Credit: saebaryo (CC BY-ND 2.0)
The Highlands: There is concern about the potential impact of the bill on core forest in the Highlands Preservation Area.
Anytime a forest is acquired by a government or nonprofit, the state would be required to write a “stewardship plan,” under a bill approved Monday despite a storm of protest from environmentalists who argued that the measure would lead to more logging and more destruction of public lands if it becomes law.
The Assembly Agriculture Committee on Monday voted unanimously to release bill A-4843 as well as three related measures that would mean municipalities would not have to approve forest stewardship plans; that would set minimum acreage goals for prescribed burns in the Pinelands and statewide, and that would seek cooperation between government and landowners in setting stewardship plans.