17 Tons Of Trash Taken From Forked River Mountains, Volunteers Thanked

LACEY, NJ — An Earth Day cleanup of the Forked River Mountains got rid of 17 tons of garbage. But the people who put the trash there in the first place were criticized by the Lacey Township Committee.

Every Earth Day, the Forked River Mountain Coalition hosts a cleanup of the pristine Pinelands area. This year was their 30th year, and in that time, 750 tons of garbage has been removed, according to Deputy Mayor Steven Kennis.

Kennis thanked the volunteers who have kept these "mountains" (actually two large sand and gravel hills) clean, especially Kerry Jennings, who has been running the annual cleanup since its inception.

"As much as we appreciate those volunteers doing that, I'm going to comment on the other side of it," Kennis said.

The other side is the litterers who left their trash in the area. These people are "completely disrespecting our township," Kennis said.

"It's just a complete lack of respect for the environment and other people's time," he said, adding that he hoped that people would become more aware of their actions.

Commiteeman PeggySue Juliano agreed with him, saying that in all her years in Lacey she had never actually been to the Forked River Mountains.

"Walking all the way out there was absolutely beautiful," Juliano said.

"A lot of it isn't the Lacey residents," said Mayor Tim McDonald, noting that much of the trash comes from off-roaders utilizing the Pinelands.

"They shouldn't even be out there to begin with," McDonald said. "And they just make a mess."

The trash isn't the only problem, McDonald added. People often get hurt off-roading in the Pinelands areas that are off the beaten path, and it can be difficult for emergency services to reach them.

"You're going to get charged," he said.

If you are unaware of the Forked River Mountains, this vast, unspoiled wilderness is accessible from Wells Mills County Park in Waretown. Much of it is undisturbed and filled with threatened and endangered animals like the Pine Barrens treefrog.

Even more of this beautiful land was recently donated to Ocean County for permanent preservation. Read more: 3,000+ Acres Of Woods In Lacey Donated For Conservation

If you want to learn more, visit the Forked River Mountain Coalition.