Summer 2020 Volume 27 Number 2 Mourning the Loss of Candace Ashmun . 3 First Harvest Goes to Those in Need . 4 4th Annual Pinelands Photo Exhibit . 6 Drilling for New Jersey Natural Gas pipeline in Upper Freehold Township in June. Photo credit: Patti Caruso. Pinelands Events . 7 Drilling Stopped on New Jersey Natural Gas Pipeline by Rhyan Grech, Policy Advocate Explore the Underground drilling for the construc- Ocean Counties and through the Pinelands! tion of the Southern Reliability Link Preservation Area of the Pinelands (SRL) pipeline by New Jersey Natural Gas National Reserve. NJNG has claimed the Pinelands Adventures (NJNG) was halted by the New Jersey pipeline is for reliability, and acknowl- is open Thurs. - Sun. Department of Environmental Protection edged it is not for necessity. Independent for canoe and kayak (DEP) in a letter dated July 8, 2020. The reports counter the claim that the rentals. letter was issued after a series of recent pipeline will ever be needed for reliable Fun for the whole family! accidents occurred impacting both service, even in the case of catastrophic residents and the environment during the failure elsewhere in the system. months of April and June. Reservations are Pinelands Preservation Alliance brought required. This is a significant victory for the legal challenges against the pipeline that Pinelands and residents. It comes after are still working their way through the years of opposition by the Pinelands courts. Despite this fact, NJNG began Pinelands Preservation Alliance and others to stop a construction in December 2018. Adventures project that has been demonstrated to be 1005 Atsion Rd. unnecessary and dangerous. Residents of Province Line Road in Upper Shamong, NJ 08088 Unfortunately, some construction activi- Freehold Township have been especially impacted by the construction since the 609-268-0189 ties (like trenching and laying pipe) can continue. COVID-19 outbreak. Idling equipment generated fumes that are inescapable to PinelandsAdventures.org The SRL is disastrous for the Pinelands, families adhering to stay at home orders. which is the largest open space on the Trucks blocked the road, sometimes both eastern seaboard and recognized for its lanes at once, and residents have been 17 PEMBERTON ROAD biodiversity by the United Nations. It unable to receive deliveries of essential SOUTHAMPTON, NJ 08088 T - 609.859.8860 would connect to a compressor station in supplies. Construction workers are at F - 609.859.8804 Chesterfield and run 28 miles of pipe increased risk because they cannot easily WWW.PINELANDSALLIANCE.ORG through Burlington, Monmouth, and conform to CDC guidelines such as continued on page 5 Inside The A Message from the Staff at the Pinelands Pinelands Preservation Alliance Published three times a year by the Pinelands The killing of George Floyd and called the police to say she was being Preservation Alliance protests around the country remind threatened by a Black man. The all of us of the long history of racial details of this incident are well- Executive Editor injustice in our country. The team at documented and show the deep racial PPA is listening and thinking about bias that exists in our society, which Carleton Montgomery what we can bring as an organization led this woman to highlight that he to achieving justice and genuine was a Black man while on the phone Editor community among the people of our with the police. Becky Free region. We also believe that fighting – one day, eliminating – We believe that the Pinelands and New Jersey’s other natural places will PPA Staff racism is essential to the success of PPA’s mission and that of other only survive in the long run if all Isabella Castiglioni environmental activists. segments of society know, love and Tom Dunn speak out for preserving these Andrew Gold One reason PPA exists is to preserve treasures. New Jersey’s conservation natural areas and resources for the groups and their supporters are Rhyan Grech benefit of people. To live that overwhelmingly White, while the Audra Hardoon mission means to ensure everyone in society in which we work is Jason Howell our society has ready access to the increasingly diverse in ethnicity, Alicia Plaag Pinelands. But we know from background and origin. Ryan Rebozo experience and statistics that Black and Latinx families visit our state and Our organizations are not represen- Jaclyn Rhoads tative of the diversity of our society. Stephen Sebastian national parks at a much lower rate than White families. This includes This fact restricts our political power, Jeff Tober deprives environmental groups of Jane Wiltshire the Pinelands National Reserve. In fact, new government data published ideas and energies that would help them succeed, and inevitably sends a Pinelands Adventures by ABC News in July shows that just 23% of visitors to our 419 national message that conservation is pretty Rob Ferber parks