Open Trails seems to be asleep at the wheel.
New Friendship Gate
- Thread starter Jon Holcombe
- Start date
Here's what I get from that link...
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But if you to the open trails website, the most recent "news" is dated December 2017 and all the posts in their forum are even older. http://www.opentrailsnj.org
This page isn't available
The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.
But if you to the open trails website, the most recent "news" is dated December 2017 and all the posts in their forum are even older. http://www.opentrailsnj.org
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It works for me. Matbe you have to be a member.
They were active with the last MAP.
Search OPEN TRAILS NJ
www.facebook.com
www.opentrailsnj.org
The take from this is there is nothing going on. We are apparently the only ones noticing.
They were active with the last MAP.
Search OPEN TRAILS NJ
Open Trails NJ
Open Trails NJ, Maple Shade, New Jersey. 5.3K likes. Our Mission: • To create a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and maintaining access to Wharton and other state parks in New Jersey....
www.facebook.com
Home - Open Trails NJ
Who We Are We are hikers, hunters, enduro riders, geocachers, 4×4 enthusiasts, kayakers, horseback riders, photographers and environmentalists who want help solve the problems facing the forest while keeping it open for responsible recreation. We view this as a long term endeavor and are in it...
The take from this is there is nothing going on. We are apparently the only ones noticing.
I had contacted them when we started talking about the PPA brochure and they are aware of that and have been since earlier in July. I have not mentioned this new gate or news report to them.
Hi Kevin,
Not sure if you follow our OTNJ FB page, but we have been running posts of the same survey with our own suggested language to counter theirs. If the past is any indication to the present, our inputs will likely match or exceed theirs. We are aware that they have begun a new "campaign" on the MAP. Look for info soon, but I just did an interview and revisit to Jemima Mount last week with a reporter from NJ Spotlight to show how the location has improved since our project there in an attempt to show our projects are more effective than general road closures. We will continue to work to counter their narrative and any ideas you may have on this front will be more than welcome!
Thanks,
John
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 12:09 PM Kevin wrote:
Hi,
I am contacting you to see if you have heard or been contacted about the new PPA brochure that mentions a MAP to protect the Pine Barrens from off-road abuse and misuse. They are also asking people to take a NJ Parks survey and answer question 8 with the below verbiage:
Dear (member),
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched a campaign called “I Heart NJ Parks” and as part of this campaign, they are conducting a feedback survey of park visitors. Let them know NJ is not doing enough to address lawless off-road vehicle abuse in Wharton State Forest and elsewhere in the Pinelands National Reserve.
Go to the survey and select Wharton State Forest.
For #8 “What can we do to enhance your enjoyment of this park?” Paste this message into the window:
I am very concerned that the DEP has not protected Wharton State Forest from off-road vehicles. The DEP must immediately clarify what is and what is not a road in Wharton State Forest. Lawless off-road vehicle users continue to damage sensitive habitat, public access, and scenic views in our parks and the DEP has not fulfilled its duty to protect the public’s land. I ask you to immediately implement the Pinelands Commission’s road map for Wharton State Forest and direct Park Police to prioritize the enforcement of ORV laws by issuing the fines permitted by law which states a minimum of $250 for first offenses and a minimum of $1,000 for repeat offenses.
This sounds to be like we are going to revisit the MAP debacle from few years ago but we now have different players in positions of power concerning the Governor and the members of the Pinelands Commission. I am fearful of what the end result will be if we do not do something to counteract this push by the PPA.
The PPA paints all off-roaders as people who thrive on destruction, in my opinion. If you have seen it, then you have seen the tractor tired trucks in the mud and other vehicles being shown in various areas that they should not be. Jason Howell from the PPA says that some were taken from an Instagram account and I verified this as true (https://www.instagram.com/dirtbag4x4/?hl=en). They show a lot of these vehicles in different areas doing things that they should not. I am not condoning their behavior and I do think it needs to stop but they most likely are in an area where law enforcement cannot or will not go to. Enforcement should be the primary method to stop or curtail negative behavior like this.
