Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 3.djvu/860

 92 STAT. 3492

PUBLIC LAW 95-625—NOV. 10, 1978 P I N E BARRENS AREA, N E W

16 USC 471i.

JERSEY

SEC. 502. (a) The Congress finds that— (1) the Pinelands area in New Jersey, containing approximately 1,000,000 acres of pine-oak forest, extensive surface and ground water resources of high quality, and a wide diversity of rare plant and animal species, provides significant ecological, natural, cultural, recreational, educational, agricultural, and public health benefits; (2) there is a national interest in protecting and preserving these benefits for the residents of and visitors to the area; (3) a primary responsibility for protecting and enhancing these benefits resides with the State of New Jersey and the various local units of government having jurisdiction over the area; (4) in view of the longstanding Federal practice of assisting the States in creating, protecting, preserving, and enhancing areas of significant regional and urban importance, and in view of the national significance of this resource, the Federal Government has an interest in assisting the State of New Jersey and its local units of government in fulfilling their responsibilities and in avoiding adverse Federally approved or assisted impacts before these responsibilities can be undertaken; (5) the State of New Jersey and its local units of government have authority to prevent or minimize adverse uses of the land and water resources of the Pinelands area and can, to a great extent, protect the health, safety, and general welfare by the use of such authority; and (6) there is a demonstrated need to protect, preserve and enhance the land and water resources of the Pinelands area through a new program which combines the capabilities and resources of the local. State and Federal governments and the private sector and provides an alternative to large-scale direct Federal acquisition and management in cases where such acquisition and management is inappropriate. (b) The purposes of this section are— (1) to protect, preserve and enhance the significant values of the land and water resources of the Pinelands area; (2) to encourage and assist the State of New Jersey and its units of local government in the development of a comprehensive management plan for the Pinelands area in order to assure orderly public and private development in the area consistent with the findings of this section; (3) to provide, during the development of this comprehensive plan. Federal financial assistance for the acquisition of lands in the Pinelands area that have critical ecological values which are in immediate danger of being adversely affected or destroyed; (4) to encourage and assist the State and its units of local government in developing a governmental mechanism to implement this comprehensive plan, and to provide Federal financial assistance for the acquisition of lands consistent with the comprehensive plan; (5) to encourage adequate coordination of all government programs affecting the land and water resources of the Pinelands area. Pinelands (c) There is hereby established the Pinelands National Reserve National Reserve, vrhich shall consist of the approximately 1,000,000-acre area generally Establishment. depicted on the map entitled "Pinelands National Eeserve Boundary

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