SUMMARY

Barnegat Bay and its upland watershed represent a rich diversity of coastal and pinelands habitats.  While significantly alterd by human land use activities, many of these habitats are still intact functioning natural communities.  Through government legislation and regulation, some of the most destructive past practices, such as dredging and filling coastal salt and freshwater marshed, have been largely eliminated.  However, development and the consequent loss of upland forests proceeds apace.

To minimize the environmental impacts of future development, shoreline buffer areas, bay islands and riparian corridors should receive enhanced protection.  To maintain the integrity of the pinelands ecosystem, devlopment should be steered away from large tracts of unfragmented pinelands habitat. 

While large expanses of upland and wetland habitats are presently protected as publicly owned conservation land, additional open space acquisition and/or easements are justified on a number of grounds:

1.)  watershed protection to insure high quality inflow to Barnegat Bay

2.)  protection of habitat for commercially, recretationally and ecologically important flora and fauna

3.)  open space and enhanced public access for human recreation and aesthetic enjoyment.