A bill proposed as a benefit for New Jersey’s publicly owned forests has turned environmental leaders against each other over the idea that cutting down trees can help woodlands and make money.
The proposed law would direct the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan for harvesting forest products on state lands, excluding the Pinelands area, and also encourage the growth of an economic market for those products.
State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, Somerset, said he decided to craft and sponsor the bill after a conversation in Cape May County with foresters about the problems facing the state’s nature preserves and parks.
“I saw this as a creative solution to a problem that’s being totally neglected,” said the chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_71e87088-35a8-11e1-afca-001871e3ce6c.html
The proposed law would direct the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan for harvesting forest products on state lands, excluding the Pinelands area, and also encourage the growth of an economic market for those products.
State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, Somerset, said he decided to craft and sponsor the bill after a conversation in Cape May County with foresters about the problems facing the state’s nature preserves and parks.
“I saw this as a creative solution to a problem that’s being totally neglected,” said the chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_71e87088-35a8-11e1-afca-001871e3ce6c.html
