State of New Jersey
Executive Order #22

Governor James E. McGreevey

WHEREAS, Brendan T. Byrne distinguished his tenure during two terms as Governor of the State of New Jersey from 1974 through 1982 through bold leadership, political courage, keen vision and an unwavering commitment to the protection of New Jersey's natural resources in the face of debate and controversy; and

WHEREAS, Governor Byrne's initiatives for the protection of New Jersey's natural resources included Executive Order 56 (1977) which created the Pinelands Review Committee and Executive Order 71 (1979) which created the Pinelands Planning Commission; and

WHEREAS, Governor Byrne subsequently signed into law, amidst debate and controversy, the Pinelands Protection Act (L. 1979, c. 111, Sec. 1, eff. June 28, 1979) which, in conjunction with federal legislation, established the New Jersey Pinelands and the 1 million acre Pinelands National Reserve (National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, Pub.L. 95-625, Sec. 502); and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Pinelands and the Pinelands National Reserve, this country's first National Reserve, were created through the leadership of Governor Byrne to protect this area through land acquisition and land use controls developed through a cooperative program involving federal, state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, the Pinelands Commission prepared a comprehensive management plan for the New Jersey Pinelands which adopted policies and regulations for land use management in coordination with local, state and federal programs and governments; and

WHEREAS, Governor Byrne's bold steps of over two decades ago have served to protect and preserve the vast pine-oak forests, cedar swamps, and the extensive surface and ground water resources of New Jersey's Pinelands, which lie within the most densely populated state in the nation; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey's Pinelands continue to provide a unique habitat for a wide diversity of rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species and many other significant and unique natural, agricultural, scenic, cultural and recreational resources in an area surrounded by burgeoning residential, commercial and industrial development; and

WHEREAS, the Pinelands National Reserve is recognized as the largest body of open space on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond and Boston and has achieved worldwide recognition as a Biosphere Reserve by the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate to recognize Governor Byrne as one of the major forces behind the permanent protection of New Jersey's Pinelands; and

WHEREAS, a fitting tribute to Governor Byrne's vision and commitment would be the designation of an area which exemplifies the natural resources which have been protected and preserved as the "Brendan T. Byrne State Forest"; and

WHEREAS, Lebanon State Forest, located in the center of New Jersey's Pinelands, comprises over 34,000 acres of forest, Atlantic white cedar swamps and iron-rich streams and recreational facilities which are exemplary of the many natural and recreational resources identified for protection and preservation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. McGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

  1. Lebanon State Forest in its entirety shall henceforth be officially known, recognized and referred to as "Brendan T. Byrne State Forest."

  2. The Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation shall implement this change in name in a manner best determined to notify the public of the designation of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest and shall take all reasonable efforts to include such designation in all literature, brochures, books, documents and maps to be published or distributed on or subsequent to the effective date of this Executive Order.

  3. The Department of Transportation shall delineate the New Jersey Pinelands boundary on the New Jersey 2002 Transportation Map and all subsequent maps.

  4. All State departments and agencies shall take actions consistent with the intent, goals and objectives of this Executive Order.

  5. All municipalities and counties within the New Jersey Pinelands are requested and encouraged to take actions consistent with the intent, goals and objectives of this Executive Order.

  6. This order shall take effect immediately.

 

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 24th day of July in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Two, and of the Independence of the United States, the Two Hundred and Twenty-Seventh.

/s/ James E. McGreevey

Governor

[seal]

Attest:

/s/ Paul A. Levinsohn
Chief Counsel to the Governor