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Fiddleheads, eh... But we do like okra! One of my chores was to pick wild greens. It was common around the Vineland area to forage for wild edibles more out of adventure than need. I would collect fiddleheads in a swamp just north of Ingersoll Branch of the Manumuskin. They were more of a...

Holey Ground Guy, It is indeed an interesting find! Hole was often used to describe closed basins. Its description is not necessarily singular but may actually designate a collection of intermittent ponds. For example the Vanaman Thick ‘N Hole tract in New Italy contained over 300 spungs...

Oji, At last month’s Pinelands meeting (January 2011) Commissioner Edward Lloyd openly expressed concern when the Pinelands Senior Counselor denied a citizen’s appeal to the Office of Administrative Law after disagreeing with a Commission’s permitting decision. Mr. Lloyd is a Clinical...

Pinelands Commission Silences Public Oji, Agreed, the Pinelands Commission deserves accolades for its first thirty-year period. The next thirty may not be so stellar since their staff planners have apparently chosen to place economic development agendas over over conservation goals. This is...

Groundwater & Pinelands Tree Health Bob, A lowered shallow groundwater-table can stress oaks and pines, and adversely impact upland tree health. Attached is a photograph of typical Pine Barrens pine/oak forest. The boxed area between the red horizontal lines is a wooded parcel that contained...

Above Reference Roman CT, Good RE. 1983. Wetlands of the New Jersey Pinelands: Values, Functions, and Impacts. Division of Pinelands Research, Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. 82 pp.

and much more... Woodjin, What does the Pinelands Preservation Alliance say about Richland Village? See Inside the Pinelands 2008, pages 1, 3–4:Over the objections of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and other environmentalists, the Pinelands Commission approved a controversial municipal...

Windows into Groundwater Goose ponds are often shallow features with bottoms flat as a billiard table. These Ice Age blowouts deflated to a water-table levels, much like the playa out West that race cars run on. The above Big and Little Goose Ponds are shallow features, typically having 6- to...

According to a Progress Report released today on the Richland Village Redevelopment Plan, dated January 19, 2011, “In September 2009, the Pinelands Commission initiated a demonstration project to assess the feasibility of a community wastewater system and the potential for increased economic...

It Has Not Gone Unnoticed The Pinelands value-potential has not gone unnoticed. Developers are quietly positioning to change things in the Pines to their advantage. While the core area of the Pinelands may have received some protection, the half below the Mullica has not fared so well. As...

Duck, Duck, Goose... Hi Suits, Mind if I translate a little Piney speak? There are numerous “goose ponds” throughout South Jersey, and the generic term often signified a relatively large waterbody. Smaller ponds were often called “duck ponds.” Most are naturally occurring features. Figure...

Lakesgirl, The steam-powered sawmill was built by Pancoast, not Downs. See November 16, November 23, November 30, and December 7 sections in Valley Ventura excerpts at the West Jersey History Project site: http://www.westjerseyhistory.org/docs/valleyventura/index.shtml I've scanned the...

some examples Andrew, Sorry for the tardy reply but there are a number of resources that may be of interest. In Jerseyman's absence, who could probably do the thread more justice, I will make a couple suggestions. Briefly, the following are some examples of the rich array of literature on...

Manumuskin, Keen observations! Natural blue holes have pretty much faded from memory (e.g., Blue Bent Pond, Dog Heaven, Danger Hole, Three Pond Holes), and many of the features we call blue holes today are simply relicts of sand mining. I think their water-coloring mechanisms are similar...

Huh, I drank it. Explains things doesn't it... Dusty, It wasn’t all that long ago that many of us slaked thirst simply by dipping a cup into a Pinelands stream. I spent much of my youth exploring the upper reaches of the Manumuskin River, which from Algonquin translates “to drink by...

Best so far... I will carefully consider your Wreckreation Hypothesis! Mark

Guy, It works much better now. Many thanks! Mark

Pine Barrens Mystery Daniel, There is an alternative explanation for the unusual hue to some local water-bodies. There appears to be a microbiological component to this perplexing issue. We can see an unusual complex of blue-green algae (i.e., cyanobacteria) and diatoms at blue holes...

Spung??? Yep, Mudboy Dave’s closed depression is indeed a classic spung. The 1931 aerial photomosaics illustrate the true form of the Ice-Age blowout, its full dimension demarcated by the flying-saucer-shaped darkened patch surrounding the smaller water feature. On the early aerial one...

hmm JBurd, You are so right! Oh what the heck, let’s have a guess at that structure… Is that a corncrib to the right? The axel-like apparatus appears old, and ratcheting the hoist looks cumbersome. It doesn't seem practical for frequent “full depth” raising and...