DEP sends message: No Pinelands off-roaders

SHAMONG - New signs posted at entrances to Wharton State Forest now warn of stepped-up police patrols to enforce restrictions on off-roading in the federal reserve.

Meanwhile, state officials say they've issued more than 100 citations to illegal off-roaders since Feb. 20 as part of an effort to halt destruction in the protected Pinelands.

MORE: Pinelands Commission action pending

Illegal use continues to destroy habitat, officials say, and paper warning signs on trees have been intentionally burned, posing a wildfire hazard.

Last weekend, 27 volunteers joined Department of Environmental Protection officials in erecting metal warning signs at all 65 entrances to the Pine Barrens forest of Wharton — New Jersey's largest forest, with 125,000 acres spanning rural Burlington County and parts of Camden and Atlantic counties.

Crews also affixed several dozen laminated signs on trees in the interior warning of bans on motor vehicle access to a dozen or more of the most environmentally sensitive regions.

Those areas, which have seen more damage recently, include Quarter Mile Bog in Shamong, Jemima Mount in Washington Township and the Public Service Electric and Gas Co. transmission right of way in Waterford. Utility officials have said right-of-way damage has cost $2.5 million in repairs.

The sign-hanging event brought together a wide range of park users from sportsmen’s clubs to environmental organizations that often have been at odds on how to halt the destruction.

The signs and expanded patrolling are the state’s current strategy to stop the damage in response to calls from all stakeholder groups for more enforcement. The DEP opted against a plan last year to close approximately half of the 475 miles of paved and unpaved roads to motorists after an outcry from off-road and sports groups.

DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said the sign-posting outreach was a symbolic gesture demonstrating that Wharton resources can be protected through cooperation while supporting a wide variety of activities, including hiking, canoeing, bicycling, horseback riding and recreational motor-vehicle use. He said the state is trying to balance multiple recreational uses and protection of environmentally sensitive areas.

“We recognize the need for more enforcement at Wharton State Forest to ensure that motorized vehicles are used legally and without damaging ecological resources,” Martin said.

Martin added officials will conduct targeted sweeps of areas known to attract off-roaders.

Taking part in the sign-posting effort were members of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Jeep Jamboree USA, the Jersey Off-Road Bicycle Association, the Outdoor Club of South Jersey, South Jersey Geocaching and Open Trails New Jersey.

“I’ve been using the forest for 34 years, so I want to help,” said Dave Demsey, an Atco resident and Open Trails member. “I look at this as my backyard, and I want to take care of my backyard.”

Demsey teamed with a hunter and an environmental leader to hang signs.

Violations carry a fine starting at $250, plus costs to restore damaged natural resources. Vehicles may also be impounded, which could increase overall motor-vehicle violation costs to more than $900. The 100-plus citations were issued under either the state motor vehicle code or state park service rules for illegal off-roading and ATV use, officials said.

The state has not released the locations of the infractions or the names of the motorists cited.

DEP spokesman Larry Hajna acknowledged past signage has been defaced.

"Unfortunately at Wharton, some feel they have the right to do what they want," he added.

Many sand, dirt or gravel roads plunge deep into pine forests and take visitors to secluded streams and rivers, cedar swamps and sites of long-disappeared settlements.

Quarter Mile Bog is now pocked by water-filled tire tracks. Off-roaders have been spotted on trail cameras driving through savannas, ponds, rivers and streams.

Jason Howell of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, which also sent volunteers to the posting event, said good signage is important, but he noted off-roaders simply ignore them or tear them down. Physical barriers are preferred, Howell said, but he acknowledged motorists have previously removed those as well.

"DEP's new signage program also appears to be causing some confusion for park visitors because the signs don't state what the restrictions on motor vehicle use are and also because the DEP has refused to release a map of permissible routes," he said.

The entry signs read, "Area patrolled. Motor vehicle restrictions are in effect."

The alliance and other park users also believe there is more illegal activity than the recent citations by park police would indicate.

Because park police vehicles cannot access many of the spots that off-road trucks and ATVs can, Howell said the alliance is concerned enforcement efforts are still not intensive and broad-ranging enough "to turn back the tide of destruction."

Wharton is a habitat to 300 bird species, nearly 60 reptile and amphibian species and some 850 species of plants, including wild orchids, swamp pink, grasses and insect-eating plants, some unique to New Jersey’s Pinelands. The extensive network of unimproved roads in Wharton State Forest was built primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries to connect villages that supported a variety of industries, including iron-making, glass-making and lumbering.

As part of the DEP’s comprehensive enforcement effort, a special park police unit has been formed to focus on preventing illegal off-roading in Wharton. In cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, the unit will be conducting "sweeps" in the near future.

Martin said the state park service also will continue to work to repair and improve roads deeply rutted by misuse of off-road vehicles, causing other vehicles to get stuck and creating significant access problems for first responders, including New Jersey Forest Fire Service personnel.

Carol Comegno: (856) 486-2473; ccomegno@gannettnj.com