Contact:
contact


Location: Salem County, NJ
Watershed(s): Stow and Alloways Creeks
Landscape Type: Oak forest community
Size: Approximately 23 square miles

An outlying remnant of the Pine Barrens ecological community and the largest forest in Salem County, Burden Hill forest is a mixed oak forest with many southern species. The droughty oak forest combines with rich wetlands supporting many rare species.

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) highlighted Burden Hill Forest as a top preservation priority in Charting a Course for the Delaware Bay Watershed (H. Honigfeld, 1997). The forest is a hotspot for birds that migrate to and from Latin America.

Ecological Features:

• Scarlet, black and southern red oak are the primary tree species
• Sandy infertile soils similar to those of the main Pine Barrens forest, but separated from the Pine Barrens by intervening, more fertile Outer Coastal Plain soils.
• Remarkably unfragmented forest due to the area’s susceptibility to drought and the low population density of surrounding areas.

NLT Acquisitions and Other Efforts

• New Jersey Conservation Foundation has focused acquisition on the southern portion of the Burden Hill Forest.
• New Jersey Green Acres has purchased properties in the northern and southwestern portions of the forest, expanding:
  • Thundergut Pond Wildlife Management Area (north)
  • Maskells Mill Pond Wildlife Management Area (Southwest)
• Natural Lands Trust assumed the lead for the middle section of the forest. We have preserved over 600 acres to date and are continuing to work with our conservation partners and local townships to permanently protect large unfragmented tracts within the forest.

Partners

• New Jersey Conservation Foundation
• New Jersey Green Acres Program
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Relevant Conservation Planning Documents

Charting A Course for the Delaware Bay Watershed (H. Honigfeld, 1997).