From The Press of Atlantic City — Seven dozen acres in the Pinelands that serve as important natural habitat now are permanently preserved.

A 64-acre property in the Elwood Corridor section of Mullica Township and a 20-acre property in the Clarks Landing section of Galloway Township are the latest acquisitions in a series of land purchases planned over the course of the year.

The areas are home to important Pinelands species of animals and plants, such as tree frogs and Atlantic white cedars. Permanent preservation prevents the areas of forest and wetlands from being developed, and it’s something conservation and preservation groups would like to see more of in certain areas of Atlantic County.

“The Pinelands Plan doesn’t provide as much protection south of the Mullica as you have north of the Mullica,” said Chris Jage, assistant director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

The foundation and the Pinelands Commission used money from the Pinelands Conservation Fund to preserve the areas.

The state’s Department of Environmental Protection provided additional funding for the Mullica Township property, which connects two separate pieces of the Hammonton Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is already permanently preserved. The 64-acre piece of land cost $240,000, which was below its fair market value of $318,000.

The Galloway Township property falls within the Mullica estuary, which is why the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve of Rutgers University became interested in funding the land acquisition. The property cost $37,700 to acquire.

“It’s one of the most preserved estuaries on the East Coast, much less New Jersey,” Jage said.

As of Thursday, more than 900 acres of the Pinelands have been preserved between Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties through the fund, with more than 2,500 more acres in the process of being acquired by the fund. More than 200,000 acres throughout the Pinelands are permanently preserved.

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