan. On December 5, 2024, the Pemberton Township Planning Board voted 6-3 against the approval of the development. The builder has since appealed the decision (civil case initiated on 5/27/2025), but has also been exploring the possibility of a NJDEP Green Acres Acquisition. As of June 2025, an appraisal for a potential NJDEP Green Acres Acquisition is currently in progress. We remain hopeful that the forest will be conserved and become a part of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest.
For the full history and context, read this page.
Glassboro Wildlife Management Area – Forest and Wetland Destruction: Restoration Underway, but Ineffective
The state of New Jersey destroyed 19 acres of mature oak forest in Glassboro Wildlife Management Area. NJDEP took regulatory action against its own division, halted destructive activity, and committed to remediation and improved oversight.
Restoration has been underway following a cookie-cutter approach that did not incorporate the suggestions of PPA and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Experts on the area report that the 2024-2025 drought conditions have taken their toll and the restoration is not going well.
Offshore Wind
All progress on offshore wind farms in New Jersey has been paused, as of February 3, 2025. For PPA’s take on the issue, read this page.
Relatedly, advocates have been pushing the New Jersey legislature to adopt a Clean Electricity Standard (CES) that would codify Governor Murphy’s goal of 100% clean energy by the year 2035. Progress in the senate (Bill No. 237) has stalled and likely needs to start over with the introduction of a new bill. The companion bill in the assembly (No. 1480) never really got rolling after introduction, as it has yet to be discussed in committee.
New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Plant Protections
Several bills have been proposed in the current session of the NJ State Legislature that could address invasive species and other needed protections for native plants. However, these bills are making slow progress—if any. PPA is monitoring this legislation closely. Please contact Mike Klein with any related questions: michael@pinelandsalliance.org.
Recently Resolved Issues
You win some, you lose some. Regardless of the outcome, we believe that it is important that advocates like Pinelands Alliance fight these battles in the hopes of deterring the next bad idea from even being proposed. Each fight is an opportunity to build relationships with community members and form alliances that strengthen other parts of our work.
Victory in Pleasantville! Trash Facility is Rejected
A demolition transfer station was proposed to be built in the middle of an overburdened community in Pleasantville, NJ. The facility would have received up to 500 tons per day of bulk trash and debris from construction and demolition projects to be processed before getting hauled by train to an out-of-state landfill. PPA partnered with local activists, the Eastern Environmental Law Center, El Pueblo Unido, and South Jersey Progressives to challenge the proposal, which was finally rejected by the Pleasantville planning board on April 1, 2025.
Read the article by Breaking AC.
Read our description of the issue here:
Loss in Manchester/Toms River: Jaylin Development Threatens Habitat
PPA & Save Barnegat Bay fought for two decades against plans to build a retail plaza on pine snake habitat in Manchester/Toms River, but lost our case in 2023. We had appealed DEP’s approval of plans to build a Wal-mart supercenter on wetlands and known pine snake habitat, using an unproven scheme to locate the snakes elsewhere. This case was another lesson in how New Jersey’s courts fail the environment by refusing to hold agencies like DEP and the Pinelands Commission to the laws we have created to save our fragile resources.
Read more about the history of this case on our website.