were people of color. Black much a White endeavor. Robert Laucks Americans remain the most under- For now, we are listening and each Donald Sulewski represented group making up only finding our own personal ways to be John Volpa 6% of visitors to national parks. involved. But PPA needs soon to We are learning that this disparity move beyond listening and talking to Distributed to has many causes, but is based on real doing. What should PPA be doing PPA members & volunteers, experience. Racial profiling and that we aren’t doing now, or what do state legislators, stereotyping remain a big concern for we need to do better? We have some Pinelands municipalities, many people of color in the outdoors ideas, but need more input from elected officials, along with fear of harassment and others. If you have views on this, and planning boards please contact us and let us know violence from law enforcement and other users. your thoughts. Mailing services generously donated by Swift Mailing The fear and concern of Black people www.swiftmailing.com in the outdoors was illustrated by the Reach out to Becky Free, Director of Printed on 100% recycled paper experience of Christian Cooper, a Communication & Membership with (made from post-consumer pulp senior editorial director at Health your thoughts. produced in a chlorine-free Science Communications, a birder, pulping and bleaching process) Email: [email protected]. and a Black man. Mr. Cooper was Circulation: 550 0 birding in Central Park in New York City in May, the same day George Available online at www.pinelandsalliance.org Floyd was killed. He asked a woman to put a leash on her dog and she 2 Mourning the Loss of Candy Ashmun by Carleton Montgomery, Executive Director All of us at PPA mourn the passing of to prevent them from moving forward by Candace McKee Ashmun, known to all as presenting a reasoned explanation rooted Candy, who died in May at the age of 96. in decades of Pinelands practice. Explore the Pinelands Candy was one of the key figures in the Candy was not only “the godmother of National Reserve generation that created the environmental with Pinelands Adventures! movement in New Jersey. In 1979, the Pines,” but a force of nature in the cause of nature throughout the state. She Governor Byrne asked Candy to serve as We are excited to announce a founding member of the Pinelands was the founding executive director of the that we are open four days a Commission. She answered that call and Association of New Jersey Environmental week from Thurs. - Sun. for Commissions (ANJEC), served on the served continuously on the Commission canoe and kayak rentals. until her death, the last original member State Planning Commission, the state’s of the Pinelands Commission. That Great Swamp Advisory Committee, the Fun for the whole family! dedication over so many years gave her Fund for New Jersey Board, the Highlands Coalition and numerous other Visit www.PinelandsAdventures.org to unequaled insights and wisdom on the plan your next adventure. policies and controversies the committees and boards. In all these roles, Candy brought a deep appreciation of the Commission faced during its first forty Reservations are required. years. connections between growth and development policies in our crowded Pinelands Adventures Candy was a fixed star in the Pinelands state, on the one hand, and the protection 1005 Atsion Rd. universe. A fount of wisdom based on of natural resources as essential to human Shamong, NJ 08088 unequaled experience and commitment. well-being and as valuable in themselves, 609-268-0189 A savvy but never jaded strategist in the on the other. never-ending struggle to keep the forces Pinelands Adventures is an initiative of the of destruction at bay. A demanding leader She was a personal hero and mentor to Pinelands Preservation Alliance and our of our movement. One of those few me, as she was to so many others. Her members get 10% off all trips and programs. guidance shaped my understanding of extraordinary individuals who became Located within beautiful Wharton State Forest. our conscience, the very embodiment of how the Pinelands protection laws are the world-view and values that are so supposed to work, and what we need to do to make them work better. Candy has central to our personal and professional identities. joined the pantheon of Pinelands heroes Pinelands Commission who secured this unique and wonderful The very day I started work at Pinelands place for the people. Now it is up to us to The Commission’s offices are closed Preservation Alliance on May 4, 1998, keep the flame alive and make sure the due to the COVID-19 crisis. Their Candy called me to introduce herself and Pinelands and all its wildlife, plants and monthly meetings are open to the make sure I was wasting no time getting waters survive intact for those who follow public via livestream on their on the job – I think specifically on us.