Forests
The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens are a globally-rare ecosystem resplendent in environmental and cultural resources. We must act now to save them for future generations.
The Pine Barrens are home to a unique ecosystem, found only in southeastern Massachusetts, Long Island and southern New Jersey, that supports a diverse array of plant and animal species. Many of these species are rare, threatened, or endangered, and are found nowhere else in the world. Protecting the Pine Barrens forests helps to ensure the survival of these species.
The Pine Barrens act as a natural filter for groundwater, which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people in the region. Protecting the Pine Barrens helps to maintain water quality and quantity, and ensure a clean drinking water source for residents for generations to come.
The Pine Barrens offer a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, boating and birdwatching. The Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens of Southeastern Massachusetts are a tourist attraction and make this region very attractive for both summer and year-round residents. Protecting the Pine Barrens ensures that these opportunities are available for future generations to enjoy and provides a huge economic boom to our area. Local municipalities should do more to recognize the financial incentive of protecting our forests.
The Pine Barrens have a rich cultural history, dating back to the Indigenous tribes who first inhabited the region over 13,000 years ago. Permanent protection for the Pine Barrens would help to preserve this cultural heritage and potentially avert further cultural erasure from European colonization.