I do not feel that the broad strokes that the PPA is using is going to benefit those that use the Pines properly and respectfully.
There are more road closures, like the one to protect the Pickering’s morning glory plant that will be coming as well.
Is there anything that OTNJ has planned to combat this?
Look forward to hearing from you
Hi Kevin,
Not sure if you follow our OTNJ FB page, but we have been running posts of the same survey with our own suggested language to counter theirs. If the past is any indication to the present, our inputs will likely match or exceed theirs. We are aware that they have begun a new "campaign" on the MAP. Look for info soon, but I just did an interview and revisit to Jemima Mount last week with a reporter from NJ Spotlight to show how the location has improved since our project there in an attempt to show our projects are more effective than general road closures. We will continue to work to counter their narrative and any ideas you may have on this front will be more than welcome!
Thanks,
John
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 12:09 PM Kevin wrote:
Hi,
I am contacting you to see if you have heard or been contacted about the new PPA brochure that mentions a MAP to protect the Pine Barrens from off-road abuse and misuse. They are also asking people to take a NJ Parks survey and answer question 8 with the below verbiage:
Dear (member),
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched a campaign called “I Heart NJ Parks” and as part of this campaign, they are conducting a feedback survey of park visitors. Let them know NJ is not doing enough to address lawless off-road vehicle abuse in Wharton State Forest and elsewhere in the Pinelands National Reserve.
Go to the survey and select Wharton State Forest.
For #8 “What can we do to enhance your enjoyment of this park?” Paste this message into the window:
I am very concerned that the DEP has not protected Wharton State Forest from off-road vehicles. The DEP must immediately clarify what is and what is not a road in Wharton State Forest. Lawless off-road vehicle users continue to damage sensitive habitat, public access, and scenic views in our parks and the DEP has not fulfilled its duty to protect the public’s land. I ask you to immediately implement the Pinelands Commission’s road map for Wharton State Forest and direct Park Police to prioritize the enforcement of ORV laws by issuing the fines permitted by law which states a minimum of $250 for first offenses and a minimum of $1,000 for repeat offenses.
This sounds to be like we are going to revisit the MAP debacle from few years ago but we now have different players in positions of power concerning the Governor and the members of the Pinelands Commission. I am fearful of what the end result will be if we do not do something to counteract this push by the PPA.
The PPA paints all off-roaders as people who thrive on destruction, in my opinion. If you have seen it, then you have seen the tractor tired trucks in the mud and other vehicles being shown in various areas that they should not be. Jason Howell from the PPA says that some were taken from an Instagram account and I verified this as true (https://www.instagram.com/dirtbag4x4/?hl=en). They show a lot of these vehicles in different areas doing things that they should not. I am not condoning their behavior and I do think it needs to stop but they most likely are in an area where law enforcement cannot or will not go to. Enforcement should be the primary method to stop or curtail negative behavior like this.
I do not feel that the broad strokes that the PPA is using is going to benefit those that use the Pines properly and respectfully.
There are more road closures, like the one to protect the Pickering’s morning glory plant that will be coming as well.
Is there anything that OTNJ has planned to combat this?
Look forward to hearing from you
Here is an observation - why would they not ask the kids to assist in a cleanup of the area before taking the time to plant the trees? And since we mentioned that they did not protect the newly planted saplings but in the news report, they mentioned that a tree barricade was removed. Is that to prove that they tried to protect the trees or to cover their arse on what someone pointed out on here? Food for thought.
Most likely they could not close the road because Pemberton had to have access to their property. Pemberton does still own it.
There have been posts on their FB page as recent as 8/3, but nothing regarding the new closures. They also suggested an answer to the DEP survey question that PPA did. Not much activity though.
