New Jersey Pine Barrens

The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also called the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem. It stretches across more than seven counties in New Jersey. The name "pine barrens" comes from the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil. Even though European settlers could not grow their usual crops there, the Pine Barrens supports many special plants, including orchids and carnivorous plants. It is also home to rare pygmy pitch pines that need frequent fires to grow.

Despite being close to big cities like Philadelphia and New York City, the Pine Barrens stays mostly rural and peaceful. Major roads such as the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway pass through parts of it. The Pine Barrens helps keep clean water in the huge 17-trillion-U.S.-gallon (64×10~^~⁹ m³) Kirkwood–Cohansey aquifer, one of the purest water sources in the United States.

Because of its special nature, in 1978, Congress chose 1.1 million acres of the Pine Barrens to become the Pinelands National Reserve, the first National Reserve in the nation. Ten years later, the United Nations named it an International Biosphere Reserve. The area is carefully protected by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission to make sure its plants and animals stay safe. The Pinelands Reserve includes several state forests like the Wharton, Brendan T. Byrne, Penn, and Bass River, as well as two special rivers: the Maurice and the Great Egg Harbor. The book The Pine Barrens by John McPhee, published in 1967, tells the story of the region's history and ecology.

History

Prehistoric

Between 170 and 200 million years ago, the land that would become the Atlantic coastal plain began to form. The Pine Barrens in New Jersey formed between 1.8 and 65 million years ago.

Over millions of years, the rising and falling of the coastline left minerals underground. After the last ice age ended about 12,000 years ago, plants and trees began growing in what is now New Jersey.

Forest fires have happened naturally in the Pine Barrens for thousands of years. These fires helped shape the land and its plants.

Pre-Columbian

Around 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Lenape people were the first people to live in the Pine Barrens. They used controlled fires in the spring and fall to clear brush and help plants grow, making it easier to hunt.

European settlement

In the 1600s, Swedish and Dutch explorers arrived in the area now known as New Jersey. The English later claimed the land. By the late 1600s, people began using the Pine Barrens for resources like cedar, oak, and pitch.

In the 1700s and 1800s, industries like charcoal production, iron smelting, and glassmaking grew. The iron from these early furnaces helped supply tools and weapons during wars like the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

Efforts to preserve the Pine Barrens

The Pine Barrens stayed largely unchanged for many years because its sandy soil was not good for farming. In 1969, people became concerned about protecting the area from development. In 1978, Congress created the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve to protect this special land. Today, it includes large forests and is recognized internationally for its importance.

Folklore

Main articles: Jersey Devil and Legends and tales of the New Jersey Pine Barrens

The Pine Barrens are home to many interesting stories and legends. One famous tale is about the Jersey Devil, said to have been born in 1735 to a woman named Mrs. Leeds. Stories describe the Devil as a special and unusual child who grew into a creature that could fly. Many people claim to have seen the Jersey Devil on dark nights in the Pine Barrens.

Other stories from the area include ghosts like the "Black Doctor," the ghost of Captain Kidd, and the "Black Dog", along with tales about mysterious places called "blue holes" such as the Blue Hole.

Geography

The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve covers about 1.1 million acres (4,500 km²), making up 22% of New Jersey's land. It stretches across parts of seven counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean. This area is a big part of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion.

Although some fires happen naturally, most fires in this area are started by people.

Climate

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey sit where two types of weather meet: humid subtropical and humid continental climates. This special spot gives the area its own little weather pattern. Nights here can get colder than in other parts of New Jersey, especially on clear, calm nights. On average, nights are about 6 to 8 °F (3.3 to 4.4 °C) colder, but sometimes it can be even colder—up to 10 °F (5.6 °C) different!

The Pine Barrens gets snow each year, usually between 15 to 21 inches (380 to 530 mm). Summers are warm and humid, while winters are cold. Spring and fall are milder times in between. Frost can appear in the fall, spring, and winter, and it often starts earlier in the fall and ends later in the spring here because of the sandy soil.

The area receives about 42 to 46 inches (1,100 to 1,200 mm) of rain each year, but this can change a lot from year to year. During the warmer months, thunderstorms are common, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.

Ecology

The New Jersey Pine Barrens is a special place in the northeastern United States. It has sandy soil that doesn't have many nutrients, lots of pitch pine and oak trees, and many plants and animals that are rare or in danger.

The Pine Barrens has at least 850 kinds of plants, including some orchids like the pink lady's slipper. There are also many wild berries such as wild raisin, red chokeberry, highbush blueberry, huckleberry, bearberry, and cranberry. Fires help shape the forests here, allowing pitch pines to grow because their cones only open after a fire. These fires also help keep the area open and support many different plants.

The area is home to many animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Some of these, like the eastern timber rattlesnake and bald eagle, are threatened. American black bears are also returning to the area. The Pine Barrens has a large underground water system called the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which helps keep the wetlands and supports farming like growing cranberries and blueberries.

Much of the Pine Barrens is protected to keep its special plants, animals, and landscapes safe. This includes rules to manage development and activities that could harm the area. Groups work together to monitor and care for this important region.

Economy

The Pine Barrens has many jobs that come from farming and tourism. The area grows a lot of cranberries, especially near Chatsworth and Whitesbog. It was also where the first blueberries were grown in 1916 by Elizabeth White in Whitesbog. Today, many blueberry farms are around Hammonton, known as the "Blueberry Capital of the World."

Tourism is very important too. People visit to hike, go canoeing, see old villages, and enjoy farms. Fun events like festivals and picking your own fruits help keep the local economy strong.

In the past, the Pine Barrens had many other jobs. People made iron from the soil, using wood from the forests to power their furnaces. They also made charcoal and glass, using the sandy soil for glass. The area had lots of special wood used for roofs and ships, and pine trees provided materials for building and other work. Though these old jobs are gone now, you can still see old buildings and ruins from that time.

In popular culture

The Pine Barrens has been featured in many TV shows, books, and movies. For example, there is an episode of the TV show The Sopranos titled "The Pine Barrens." Although the episode is called "The Pine Barrens," it was not filmed there. Instead, it was filmed in Harriman State Park in New York.

John McPhee wrote a book called The Pine Barrens in 1968. This book talks about the history, plants, and geography of the area. Because of this book, people started to understand how important pine barrens are for keeping clean water in underground supplies.

The Pine Barrens also appears in other TV shows like What We Do In The Shadows and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, where characters search for a mythical creature called the Jersey Devil. In comics, the group Fantastic Four visited the Pine Barrens and met aliens there. The movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen used the Pine Barrens for a big battle scene. There is also a movie called The Barrens and a horror novel named Call of the Jersey Devil that are set in this area.

In 2021, a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, called Six Flags Great Adventure, created a special part of the park about the Pine Barrens. They even built a roller coaster called the Jersey Devil Coaster.