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No, I've never been there before. ("Little Pine Plains" I think they call it.) It's an interesting place but yes it was too wet. Also there were a lot of people on this hike. Some folks think it was too many - one quit before we got started when she saw the crowd size, and others were just...

We got 40 people at Warren Grove R.A. (They upped the limit from 25, and were turning away people after they reached 40.) We made it through a lot of wet spots, flooding, mud, but even though the hike leader walked the path Monday, Monday night's heavy rain meant there was one newly flooded...

Forecast high temperature for Warren Grove R.A. area for the 1/1 First Day hike is 61 degrees. Last year's First Day Hike forecast high was 13 degrees.

I think the rule is that the state parks and forests are open from sunrise to sunset. But there are organized night hikes, and of course campers are there all night. I think the rule is to discourage people entering the park after dark and having big parties. Stuff like that. I would be very...

DEP news release on First Day Hikes: https://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2018/18_0110.htm Mark Texel, Assistant Director of the State Park Service: "The free hikes offer an incentive to get outside and exercise, experience history, enjoy nature and celebrate 2019 with friends and family in one of...

(Switching back from chainsaw oil to first day hikes...) Eric, the hike leader for the Bass River State Forest First Day Hike at Warren Grove Recreation Area, needs more people to sign up and go on his hike through the Little Pine Plains. The starting point is Beaver Dam Rd and Radio Tower Rd...

The new Pinelands National Reserve 2019 wall calendars are out. You can get yours at one of 3 locations: Bass River State Forest office, Brendan T Byrne State Forest office, and Batsto Visitor Center, during office hours. In person. That means you have to actually go there to get one. It has...

Here is the State Park Service flooding advisory for Wharton (maybe the same thing posted elsewhere, but this just went up today): https://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2018/18_0100.htm

It looks like a failed residential housing development to me. On tax maps you can see 'paper streets' and many approx. 1/4 acre lots. From the aerial view, it looks like they started clearing land for roads and lots, but then quit.

No snow at Bass River SF. According to a New Gretna Weather Underground* station, they got 3" of rain in the past 48 hours, but the wind 'only' reached 25 mph. (*In case you don't know about it, Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/) is pretty neat. People have personal weather...

This year's NJ Hunting and Trapping Digest has an article (pg 76-77) about getting your kids interested in hunting. Written by a dad who is also a hunter and state biologist. I don't know anything about the subject, but it seems well written and full of good advice. (It has a picture of the...

I noticed their new system in early September, and I don't like it. Didn't the old system let you click somewhere in the info popup to see the whole MOD-IV tax database record? That's gone. There seems to be no way to see the Additional Lots field, for example. Also, while the aerial basemap is...

There's a update to this (via dpreview.com): The 1000 photo limit does not apply to Creative Commons (CC)-licensed images. Also, non-profits, and government organizations like NASA and the Smithsonian get free Pro accounts with no size limit...

The two BRSF kittens I saw Friday were caught and brought to a rescue place, I was told. But now there is an adult cat prowling around the same area, and people think that's the mom looking for her kittens. They will try to catch her next, but unlike the kittens she is very fast.

Some campers feed the cats, but the number of campers drops way down in fall and winter. I suspect there are regular forest visitors who set out cat food. Some Park Service staff probably do this too but they do it in secret and none will own up to it. Maybe this feeding keeps the songbird...

They want to build 16 new towers, so perhaps they get them on sale - BOGO (Buy 1, Get 1 50% off).

Bass River State Forest, today (Friday). I spotted 2 of them on the edge of one of the campgrounds. One dashed off into the woods, and this one jumped up on top of the dumpster. They are very cute, but whether they were dumped by a camper, or they were born here to a feral cat, it's very sad to...

And... round 2 has just begun. From The Sandpaper: "NJ Will Retry Tree Removal Plan..." https://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/nj-will-retry-tree-removal-plan-for-bass-river-fire-tower/1785842 DEP notified the commission that it will resubmit the application to clear 16.4 acres around the tower.

Stay visible, stay on the road or trail, keep your dog on a leash, keep your kids close, and you're good. But find something else to do during the 6-day firearm season. That's what I tell people when they ask, or say they don't want to go out in the woods during any hunting season. I guess I...

Sorry for the BCT link. I think they use cookies to limit how much you can read there without paying. I heard about this application withdrawal from someone who said it was in the Press of Atlantic City, but I couldn't find it there, or anywhere else including nj.gov/dep. (Wondering if there...