Number: 1981-14
WHEREAS, the Pinelands area of New Jersey comprises pine-oak forests, cedar swamps, and extensive surface and ground water resources of high quality which provide a unique habitat for a wide diversity of rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species and contains many other significant and unique natural, ecological, agricultural, scenic, cultural and recreational resources; and
WHEREAS, Section 502 of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 states that its purpose is to assist the State of New Jersey and units of local government to develop a comprehensive plan for the Pinelands; and
WHEREAS, the State of New Jersey enacted the Pinelands Protection Act of 1979 providing for state and local cooperation in carrying out the national legislation; and
WHEREAS, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission is responsible for preparing a Comprehensive Management Plan to accomplish the legislative goals and shares responsibility with local, state and federal agencies for implementing the Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Commission has submitted a Comprehensive Management plan to the Secretary of the Interior for his approval pursuant to Section 502 of the National Parks and Recreation Act; and
WHEREAS, Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus on January 16, 1980, approved the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Plan as approved acknowledges the need for protecting fragile natural resources while providing for suitable development in the areas that can most easily accommodate growth; and
WHEREAS, the Plan as approved is the product of input from all sectors of the New Jersey citizenry through an extensive public hearing process and much compromise negotiation; and
WHEREAS, the Plan delineates land use categories and specifies management programs, development standards and methods of preserving the essential character of the Pinelands; and
WHEREAS, provisions in the Plan allow the full management of the fish and wildlife resources of the Pinelands; and
WHEREAS, the Pinelands planning effort is an outstanding example of coordinated state-local-federal actions designed to comprehensively plan for the highest and best use of the land and is consistent with previous NWF resolutions regarding land use planning (Resolution #1, March 1977);
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 26-29, 1981, in Norfolk, Virginia, hereby asserts its support for the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan as approved by the Secretary of the Interior and opposes any modifications of the Plan which would jeopardize the unique natural features of the Pinelands.