The Pine Barrens Podcast
The Pine Barrens Podcast
Saving Black Run: Grassroots Power In New Jersey
What happens upstream doesn’t stay upstream. We sit down with ecology director Kayleigh Henry to unpack a year-and-a-half fight to protect the Black Run headwaters beside one of the Pine Barrens’ most loved preserves—and how a youth-powered movement helped to make it happen.
Together we trace the arc from first community hikes to packed council meetings, a 50,000-strong petition, and a pivotal Pinelands Commission decision to designate 2,400 acres as forest area. We explain how township master plans shape what can be built, why this technical step matters, and how aligning zoning with science gives communities real leverage.
We also explore a parallel front at Watchung Ridge in North Jersey, where public comment has been curtailed and organizers face a more closed process.to convert momentum into a permanent land acquisition.
If you care about conservation, clean water, headwater forests, or how local advocacy actually changes policy, you will get something from this discussion
Welcome to the Pine Barrens Podcast. My name is Jason Howell. I am Public Lands Advocate with Pinelands Alliance. And today we're going to be talking to Kaylee Henry, who is the ecology director for Climate Revolution Action Network. And we've been partnering on a few projects with them in the Pine Barrens.
SPEAKER_02:All right, Kaylee. Welcome to the Pine Barrens podcast.
SPEAKER_01:Yay. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02:So I was just thinking you could uh just go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. Um, so my name is Kayleigh Henry. I'm the ecology director for Climate Revolution Action At work. Um, I'm 20 years old. I joined Climate Revolution when I was 18. Um, I was just trying to figure out like what I want to do with my career and how to get into advocacy work and work with my local like communities and government officials. So I reached out to Ben Jobeck, our executive director, and was like, Hey, are you guys like doing any fellowships or anything like that? And instead, he was like, Hey, we love you. Can you work in the Pine Barrens and be our Pine Barons lead? And so immediately I just went up from there. And then the position for ecology director opened up, and everybody in the team was like, Kaylee, you need to do it. So now the ecology director and I lead all the ecology efforts, ecology like conservation stuff um within the pine barrens and New Jersey. So that's pretty exciting.
SPEAKER_02:So, what got you interested before that? You know, like why are you interested at all in in this area of protecting nature?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So um I grew up like in the pine barrens and I'm always outside. So I always felt a connection to nature. But in middle school, I had this wonderful class called Environmental STEM, and we did a lot of like farm work and researched a lot about preservation and conservation. And it just like opened my mind and my eyes, and I was like, this is something that I want to do. Like I am feeling so passionate about it. I know like this is something I can do, and I can work for like a better future for like our environment and like anything that's in the pine barrens. So that really got my attention. And I was like, yeah, that's something I'm gonna do for like the rest of my life.
SPEAKER_02:Cool, cool. Um, what are some topics that you've been interested in and trying to address to uh address um recent recently?
SPEAKER_00:So um the main topic has been preserving Black Run um and just the preservation of open land areas and making sure developers don't overdevelop or try to get rid of ecosystems that are beneficial for our communities and our environment as a whole. Then we talked about like Winslow water and how they're trying to touch into our aquifer and basically like take more water from us from wells, and that would impact um the citizens of Winslow, of Camden County, and of the surrounding areas, just because you're taking the water from that aquifer. So those were the main issues that we have or I have really been focusing on. Um, and then now as the college director, I'm like focusing on Wachung and what they're doing up in North Jersey, trying to preserve like those types of acreage and not try to develop basically a mountainous area, which isn't very beneficial to anybody except for the developers. Um, and then we're just trying to like basically spread the word of ecology, get people to be more passionate about plants, animals, anything that's going on in our environment. So just making like social media videos or just educational videos so that people understand why it's so important to care about the ecology.
SPEAKER_02:Let's let's dig into the the Black Run for a minute. And just for people that are unaware, so this is the Black Run headwaters, the watershed of the Black Run stream, which flows into the Rancocus, which then flows out into the Delaware. That's an Evesham Township where there's been a big discussion on what happens to approximately 800 acres, 835 acres of forest directly adjacent to the Black Run Preserve, which is one of the most popular hiking and you know nature recreation areas in the in the pines. What has been the driving impetus behind that? And like what have you been trying to do?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So this has been like a project I've been working on for a year and a half, um, ever since I learned about it. So immediately me and my like fellow people of climate revolution were like, we immediately need to hop on this and talk about like what's going on and what the next steps are. So um we first like had people from colleges go to Black Run and educate them about it and talk about how, hey, like the surrounding acres um next to this preserve that is basically a sanctuary for wildlife endangered species is planning to be developed, which means basically being bulldozed and building single family homes, which isn't very realistic in this economy nor in the environments and building on top of a wetland.
