Threats and challenges to our inland pine barrens

The effects that global climate change will have on the inland pine barrens ecosystem are not well understood at this time. Increased average temperature and precipitation are predicted to affect the inland pine barrens and the species that live here, but we do not yet know in what way(s). The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission is working with partners including The Nature Conservancy and the federal Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Team to  understand the potential ramifications of altered winter and summer conditions on the Karner blue butterfly. If you're interested in helping to build our understanding of this complex issue, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission is seeking volunteers who live in close proximity to the preserve to assist with our Community Science Snowpack Monitoring project. For more information on this volunteer opportunity, click here.

Pine barrens are fire-dependent ecosystems.

Without fire, the open canopy of the pitch pine-scrub oak barrens transforms into a closed canopy forest, starting an ecological ripple effect with wide reaching consequences. As the barrens fills in, rare species like the Karner blue butterfly and frosted elfin lose critical habitat, contributing to their risk of extinction.

We use prescribed fire to maintain and restore the pine barrens and its many rare wildlife species.

To learn more about our use of prescribed fire, click here.

The Albany Pine Bush once covered over 25,000 acres. Today, less than 6,000 acres of wild habitat remains.

Habitat loss is the number one most pressing threat to the future of the inland pine barrens ecosystem. Commercial and residential development, gaining momentum in the 1970s and persisting through today, has chipped away at the inland pine barrens. Roads, buildings and parking lots separate what remains of this landscape into disconnected fragments. Less habitat and more barriers to dispersal create difficult living conditions for pine barrens species and threatens their future.

Learn what we are doing to help protect habitat in the Albany Pine Bush.

Learn how you can help add more land to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

As their name suggests, invasive species are living things that have the potential to "invade" an area and aggressively replace native species.

These plants, animals and other organisms are either accidentally or intentionally introduced from one region of the planet to another with devastating results. Fire suppression and fragmentation of the inland pine barrens accelerates the spread of invasives by creating new avenues for invasives to enter the ecosystem.

Purple loosestrife, Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard are some of the more commonly known invasive species in our area. In the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, black locust and other invasives have transformed hundreds of acres of pine barrens into significantly less diverse habitats of little value to pine barrens wildlife.

For information on how the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission is controlling invasive species in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, click here.