YMCA of the Pines plants 400 trees and off-roaders trash them

Wow. Teenagers from the YMCA of the Pines planted 400 trees to try to revitalize an area decimated by off road vehicles only to have the same off roaders run over all of them. In a story in the Burlington County Times, the teens planted the trees in the Bucks Cove Run Preserve area of the Pine Barrens in an attempt to restore trees to an area ravaged by off road vehicles.

They were trying to restore "a viable habitat for endangered species such as barred owls, Pine Barrens tree frogs and northern pine snakes.” The teens, who are members of the YMCA of the Pines Groundbreakers Service Group, planted the 400 saplings in a clearing on a Thursday and by Monday they had all been destroyed, apparently by an ATV doing donuts. There were beer cans and other trash scattered around the clearing; the entire area is supposedly off limits to recreational vehicles, but there are no physical barriers as exist in other places. The YMCA has been partnering with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance in cleaning up the 202 acre Bucks Cove Run Preserve, and Carol Yard of the YMCA of the Pines told the Burlington County Times that even with the setback, they will continue to do so.