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36-589: The Mullica River fire was a 2022 wildfire in the Wharton State Forest in portions of Atlantic and Burlington counties in New Jersey . The fire began in a remote area of the Wharton State Forest, and firefighters suspect it was caused by an illegal campfire found near its origin; it was first spotted from a fire tower at 10 AM on Sunday, June 19. However, firefighters' initial attempt to extinguish

72-522: A comprehensive management plan (CMP), which became effective on January 14, 1981. The Pinelands Commission set a one year period from the effective date, with $ 600,000 provided by the New Jersey Legislature from 1980–1982, for municipalities and counties to conform to the standards of the CMP. In July 1981, New Hanover Township became the first municipality to have its master plan approved by

108-628: A development management plan for the Pinelands. The main point of disagreement was the role of federal oversight. On February 24, 1977, Senator Frank Church (D- ID ) sponsored the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 as an Omnibus bill , which included legislation for the Pinelands National Reserve. New Jersey Representatives Edwin B. Forsythe and William J. Hughes proposed bills H.R. 9539 and H.R. 9539 to preserve

144-538: A section of the Batona Trail , which connects the forest to nearby Brendan T. Byrne State Forest and Bass River State Forest . It also includes over 500 miles (800 km) of unpaved roads. The rivers, including the Mullica, are popular destinations for recreational canoeing . The forest is named for Joseph Wharton , who purchased most of the land that now lies within the forest in the 19th century. Wharton wanted to tap

180-1053: Is administered by the Pinelands Commission, an independent body consisting of 15 members. One member is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior ; seven are appointed by the Governor of New Jersey subject to the approval of the New Jersey Senate ; one member is appointed by the respective governing bodies of the seven counties in the Pinelands National Reserve: Atlantic , Burlington , Camden , Cape May , Cumberland , Gloucester and Ocean counties. Commission terms are three years in length and include no official compensation. The commission meets monthly, as do most of its sub-committees. Its mission statement indicates its role "is to preserve, protect, and enhance

216-536: Is protected by state and federal legislation through management by local, state, and federal governments and the private sector. The reserve contains Wharton State Forest , Brendan T. Byrne State Forest , Bass River State Forest , Penn State Forest , and Double Trouble State Park , which provide public recreation facilities. Established by Congress in 1978, it is one of the nation's first national reserves, established along with Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve . Between 170–200 million years ago,

252-827: The 2010 census . Included in the Pinelands National Reserve are 29 villages located in 16 municipalities, with 19 of the villages located in forest areas. Within the Reserve is the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer , which contains over 17 trillion gallons of potable water. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pinelands National Reserve has two climate zones; warm summer humid continental ( Dfb ) in northern, central and western sections with humid subtropical ( Cfa ) in eastern and southern sections. Average annual snowfall totals increase from southeast to northwest and range from 15-22 inches (38–56 cm). According to

288-503: The 95th Congress " in his signing statement . The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 created the Pinelands National Reserve, which consisted of 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha) of land in 56  South Jersey municipalities . It was the "largest tract of wild land along the Middle Atlantic Seaboard", according to President Carter's briefing on a September 20, 1978 trip the president took to Atlantic City . Upon

324-559: The Atlantic coastal plain began to form. Over millions of years, the rising and falling of the coastline deposited minerals underground, culminating with the end of the last ice age about 12,000 years ago, when plants and trees began growing in what is now New Jersey . Around 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Lenape people first inhabited the Pine Barrens. During the 17th century,

360-624: The Mullica River Fire , broke out at the Wharton State Forest in June 2022. Within the state forest, once a residence and cranberry packing facility, Atsion Mansion has been vacant since 1882. The mansion was constructed in 1826 by Samuel Richards, Ironmaster of the Atsion Iron Furnace & Forge. It was built as a summer residency and used by Richards until his death in 1842. In 1960, the building lost even more of its glory when its west porch

396-707: The Pinelands Protection Act , which passed in June 1979. The state Pinelands Area omitted 162,000 acres (66,000 ha) of land east of the Garden State Parkway and near the Delaware Bay. On August 8, 1980, the Pinelands Commission approved the Protection Area, an area of unbroken forest covering 39% of the National Reserve. For the remainder of the reserve, the Pinelands Commission created

