Establishes minimum acreage goal and schedule for prescribed burns in pinelands area and Statewide.

A1287

ASSEMBLY, No. 1287

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Fantasia and Assemblyman Simonsen

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes minimum acreage goal and schedule for
prescribed burns in pinelands area and Statewide.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
setting a minimum acreage goal and schedule for
prescribed burns, and supplementing P.L.2018, c.107 (C.13:9-44.11 et seq.).

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� Within one year from
the effective date of this act, the department shall ensure that prescribed
burns occur annually in the pinelands area, as defined pursuant to section 3 of
P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-3), and on additional acreage Statewide.� The minimum
acreage of the prescribed burns shall be:

���� (1)�� for the first year of
prescribed burns, 25,000 acres in the pinelands area and 10,000 additional
acres Statewide;

���� (2)�� for the second year of
prescribed burns, 30,000 acres in the pinelands area and 12,000 additional
acres Statewide;

���� (3)�� for the third year of
prescribed burns, 35,000 acres in the pinelands area and 14,000 additional
acres Statewide;

���� (4)�� for the fourth year of
prescribed burns, 40,000 acres in the pinelands area and 16,000 additional
acres Statewide;

���� (5)�� for the fifth year of
prescribed burns, 45,000 acres in the pinelands area and 18,000 additional
acres Statewide;

���� (6)�� for the sixth and each
subsequent year of prescribed burns, 50,000 acres in the pinelands area and
20,000 additional acres Statewide;

���� b.� The prescribed burns may
be conducted by the department, the federal government, or by landowners or
lessees pursuant to the �Prescribed Burn Act,� P.L.2018, c.107 (C.13:9-44.11 et
seq.).

c.� The department
shall require that all prescribed burns in the State be conducted and completed
between the months of November and March prior to the wildfire season in New
Jersey.

���� d.� The department, in
conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, the Highlands Water Protection
and Planning Council, the Pinelands Commission, the State Planning Commission,
and any other relevant State entity, shall incorporate the requirements of
subsections a. and b. of this section into all applicable environmental and
land management plans, programs, and surveys, and any updates thereto.

���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would direct the
Department of Environmental Protection, within one year of the bill�s
enactment, to ensure that prescribed burns are conducted annually on certain
minimum acreage in the pinelands area, and elsewhere in the State.� The
prescribed burns are to take place on minimum acreage beginning with 25,000
acres in the pinelands area and an additional 10,000 acres Statewide and
increasing over a period of six years to a final total of 50,000 acres in the
pinelands area and 20,000 acres Statewide.

���� A prescribed burn may be
conducted by the State, the federal government, or a landowner or lessee with
approval by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to existing
law.� The bill would also require all relevant State agencies involved in
environmental planning and land use management to incorporate the Statewide
prescribed burn goal into all plans, programs, and surveys, whether they are Statewide
or local initiatives, or undertaken in conjunction with the federal
government.�

���� The bill would require all
prescribed burns throughout the State to occur between the months of November
and March.� According to the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service, prescribed
burns are generally conducted during late winter months to reduce the amount of
smoke produced and because weather conditions tend to be more predictable for
safer controlled fires. �Under this bill, prescribed burns would be required to
be conducted and completed prior to prime wildfire season, which is typically during
the months of April and May in New Jersey.

���� A prescribed burn is the
deliberate ignition and controlled open burning of wildland fire fuels to
attain resource management objectives, such as public safety, wildfire control,
ecological, silvicultural, agricultural, or other natural resource management goals.