Black Run Preserve Is On The Path To Protection
Evesham Township has officially adopted the zoning change needed to protect roughly 2,440 acres of the Black Run watershed as Pinelands Forested Area, following the Pinelands Commission’s unanimous 9–0 vote. That local action unlocks the process for full preservation.
And now, something even bigger is happening: Evesham Township, Burlington County, the New Jersey Green Acres program, and the Pinelands Commission are assembling tens millions of dollars to purchase and permanently secure this land. That combined investment is what will take Black Run from “protected on paper” to preserved forever.
None of this moved on its own. It moved because young organizers, ecologists, students, and volunteers spent the last two years and a half documenting wetlands, photographing rare habitats, meeting with officials, and mobilizing thousands of residents to speak up. They filled hearings, pushed elected leaders, and made preserving all of Black Run a regional priority.
The Planning Board is now working through the final procedural step — updating the Master Plan to reflect this new protected status. It’s a slower process, but it’s underway, and once completed, the headwaters of Black Run Preserve will be fully preserved.
Photography
Our ecologists and photographers helped show Black Run to the entire nation. Their fieldwork and images captured the wetlands, wildlife, and the headwaters that shaped this campaign. Featuring photography by ecologists Josie Hurst and Adam Nolan.
Press
Led by Gen Z Activists, Community Opposition Mounts to Residential Development Next to South Jersey’s Black Run Reserve
Inside Climate News
Local government and environmental groups move toward preserving land in Black Run Watershed in the Pinelands
SJ Climate News
Potential Development of 778 Acres Adjacent to Black Run Preserve Is Opposed by Parade of Area Residents at Evesham Council Meeting
Pine Barrens Tribune
Climate Revolution Action Network visits Rowan for policy training
The Whit
Learning from the Land
We took University students, local residents, and community members out onto the land with Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Friends of Black Run Preserve, and our ecologists. Dozens of people came out to walk the headwaters that shaped this campaign.
Seeing the Preserve in person helped people understand what we were fighting for. Students learned from the ecology team, asked questions in real time, and connected what they saw in the field to the decisions being made in Evesham Township and at the Pinelands Commission.
WHAT’S NEXT
Finalizing the Master Plan Update
The Planning Board is working through the last procedural step: updating Evesham’s Master Plan to reflect the new Pinelands Forest Area zoning. Once that’s adopted, the legal framework for permanent protection can be fully locked in.
Moving the Multi-Million-Dollar Acquisition Forward
Evesham Township, Burlington County, the Green Acres Program, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, and the Pinelands Commission are assembling the funding package to secure the land.
Keeping the Community Involved
We’ll continue taking students and residents out onto the land, working with partners like the Friends of Black Run Preserve to document the ecosystem, and keeping decision makers focused on the importance of these headwaters.
Supporting Stewardship of the Preserve
As the land moves toward full acquisition, our ecology team and volunteers will stay involved in monitoring wetlands, species habitat, and access points to make sure the Preserve gets the care it deserves.
Carrying the Momentum Into Other Fights
Black Run showed what young people can accomplish. We’re taking that same energy to other threatened open-space and climate-resilience campaigns across New Jersey.