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White bread, mayonnaise We've come a long way since Pinelands hamlets had racially based exclusionary clauses written into deeds. Good riddance. Eastern and southern Europeans were at times considered non-white. Shades of Kallikak may unjustifiably still stigmatize the Pines. So if I seem a...

Sustainability science is a fancy word for old-fashioned Piney cheap living know-how! Thanks Paddler. My point is that Pinelands rural lifestyles are generally less consumptive than the current unsustainable consumer-driven economic model we’re becoming accustomed to. Pineys and...

The messenger, wherever he's from, exposes a very real flaw with some of the ways we operate. I’m afraid that we simply don’t have the same mindset as the rest of the world when it comes to sustainability science. Tackling and mitigating climate change, energy supply, water supply, and food...

Not quite so fast... Sorry to disappoint but there are extensive tracts composed of pure chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) in the Himalayas of India. Considering chir pine’s heat, drought, and fire tolerance, their stands on poor sandy soils could probably be considered “barrens.” Like pitch...

windows into the groundwater Pine Barrens intermittent pools are unlike vernal pools in other regions. South Jersey spungs are not isolated entities but complex groundwater systems, similar to the Carolina Bays as described by Pyzoha et al. (2008: A conceptual hydrologic model for a forested...

Size Does Matter! According to an article published in The National Wetlands Newsletter (January-February 2000), the preservation of smaller isolated wetlands may be more important towards maintaining biodiversity than the preservation of larger ones. According to Semlitsch (2000: 5), “The...

Snake, I'd be happy to contribute to intermittent pool geomorphology and cultural use. Also, a brief field trip could provide added value. My avatar "spung" photograph was taken next to Stockton's Arts & Sciences Building parking lot. Spung-Man

I'm my own grandpa...

Drill, baby drill in the Pinelands National Reserve Twenty-years ago my property changed from 3.2-acre Rural Development to 30-acre Forestry zoning, which was OK by me since I was grandfathered by the Pinelands cultural exclusion. Our family members were considered traditional, long-term Pine...

funeral march... Dah da da-dah da da-da-da-da-da-dahhhh!

who's economic stimulus? Maxwellandson, Housing subdivisions are no friend of small homebuilders or residents. Clustering, Smart Growth, and Redevelopment are all Pinelands Commission endorsed mechanisms that will make it even more likely that mega-developers will find it profitable to...

suitable music Burls are found on many tree species including hollies and are often poorly understood. Bacteria, Fungi, and insects are the usual suspects but most cases remain enigmatic. Years back the stock response was to invoke Crown Gall (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) for various plant...

ghosts of posts-past, ...and future? With access to economic stimulus funding, the local entrepreneurs could soon fulfill their dreams of fast-tracking Smart Growth into the Pinelands National Reserve. Although the current recovery plan purports to encourage green collar pursuits, I worry that...

:) sorry 'paddler - it is funny!

Thanks Manumuskin! Tolerance is good medicine all around. Science professes to include all knowledge in its pursuit of a scientific point of view, although in my experience I assure you this is not the case (see Peter’s Principal in my 02-08-09 post, Ice Age Relicts at Ground Zero). All in...

I'm almost afraid to mention the "G"-word... Here’s an early account on Bear Swamp from a soils manual, peppered with a little geology to boot: “Occasionally the swamps are full of small islands. This is particularly true of Bear Swamp between Cedarville and Dividing Creek. These islands are...

Ouch!

plants one, geophysics zero Nice observations! I think you are on a good track. I’d love to see the clearings at sometime in exchange for a Belgian ale? The Pines are full of geological surprises just waiting for discovery; we do not beat a dead horse. I like your use of botany for geologic...

I heartily agree; scientific endeavors should become more accessible to the public since they ultimately provide research funding. Part of the problem relates to the competitive culture of the profession that manifests itself in secrecy. To this problem I apply the Peter’s Principle of Academic...

Recognition of landforms – the first step to their protection This week I attended a Pinelands Science-Policy Forum, brainchild of Drexel’s Walter Bien, Principal Investigator at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range. The venue was well received, and opened a long-awaited dialogue between disparate...