I was there again today. There are still some trees in the ground but they are all dead. I think they may have been dead before planting. I also can say for sure that the property is owned by Pemberton Township. Imagine planting trees on property that is not yours and then having news organizations publicize what you did. I wonder if the reporter knew?
I bet if someone could offer Pemberton a price they may be able to buy it. Maybe an ORV organization? That would be interesting to see.
Sorry, I just felt it is important to keep this thread going.
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It works for me. Matbe you have to be a member.
They were active with the last MAP.
Search OPEN TRAILS NJ
Open Trails NJ
Open Trails NJ, Maple Shade, New Jersey. 5.3K likes. Our Mission: • To create a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and maintaining access to Wharton and other state parks in New Jersey....Home - Open Trails NJ
Who We Are We are hikers, hunters, enduro riders, geocachers, 4×4 enthusiasts, kayakers, horseback riders, photographers and environmentalists who want help solve the problems facing the forest while keeping it open for responsible recreation. We view this as a long term endeavor and are in it...
The take from this is there is nothing going on. We are apparently the only ones noticing.
I met with a member of the OTNJ on Thursday night and informed them of this discussion. The person reached out and the leader or what ever you want to call it of the OTNJ. They are supposed to post something here, guess waiting is the hardest part. In the meantime, other things are in the works and hopefully I can elaborate more in the very near future.
At 8:30 this morning we were passing the road to the gate just off of Tuckerton Road near Carranza, and a nice black Suburban was backing out. He apparently had tried to go down the road and obviously couldn't. He waited for us to pass and as we went by I SURMISED he may have been a hunter scouting out a place to go this fall. This is about the time of year we start to see that early on Sunday mornings. If my guess is correct we are starting to see hunters finding out about the gates.
Teens planted 400 trees in the Pinelands. ATV riders ripped them apart, official says.
The YMCA of the Pines and Pinelands Preservation Alliance helped plant the trees last week.
I know articles about this have been posted. But this one seems to have more info in it and have been revised more recently.
So Howell is advocating more enforcement in Lebanon to stop people from going onto this piece of land where they are trashing it. And what type of fences has he been putting up? Sounds like they are setting up 4wheelers to look like they are not respecting boundaries and destroying property. I thought the area around it was CF land anyway
If you go in from Whitesbog the only owners are the state, Bucks Run Preserve (Rancocas) and Pemberton.
Teens planted 400 trees in the Pinelands. ATV riders ripped them apart, official says.
The YMCA of the Pines and Pinelands Preservation Alliance helped plant the trees last week.www.nj.com
I know articles about this have been posted. But this one seems to have more info in it and have been revised more recently.
So Howell is advocating more enforcement in Lebanon to stop people from going onto this piece of land where they are trashing it. And what type of fences has he been putting up? Sounds like they are setting up 4wheelers to look like they are not respecting boundaries and destroying property. I thought the area around it was CF land anyway
I thought the land was owned by Pemberton Twp? not that it makes trashing the area the right thing to do. Also why wouldn't he (Jason) have installed the "barriers" the day they did the plantings if he were concerned enough to put up barriers? As I said before, this whole thing is a staged publicity stunt pure and simple. Also, the last time I checked the only thing running a 48" wide tire was a Terex dump truck!
The land where they were planted is owned by Pemberton as of the end of last week. 100 percent.
To get to the Pemberton property you must cross the preserve property and state land. This map is exact. The preserve can gate the road but there are ways around it obviously. If the state gated the road where my map says, and the preserve gated all others, they could keep them out.
To get to the Pemberton property you must cross the preserve property and state land. This map is exact. The preserve can gate the road but there are ways around it obviously. If the state gated the road where my map says, and the preserve gated all others, they could keep them out.
Yeah I thought it was oemberton too and thus state patrols would not occur right? I think they will get back there any way they can access it.
That is a really wet area. When we get rains the Park Police are not going to go out there and confront them. Unless they block the roads it will continue forever.
This is why the need capable vehicles not something ment for a soccer mom