Urges DEP, Pinelands Commission, and Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council to engage in alternative forest management practices during periods of drought when prescribed burning is unsafe.

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Clinton Calabrese and 3 co-sponsors

During droughts when prescribed burning is unsafe, state agencies should use alternative forest management practices (e.g., ecological thinning) to maintain forest health and reduc

Filed with Secretary of State

#openspace

Overview

AR-180 is an Assembly Resolution (introduce March 6, 2025; introduced version) urging state agencies to pursue alternative forest management practices during drought periods when prescribed burning is unsafe. It is a non-binding resolution focused on open space and forest health management in New Jersey.

Purpose and Intent

To acknowledge the importance of forest lands (covering about 40% of the state) to environmental, social, and economic well-being.

To recognize the challenges drought and climate change pose to prescribed burning as a forest management tool.

To urge the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Pinelands Commission, and the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council to implement alternative forest management practices during drought periods when prescribed burning is unsafe, thereby maintaining forest health and reducing wildfire risk.

Key Provisions

The core directive: DEP, the Pinelands Commission, and the Highlands Council should engage in alternative forest management practices during drought periods when prescribed burning is unsafe, ineffective, or not possible.

Example of alternative practices: ecological thinning (as cited in the statement), among other non-burning management approaches.

Transmission requirement: Copies of the resolution filed with the Secretary of State must be transmitted to the DEP Commissioner, the Pinelands Commission Chairman, and the Highlands Council Chairperson.

Background and Rationale

Forests provide essential environmental benefits (air and water purification, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, soil stabilization) and support social, recreational, and economic activities.

Prescribed burning is a proven tool to reduce fuel loads and wildfire risk but can be unsafe during drought conditions due to lack of fuels, dangerous conditions, or burn bans.

Climate-driven changes have extended wildfire seasons and increased drought risk, necessitating flexible management strategies.

The resolution cites 2024 wildfire activity in New Jersey (1,380 wildfires, >10,000 acres burned, including 12 major fires) to illustrate the challenges and justify alternative approaches when burning cannot be safely conducted.

Affected Entities

Primary: Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Pinelands Commission, Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council.

Indirectly: State forest lands, wildlife and plant habitats, local communities relying on forest ecosystem services, and industries dependent on forest health and recreation/ecotourism.

Procedural History and Status

Introduced: March 6, 2025.

Committee: Reported favorably by the Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee (March 10, 2025).

Assembly Action: Passed by the Assembly with an 80-0-0 vote (June 30, 2025).

Next Step: Filed with the Secretary of State (June 30, 2025). As a resolution, it expresses a policy position rather than imposing binding legal requirements.

Potential Impact

Signals statewide policy emphasis on adaptive forest management during droughts.

Encourages agencies to formalize or incorporate non-burning strategies (e.g., ecological thinning) into forest management planning and operations when burning is unsafe.

May influence future administrative actions, guidance, or budgeting related to open space and forest stewardship, though it does not enact new statutory duties.

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