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Suggested Pinelands Decorum from Historical Records Mudboy, Scroll down to the October 5, 1907 Valley Ventura account of Pine Barrens cabins and provisionings in your area: http://www.westjerseyhistory.org/docs/valleyventura/index.shtml Ah, the good olde days! Spung-Man

T&E Species Habitat Should not be Destroyed with Public Funds! It was not my intent to chide the Pinelands Commission, an organization that has until now had an admirable record of resource protection for which they should be given accolades. The problem is that I don’t like...

Painting of BobPBX in Marble Spung Sorry if the scientific jargon detracts from other aesthetics. Have empathy for my dear wife Patty and daughter Sassafras! For over 13,000-years spungs were used by various cultures as resource sinks, and today hey can be critical habitat for many rare plants...

Bob, Spungs are not typical vernal pools that collect surface runoff, but are usually shallow water-table features, literally windows into the groundwater (French & Demitroff, 2001; Demitroff 2007). The reason for much of their water-fill is that spung bottoms are lower than...

Ted Gordon Death March Bob, Even the USGS cartographer noticed the marble's remarkably round form: http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.72352744723166&lng=-74.34452533721924&z=16&type=topo&gpx= That's no mistake, USGS-quad sheets often make small ciphers to commemorate the unusual, like the...

Blue Bent Pond Bob, Many spungs have remarkably circular traces. This form likely relates back to the conditions the basins formed under as sparse tundra-barrens blowouts – cold, dry, and windy. Cold, nonglacial (i.e., periglacial) terrain is often characterized by symmetrical...

A long Tradition of Indians and Healers in Western Atlantic County Orville, The Smiths and Champions operated a number of forest resource enterprises throughout old Gloucester County, especially sawmills within the portion that is now western Atlantic County. Pancoast Mill was built (c.1780)...

Nice!

You Say Tomato... You are right, southern white cedar is today almost obsolete. I still hear it employed in lumber context, but rarely in botanical context. A quick review of several old texts produced: 1) white-cedar false-cypress; 2) swamp-cedar; 3) white cedar; 4) juniper; and 5) post...

Special Places Lakesgirl, Mudboy, About three-years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the park owner during geologic investigations. He was very kind and took time-out of a busy day to give a tour of the premises. The surrounding terrain is most interesting, and listed in a Special Issue of...

Age Estimation Bob, I’m sorry for any confusion. I was primarily concerned with providing an age-estimation for your tree. In addition its low branch-clothing indicates the surroundings had to be sparsely vegetated, at minimum, for the entire life of the tree. The tree’s...

A tree to remember Joyce Kilmer by…

By 1720, it was Reported that all Good Timber was cut from NJ! Jeff, The tree shown on the current big-tree list cover was a photo of a 21' 11" Baldcypress (Taxodium disticum) at Hancock Bridge, Cumberland County. According to the latest listing of New Jersey’s Big Trees...

Pinelands faring slightly better than southern New Jersey So let me get this right, stringent environmental controls and building restrictions made the Pine Barrens better off economically than the rest of South Jersey. National Geographic Adventure (September 2007: 87) picked a Pinelands...

“My Garden State, I’m so proud of you” Does anyone else remember Edna Mohr’s song (c.1959), My Garden State. It begins, “A trout stream rushing down a mountain side,…” This little ditty was popular throughout the southern Pines during the 1960s. In tiny two- and four-roomers...

Apathy Suggests Contentment I too wrote a polite, thoughtful, but pointed note to the senator. A couple more dispatches and we might just make a difference! We need to ensure that the government works for us by participating. At least that is what it says in the owner’s manual.

the New Urbanism – is it appropriate for the Pinelands? Smart Growth, the "New Urbanism," promises development that is environmentally, fiscally, and economically smart. Is it appropriate to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to encourage Pinelands redevelopment schemes? I suggest that the...

I too feel this is a simple matter of greenwash, which is when companies spin their policies as environmentally sound even when they may not be. It might be useful to ask what is NJLM’s vision of “certified sustainable” for the Pinelands National Reserve? In earlier posts, examples of Pinelands...

Mayor’s Committee for a Green Future, NJ League of Municipalities According to their website, the Mayor’s Committee for a Green Future (MCGF) “is promoting greening in New Jersey municipalities through education, outreach, leadership and support for municipal programs and practices that protect...

That’s why there’s a Pinelands National Reserve… Here’s where we may have advantage over the rest of the State. In the Governor’s DEP Transition Report, land-use permitting will fall under Pinelands Commission jurisdiction. It should be much easier to hold the New Lisbon crowd to task than...