Smokey Bear To Visit Mercer County With Message To Prevent Wildfires

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Smokey Bear will be visiting Mercer County with a message to prevent wildfires.

The longtime public-service icon will visit the New Jersey State House in Trenton from Aug. 7-11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced.

A special collection of original work by Rudy Wendelin, the artist who brought Smokey Bear to life on canvas and in posters, will be on display at the State House.

Visitors interested in viewing the exhibit will be required to check in with security at the State House Annex, request to visit the exhibit and will then receive a visitor’s pass.

This traveling art gallery is being presented by the NJDEP’s Forest Fire Service.

It will also make a stop at Cape May, Burlington, Monmouth, and Hudson Counties.

The collection is in locations around New Jersey from Saturday, July 1 through Monday, Aug. 14 and is on loan to the state from the Special Collections section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library in Washington, DC.

“Smokey Bear has been a beloved presence in American culture for nearly 80 years, reminding children and adults of the importance of preventing wildfire, a significant concern as New Jersey continues to address the worsening impacts of climate change,” DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

“To have this priceless art collection visit our state and share the visionary talent of Rudy Wendelin is a gift to us all.”

The DEP’s Forest Fire Service’s primary response area is 3.72 million acres, comprising 77 percent of the state’s land area. So far in 2023, the Forest Fire Service has responded to 903 wildfires which have burned 16,448.25 acres across New Jersey, with 12 of those fires considered to be major wildfires burning in excess of 100 acres.

Climate change has been a key factor in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires, especially in the western United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Increased heat and dry conditions have been key factors in doubling the number of large wildfires between 1984 and 2005, the federal agency says.

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