keep it to yourself
I just feel like I have to chime in on this one after reading all the posts, you can agree with me or crucify me, I don't care either way. First of all, there are as many "stupid kids" as there are "stupid old people" out there, I've seen them both and all in between in my years (I'm not a kid by the way). Don't automatically throw blame on a demographic if you don't know the whole story. Some of these old structures are so old and weak, they could either just fall down in a big gust, a cinder (carried on the wind from one of YOUR fireplaces) could catch the building, or the state or township may tear it down because YOUR posts garnished enough popularity that too many trespassers made the place unsafe. Jeez, a tree could fall on a building and destroy it. Secondly, unless you happen to have the capitalistic vision and money and time of Joseph Wharton to buy up the Pines and fence them in as a private holding, you're going to have to share them with everyone else. Yes, I cringe too when i see the posts of the PA and NY people who want to come down to the Pines thinking it will be a forrested Moab to tear around in, and I too have friends who love to Jeep through the mud and never stop to actually LOOK at some of the historic areas, but there is little you can do to keep people out while keeping for yourself the freedom to explore. Have faith in the fact that some of the wilderness trails go to places the Jeeps could never get near. Third, I was once in Friendship with a friend and thought how cool it would be to build a firepit with that Jersey sandstone you find out there. He said to me "Just grab some. Its recycling". I love the old settlements too, I've been to a couple many times that are my favorites, but when you think about it, his statement makes sense - put aside your preservationist attitudes for one second and think of where the original builders got that stone. They probably got it from another ruined structure back in the day. Now I'm not saying go out and loot the Pines, and I haven't taken the stones because I think they should stay there, but again - the state tries to protect the sites, but they can't be there 24/7. Harrisville is fenced in, but I still watch it crumble away year by year. I love Martha but there is nothing there because the ruins were buried over, which makes no sense to me. Batsto could disappear overnight with one ill-located forrest fire. Every ruin out there will disappear some day soon. A lot of the ruins my grandfather took me to in his old Bronco back in the 70's are long gone already. It is a natural progression. People take souvenirs - don't try and tell me you went to Sedona and didn't take a redrock away with you - or went to Hawaii and didn't grab some black sand - or coral in the Keys. Hell, I was drooling when I saw the molted moose antlers laying on the tundra when I went up in the NorthWest (thinking, how could I get those in my carry-on).
The best way for everyone to hold onto the Pines is to go out and enjoy them for yourself in your own way & try to take others who would enjoy them the same as you (which is why I've so far never taken anybody twice - most of my friends and family just don't get it). Stay off of private property, even if you think you are being a helpful historian - if you think you have a greater right to be there, go ask the state or township for permission to archive the site (and yes, I've done this). Take you pictures, whether they are on film or in your mind because when you go back you may not find what you saw the first time.
And the best suggestion I can make is if you find something really cool out there - KEEP IT TO YOURSELF! What do you think is going to happen if you popularize a place by posting it on a public forum?!