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432-626: The CMP; the New Jersey Appellate Court ruled on June 16 on behalf of the Pinelands Commission. A subsequent appeal by the county failed. By December 1983, 70% of the municipalities within the Pinelands National Reserve had revised local master plans and met approval by the Pinelands Commission; by the same time, four out of seven counties developed master plans to focus growth in selected areas. In that same time period, 85% of all approved requests for property development occurred in regional growth areas. The Pinelands National Reserve

468-588: The Mexican consulates in New York City and Philadelphia. The forest has ten campgrounds, ranging from family camping at Atsion Recreation Area , with showers and a guarded beach, to wilderness camping that can be reached only by hiking or canoe/kayak. Apple Pie Hill is a popular hiking destination along the Batona Trail in the forest. The hill, topped with a 60 feet (18 m) New Jersey Forest Fire Service fire tower , provides impressive panoramic views across

504-640: The Mexico Excelsior, non-stop from New York to Mexico City, final leg of a historic goodwill flight to the United States. The monument, installed with funds donated by Mexican schoolchildren, depicts a falling eagle of Aztec design. Every July on the Saturday nearest the anniversary of his crash (second Saturday in July) at 1:00 p.m. he is honored at the monument site by local residents and representatives from

540-452: The Pine Barrens, eventually acquiring about 100,000 acres (40,000 ha). Wharton planned to build dams to redirect freshwater to Philadelphia, but the plan was blocked by the New Jersey legislature in 1884, with a law that blocked transporting waters outside of the state. After Joseph Wharton died in 1909, his family estate tried selling his property to New Jersey for $ 1 million, which

576-460: The Pinelands Commission. In January 1982, after the one year approval period ended, the Pinelands Commission worked with the remaining municipalities and counties updating their master plans. For the towns that refused to comply, the commission announced it would implement the CMP, thus overseeing the local development approval process. In June 1982, Atlantic County sued the Pinelands Commission on behalf of Galloway Township , which wanted to opt out of

612-658: The Pinelands Regional Planning Board proposed building a "supersonic jetport" in Ocean County to alleviate flight traffic in the New York metro . This project would develop a satellite city of about 250,000 people, and would cover about 50 sq mi (130 km ) in ecologically sensitive parts of the Pine Barrens. The proposed airport generated public opposition and united conservation efforts among farmers, hunters, and environmentalists, who believed that

648-474: The Pinelands region. Pinelands National Reserve Pinelands National Reserve is a national reserve that encompasses much of the New Jersey Pine Barrens . The Pinelands is a unique location of historic villages and berry farms amid the vast oak-pine forests ( pine barrens ), extensive wetlands, and diverse species of plants and animals of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion . It

684-685: The Pinelands, which became attached to the omnibus bill in an amendment, sponsored by Congressmen Forsythe, Hughes, and James Florio . The bill passed in the United States Senate on October 27, 1977. A similar bill passed in the House of Representatives on July 12, 1978. After further changes passed by both houses, United States President Jimmy Carter signed the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 on November 10, considering it "the most significant conservation legislation to pass

720-602: The Preservation Area on November 21, which consisted of towns, farmlands, and other areas. The plan became effective under state law on January 14, 1981, and two days later, Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus approved of the Comprehensive Management Plan. In the same year, Rutgers University established the Rutgers Division of Pinelands Research to support local ecological research. In 1983,

756-532: The USDA, there are three plant hardiness zones ; 6b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -5 to 0 °F (-21 to -18 °C) in interior sections away from the coast, 7a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 0 to 5 °F (-18 to -15 °C) north of Great Bay near the coast to south of Great Bay just inland from the coast, and 7b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 5 to 10 °F (-15 to -12 °C) south of Great Bay near

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792-567: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) designated the Pinelands as a biosphere reserve , labeling it jointly as the South Atlantic Coastal Plain Biosphere Reserve /Pinelands National Reserve . In 1988, UNESCO redesignated it as a singular biosphere reserve . The text of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 directed for the planning entity to develop

828-462: The area impacted by the fire in July 2022, as the ecosystem is adapted to occasional forest fires. This wildfire -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wharton State Forest The forest is also the location of the historic Batsto Village , a former bog iron and glass manufacturing site from 1766 to 1867. The forest includes extensive hiking trails, including

864-501: The area was explored and settled by the Swedish , Dutch , and the English, eventually becoming a part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Settlers in the region used the area's cedar , oak , and pitch trees, as well as local tar and turpentine, for sawmill , gristmill , and shipbuilding industry. The earliest efforts to protect the New Jersey Pine Barrens started in the 1960s. In 1964,

