after years in the making the State Department of Environmental Protection this week released new maps to manage vehicles in the Pinelands it includes some 200 miles of legal routs through the massive Wharton State Forest where drivers can travel without fear of damaging the natural habitats that are protected by state law but even after all the deliberation some environmentalists worry the new plan may be too restrictive for visitors and nature lovers alike Ted Goldberg reports going through Wharton State Forest is supposed to be an adventure unfortunately for visitors driving through its roads is an adventure too there are places that are just so wet they're appropriate for a canoe not appropriate for anything that's four-wheeled and and mechanized the DEP has proposed a new map of the Pinelands for vehicles to drive it includes 200 miles of roads where street legal Vehicles can legally travel Assistant Commissioner John Cecil says the department wants to clearly mark and maintain these roads so people aren't left guessing where to drive it's not a matter of just running out and um knock somebody over the head with a fine it's you know assuming that they're not there doing something totally malicious if you people are following their GPS units in places that it's telling them that they can go when they really shouldn't be there there is a presumption that folks are allowed to be wherever they want to be well that's incorrect commissioner Shawn LaTourette pushed back on criticism that the DEP is cutting down Wharton's roads from 500 miles to 200 miles.

LaTourette says many of those roads shouldn't be driven on to begin with we know folks are in areas that they shouldn't be either because it's dangerous for them or because it is destructive of of a natural resource that is legally protected the DEP invited the public to a 7-hour open house yesterday to explain their reasoning for the new maps come on in and take a look thank you all they say there were several factors in choosing legal roads environmental impact highly traveled areas and places with historical significance people have argued about visiting vehicle maps for a while and if the DEP should lean towards preserving nature or increasing access to it how to get from A to B is it is it going to be reliable can you actually go there um and not get stuck in the mud and you know have some expectation that they'll maintain these things over time these routes over time Jason how is an advocate for the Pinelands preservation Alliance he thinks the maps are a good compromise and might entice people to visit the Pinelands I think it is very generous in terms of bringing people into the forest it'll bring people in in a way where they're not going to be confused they're going to know where to go how to get there and what they can do when they're there but not everybody's on board with these Maps I'm disappointed actually I'm I'm actually very disappointed I think that's going to really restrict access to um you know uh people who have have had that access for for really hundreds of years John druding leads open Trails NJ he's concerned that people will be fine for driving on roads they've always used and says 200 mil of Roads isn't enough for Wharton's 124,000 Acres I thought after what happened with 2015 and uh the state overreach and then having to retract that they might you know learn a little bit more about the needs of the stakeholders and what the people you know actually want and what they need this this access for and it looks like they didn't learn a whole lot in 2015 the DEP first proposed a visiting vehicle map and withdrew it after hearing heavy criticism druding says the lack of access might make it more difficult for people to enjoy Wharton State Forest maybe someone who's maybe a little older maybe someone who has you know little kids maybe somebody's who's who's disabled maybe somebody who's trying to uh move a 50 lb kayak from their car to you know water access is going to have some trouble in 2021 the DEP raised its fines for illegally driving through the pinots $250 to $500 on the First Defense with higher fines if someone damages natural resources if you want to make your opinion heard the DEP is taking public comment until March 9th in Wharton State Forest I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news