The age-old debate pitting personal freedom versus the common good is roiling fragile forests in New Jersey that the United Nations has singled out for special protection.
FILE - This Oct. 13, 2021, photo shows tire tracks cut into an area near a river in Wharton State Forest in Shamong, N.J. New Jersey is considering whether to institute a permit system for access to certain parts of Wharton State Forest, in part to address illegal vehicle usage in the woods. – Sprawling across 1.1 million acres of pine trees, sandy soil, remote wetlands and home to rare plants and animals, the New Jersey Pinelands is the personification of the free-as-a-bird Great Outdoors.
And what appears to be the state's preferred solution — instituting a permit system to use parts of the forest — is pleasing few people. The Department of Environmental Protection, which has not yet decided whether to require permits or how much they might cost, says the system would check incoming vehicles to ensure they are safe for the woods and comply with requirements on the type of vehicles that are allowed. Dirt bikes, motorcycles, pickup trucks and 4-wheel-drive vehicles are allowed as long as they are street-legal, licensed and insured.
Created by an act of Congress in 1978, the Pinelands district is overseen by a joint federal and state commission. It occupies 22% of New Jersey’s land area, and it is the largest body of open space on the mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond, Virginia, and Boston. It also includes an aquifer that is the source of 17 trillion gallons of drinking water.
From the 1,610 surveys received, several themes emerged: Most oppose the imposition of permits to use parts of the forest; many want more enforcement of existing rules and regulations regarding its use; but many also want to keep things as they are, or to have no restrictions at all. “Keep in mind that Wharton is the largest of New Jersey’s state parks and forests ... with areas that are difficult to access and consistently monitor,” he said. “In addition, Park Police must exercise discretion when conducting enforcement so as not to pose a safety risk to the public or to themselves.
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