900-537: The coast. The Pinelands feature the largest areas of forests along the East Coast of the United States between northern Maine and the Florida Everglades . There are 580 native species of plants, 54 of which are threatened or endangered. The Pinelands Reserve hosts 299 species of birds, 91 fish, 59 reptiles and amphibians, and 39 mammals. In 2015, a new lichen species, Lecanora layana ,

936-548: The fire failed, partly because the inconvenient locations and poor condition of the roads around the fire made it difficult for firefighters to get to, and partly because dry weather and strong wind from the northwest helped the fire spread. By Tuesday, June 21, the fire had spread across parts of Washington and Shamong townships in Burlington County as well as Mullica Township and Hammonton in Atlantic County , while

972-489: The groundwater under the Pine Barrens to provide a source of clean drinking water for Philadelphia ; however, the New Jersey Legislature quashed the plan by passing a law that banned the export of water from the state. The state bought the vast tract from Wharton's heirs in the 1950s. In the 1800s, various bog iron and paper industries developed in the New Jersey Pine Barrens . In 1873, Philadelphia industrialist Joseph Wharton began purchasing property and abandoned towns in

1008-464: The land. The bill also directed for the Interior Secretary to request the state of New Jersey to establish "a planning entity to a comprehensive management plan for the Pinelands National Reserve." In accordance with the law, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne issued an executive order on February 8, 1979, creating the Pinelands Commission. This was affirmed by the New Jersey legislature in

1044-480: The natural and cultural resources of the Pinelands National Reserve, and to encourage compatible economic and other human activities consistent with that purpose." As legislated by the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, the Pinelands National Reserve consisted of about 1,140,000 acres (461,000 hectares) of pine-oak forest. The territory crosses seven counties and encompasses all or parts of 56  municipalities , with about 870,000 people as of

1080-431: The passage of the bill, the Pinelands National Reserve became the country's first National Reserve. The act authorized $ 23 million for land acquisition of critically important ecological areas. Congress noted the need for local, state, and federal government, along with the private sector, to collectively manage and preserve the water and land resources of the Pinelands, without large-scale direct federal acquisition of

1116-400: The region was vulnerable to the spread of urban sprawl of the northeastern United States . Due to the large size of the forest, as well as 300 years of human development, the area could not be protected and preserved in its entirety. The United States Department of the Interior worked with officials from New Jersey, as well as the state's Senate and Congressional delegation, to develop

Mullica River fire - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-455: The wind carried ash from the fire as far south as Galloway Township and the smoke could be seen as far south as Ocean City . The fire burned some 15,000 acres. Trails and campgrounds as well as several roads in the affected area were closed during the fire, and about 50 people camping in the Wharton State Forest were evacuated, but nobody was injured or killed in the fire. The fire was mostly contained as of early June 23. Trees began to regrow in

1188-571: Was added to a handicap ramp. The reconstruction of a western porch provided a historically accurate interpretation of the building to represent the way it was originally. The mansion is unique, in that the mansion is equipped with no electricity or indoor plumbing, allowing visitors to imagine how the Richards Family lived in the early 19th century. A monument marks the location where Mexican aviation pioneer Emilio Carranza crashed on July 12, 1928 while attempting to fly his Ryan Brougham airplane,

1224-504: Was defeated by a referendum in 1915. For the next few decades, the Wharton estate was managed by a trust company . In the 1950s and 1960s, the federal government sought to build a 32,500 acres (13,200 ha) jetport in the Pine Barrens. To preserve the land of the Wharton estate, the New Jersey government purchased the lands containing large portions of the Mullica River in 1954, which

1260-472: Was designated Wharton State Forest on December 30, 1954. New Jersey purchased additional land in 1956, totaling 96,000 acres (39,000 ha) in its entirety, for a sum of $ 3 million. To prevent additional development, local residents and farmers worked to preserve the Pine Barrens, eventually leading to the formation of the Pinelands National Reserve in 1978. A large fire, dubbed

1296-456: Was torn down. Under the guidelines of the State of New Jersey, area contractors Wu & Associates undertook the restoration of the site. The existing exterior stucco was removed and replaced with new material; the interior plaster, wood windows and shutter were restored; fireplace mantels, stone and wood floors in the basement, and the existing cedar roof were all repaired; and a new exterior sidewalk

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