Tyler Arboretum
Speaking up for a New Jersey natural treasure
The nonprofit Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) is a leading voice in protecting the natural and historic resources of New Jersey’s famous “Pinelands”—800,000 acres of pristine forest situated in one of the country’s most densely developed regions. The Pinelands also hold one of North America’s largest, healthiest aquifers, a thriving community of rare wildlife and plants, and a fascinating cultural history of people, historic villages, farms, and ghost towns.
PPA’s popular “Pinelands Adventures” hiking, paddling, and history tours let people experience and appreciate the Pinelands firsthand for themselves. Behind the scenes, PPA advocates for consistent enforcement of “Pinelands Protection Act and Comprehensive Management Plan,” which sets strict boundaries on development, promote sustainable aquifer usage, protect rare species habitats, and promote sustainable development polices for individual Pinelands spaces.
PPA also advances the permanent acquisition of land and development rights by conservation agencies capable of defending the Pinelands against suburban sprawl, poorly designed development, and other abuses of land, water, and natural heritage.
With 68,000 acres of the Pinelands used for farming, sustainable agriculture is also on the PPA’s agenda. In fact, PPA is headquarted at Bishop Farmstead, a 12-acre parcel now being redeveloped as an organic farm to demonstrate how thoughtful land management can both improve the environment and support a sustainable farm business. Catered events at the farm use fresh produce harvested on site (with the trimmings and leftovers are composted and returned to the soil) and these events bring people into the Pinelands and also generate revenue to support PPA’s sustainability-oriented programs and activities.