New Jersey Pinelands Commission

The event is co-sponsored by Stockton University and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.

ONE PINE DAY: Scenes from yesterday's 37th annual Pinelands Short Course at Stockton University. 🦉

Approximately 450 people attended the daylong, educational event, which explored the natural, cultural and historic treasures of the Pinelands.

📷: Paul Leakan, NJPC

#wildlife #birds #nature

And writer of short stories ...

This kid grew up and now runs this account. Youngest of eight. Wearer of hand-me-downs. Lover of nature. 🌳 🌎

#retro #Pinelands #tbt

Rain dripping on from a twig, with a string bokeh-blurred background.

A soggy morning in the New Jersey Pinelands. 🌧 🌳 🌎

#Rain #bokehphotography #raindrops

A male bufflehead duck flying low over the water.

A male bufflehead duck flying over water in the Pinelands ...

A male bufflehead duck flying low over the water. It boasts beautiful black and white plumage.

Five mallard ducks swimming in a marsh in the Pinelands.

Male and female Mallard ducks swimming in a marsh in the Pinelands.

Happy Waterfowl Wednesday! Here are views of mallard ducks and two photos of a bufflehead duck in the Pinelands National Reserve. 🦆 🪶 ❤️

📷: Paul Leakan, Pinelands Commission Communications Officer

#ducks #duck #waterfowlwednesday #wildlife #birds

Huge news!

These three native painted turtles were photographed basking on a log in a former cranberry bog in the Pinelands on March 10, 2025.

Happy Turtle Tuesday! With temperatures possibly soaring into the 70s next week, will we see turtles basking in the Pinelands, as we saw these beauties at the same time last year? 🤔. We'll be looking. Please let us know what you see! 🐢 🌎 🌞

📷: Paul Leakan, NJPC

#turtles

A Cooper's hawk flies off while clutching a bird -- likely a female cardinal -- in its talons. The hawk flew away with its prey into the snow-covered forest.

A Cooper's hawk looks down at the bird that it has grabbed, and the bird's beak is open while looking back up at the hawk.

Cooper's hawks primarily eat birds.

A native Cooper's hawk stands over a bird it snatched from a tree, with the bird pinned into the snow.

New views of a Cooper's hawk that snatched a bird from a tree in Wharton State Forest in the New Jersey Pinelands. Caution: these images may be upsetting. 🐦 🌎

📷: Paul Leakan, NJPC

#birds #nature #wildlifephotography

Turning the page on our 2026 Pinelands National Reserve wall calendar ...

Happy March in the New Jersey Pinelands! We're excited to defrost and inch ever closer to seeing spring flowers and turtles, frogs, snakes and other critters. 🌳 🐢 🐸 🐍 🌼

📷: Paul Leakan, Pinelands Commission Communications Officer

#March #trees #nature

All of the photos were captured from a distance with a 600 mm lens. Have you seen a river otter this year?

Feasting primarily on aquatic wildlife, river otters can be four feet long (tail included), weigh 11 - 30 pounds, and run up to 15 miles an hour, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

The North American river otter is a member of the mustelid or weasel family and is a “predator at the top of the food chain in the waterways of New Jersey,” according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

OTTER THIS WORLD: New photos of a North American river #otter swimming and fishing in a lake in the #NewJersey #Pinelands. You otter know how excited I am to see this exceedingly cute, robust, semi-aquatic, elusive, native critter! 🦦 🌎

📷: Paul Leakan, NJPC

#wildlifephotography #nature

That Friday feeling, as expressed by a tufted titmouse in the New Jersey Pinelands. Nice work, my feathered friend. Who's excited for the weekend? 🐦

📷: Paul Leakan, Pinelands Commission Communications Officer

#birdphotography #njstateparks #fridayVibes #wildlife #nature

Pinelands Commission Policy & Implementation Committee Meeting - February 27, 2026 YouTube video by Pinelands Commission

The Pinelands Commission's Policy & Implementation Committee will hold its regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. today (February 27, 2026). Tap here to livestream the meeting:

www.youtube.com/live/Aj9yLpd...

On average, the Pinelands receives a total of approximately 47 inches of precipitation each year, including rain and melted snow. The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system that lies beneath the Pinelands contains an estimated 17 trillion gallons of water, or enough water to cover all of NJ 10 feet deep.

LET IT MELT: Here's a new view of ice melting on a twig while being illuminated by sunlight in Wharton State Forest in the #NewJersey #Pinelands. As it melts, snow gradually seeps into the ground and recharges the aquifer system in the Pinelands. ❄️ 🌳 🌎

📷: Paul Leakan, NJPC