I have seen this post drag on and with no real resolution other than report activities you see that are illegal to those that need to know, stay away from ¼ mile if you are going out there to party or drive around like an idiot or inconsiderate person and I learned what laws people are breaking. Frankly, I have driven the pines for 15 years, without much incident. I have wheeled in the daytime and night time, drive on established roadways and am not back there doing donuts, running over animals, vegetation or historical artifacts. I do this because I respect what I would like to keep using and in this case that would be the Pine Barrens and the history and biological importance it has to the world. Yes I know it is a biosphere that is known throughout the world for its diverse and one of a kind species and am glad that I am able to be out there and enjoy it. I also know of a great amount of history that is also imbedded in the Pines and enjoy being able to see it and wonder what it looked like back in the day. For all the talk about preserving a specific species or fauna, were you around to fight for the timber rattlers that were displaced when they built homes on Hopewell years ago? Have you objected to the continue allowance of increased building on the Pine Barrens? Some people may say that those permanent scars could have been avoided with an education to the builders and not just the environmental impact studies. And I am sure that those timber rattlers would have appreciated a voice as pineslover wants to be a voice of the amphibians and fauna in the ¼ mile area. Not many people listened to the voices for those timber rattlers because those houses are there. Not many things can live in oil/water mixture so pointing out the obvious is not helping make a point IMHO. Snakes move and so do amphibians, if they can survive the paved roads that are now in their way or in this case the deep puddles filled with oil and water.
If we close that area off, it will just move to another location and then the tree hugging will start for that spot and snowball into a complete closure of the pines to vehicles. An eco-terrorism is not an alternative because two wrongs things do not make a right. There is a dichotomy in the people who use the pines; those who hike it, those who ride horses and those who drive through it with vehicles and the reason each person is out there. People on horses do not like noisy trucks who scare the horses and I understand that completely but I respect the horse riders and stop or slow to a crawl. So if we close the Pine Barrens to vehicles, what happens to those businesses like Bel Haven, Adam’s and Nick’s canoe places, who can no longer travel those roads to get canoes in and out of the rivers? What about the people who make money from the deer meat they obtain in the Pine Barrens by driving to their hunting spots? How about people who do research projects and driving out there? Or how about the money made from allowing people to drive into the campsites each weekend? Or lastly, the photographer who wants to see a specific fauna, animal, habitat or historical site? These could all be long standing repercussions to us not working together on this because truly the state doesn’t have the money and they may just do the catchall approach and say ‘You can’t play nice, we will just take it from you!’
I think we can all work on a solution to the problem. Maybe it is a beach buggy style license/permit to drive in that area with a required education course describing the area foliage, inhabitants and established and permitted trails. Also outlined would be the repercussions of not following those rules and an outline of fines and penalties for driving out there without the permits. It would be a nice cash cow for the state to cover the cost of patrolling that area as well as money to recondition the environment. This permit could be like a camping permit and tracked using that so the park police would know how many permits have been issued for that day or week.
Years ago when I was in the rookie years of wheeling, we came upon a truck stuck in the larger area off of Hampton Road on the right if headed towards Hampton Furnace before the bridge. There was a ranger onsite and he asked the gentleman ‘Does that looked like an established roadway?’. And that is the basis of how I have driven through the pines, drive on established roadways. I had heard of ¼ mile for years but never found it, or so I thought until about 5 years or so ago when I found it and realized I had known all along but just didn't know the area name. Then I realized it was a very water logged area and I was not going to risk my vehicle to unseen hazards. But to a person who doesn’t know or care about their vehicle, the environment or what an established roadway is defined as, they may not care about any massive disrespect to an area. Have I been at quarter, yes, do I abuse and disrespect it no!
And that’s my thoughts on this subject
