The Pine Barrens

[pscot]

I'm reading John McPhee's book The Pine Barrens and thinking, "Gee, that must be all covered with developement by now." But Google Earth shows vast patches of seemingly roadless green, right there in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic conurbation. Does anyone know the area? What's the state of the piney woods today?

[virgogal]

1. Tony Soprano and his chums were quite familiar with The Barrens. :-)

[formercia]

4. Unmarked Mafia Graves keep it Green.

It's a place where bodies go for good.

[pscot]

5. Of course. They were sensitive guys

who sought out the healing solitudes of the woods to de-pressurize.

[hollysmom]

2. a lot of it is a preserve

http://www.pineypower.com/geninfopbpg10.html

[pscot]

6. Interesting link

Thank you.

[tk2kewl]

3. in a former career i worked on the Long Island Pine Barrens Preservation Plan...

I don't know a whole lot about the Pine Barrens in Jersey but here is a good resource: http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/cmp/summary/

These areas on the glacial outwash plain are very important to groundwater quality and have been among some pretty significant wins for preservation

[pscot]

7. Good link

McPhee talks about the huge freshwater aquifer below the Barrens.

[jerseyjack]

8. The N.J. Pine Barrens are on top of a "pan."

That means it is on top of a hard crust of (I believe) clay. Tree roots can't penetrate the pan so trees can't grow taller than about 6 feet. The land is flat and if you "climb" to the top of any of the hills you have climbed to an elevation of about 30 feet above sea level... and you can see for miles.

There are towns and a couple of cities in the barrens. Roads run through some of it and because of the dense population of N.J., the roads are moderately traveled. The biggest problem for defense of the area is the off-road vehicles.

The northern part of the barrens is about 75 miles from my house and I go there frequently to photograph. Much of it is beautiful.

If I ever figure how to post photos, I will post some of the barrens.

[pscot]

9. That would be very cool

If you do, post them in the photography group. They will be appreciated and I'll be more likely to see them there, since things hang around for a bit longer. I think the Barrens are an amazing survivor. When McPhee wrote his little book, there was talk about putting a jet port in there somewhere, which would have been a disaster for the woods and the folks who live there.