SPEAKER_02:And just to be clear, these are you know, they wouldn't be building like homes that you or I, for example, could afford. These are these would be multi-million dollar McMahon bars.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, or like 700,000 homes that are like for like big families, which nobody's really needing that. I wouldn't be able to afford that. Nobody really would. So it's not like this would be beneficial for a community either way. So immediately we're just like, let's educate the public about it. And then we need to start going to council meetings. We need to start going to the Pinelands Commission meetings and talking to them because those are the people that will have our backs. For like a solid year, we were just um making a petition that people could sign so that everybody knows, like, people are part of like the community and surrounding areas do care about this issue and don't want this 800 acres to be developed and turned into single-family homes that just wouldn't be realistic. Um, people started to care about more about the endangered species of the area. Um, more people decided to go to Black Run and walk around and hike. Then we just had more support on our backs, and then we had the PPA, obviously. Um, we were with you guys and just chit-chatting back and forth, going to council meetings, trying to talk to the mayor of Evesham Township. So it was like a long process. But as soon as the Pilots Commission finally rezoned the area to the forest area, that's when it was like, hey, we got something going on finally, like something really pulled through. So now we have 2,400 acres that are now forest, um a forest area instead of open space, which includes that 835 acreage next to the Black Run Preserve. So that's awesome. So now next, we just have to go to the Ishim Township planning meetings, the zoning meetings, and see what they're gonna do after the Pyland's CMP just got basically like revised. So that was a long process, but we're finally like in the ends pulling through.
SPEAKER_02:Home stretch, you think?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, home stretch for real.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. So at those first council meetings, the uh the township council wasn't exactly like, oh yes, please, let's save the forest. No, they weren't yeah. What was the what was your first interpretation? Yeah, so change and what was the change as the campaign progressed?
SPEAKER_00:Right. So our first meeting, we did have like a bunch of people show up, which was absolutely incredible. Um, so as soon as the meeting started, they like presented like the slideshow based on like what they wanted to develop, what DeVel LLC wanted to develop, and everybody was just like uh like making noises and stuff. And that's immediately when I started to see the council like really not start to like us, um, which is okay. It's not like we were being disrespectful in any way, it's just that's how people were feeling, and they're allowed to speak. So then it became public comment time. And immediately, like when I got up and my like fellow workers from Crane got up, everybody formed a line behind us. So it was like 20 people just standing talking to the council saying, Hey, this is important. Don't be on the wrong side of history because this could be a part of history because we don't have that many acres left in New Jersey to preserve or left to just hike in. So why are we going to overdevelop even more in places that we don't need to develop at all?
SPEAKER_02:I've never heard anybody say, Oh, we don't have enough uh strip malls and McMansions in New Jersey.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, oh we we need another Applebee's, oh, we need another Target. Like, I don't hear that anymore. I fear we have enough. So that's why everybody like joined us and was like, yeah, we don't need this. Like, we genuinely just want Black Run preserve to stay Black Run Preserve and to protect the flora and fauna of the pine barrens, like and protect our water, because that would directly impact people's water as well. So that's like was a big issue too, because they're like, we live off of wells. That's my water, I like my water. Um, so after most of us spoke and got to like speak to the mayor and things like that, they did not like that we were clapping after everybody spoke and they said to the stop. But obviously, Jason was like, hey, we're allowed to do that. It's there's nothing wrong with that. And we all just kept clapping. So that was wonderful. Um, but then afterwards they were not having it with us, it seemed. And there was like a Pine Barons um like news article that came out saying that we were bullying Mayor VZ and some of the council members by the way that we were speaking to them, which in my opinion was not true.
SPEAKER_02:Um, we were just stating it back it's funny when people not in power are accused of bullying the people in power. Yeah, it's called democracy last time I checked, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think we're exercising our rights.
SPEAKER_01:I first amendment freedom of speech.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you think so that was a little bit off-putting, I would say. Like, oh, so we're we're bullies now. That's nice. Um, when we're just trying to fight for a genuine issue and a cause that needs to be fought for.
SPEAKER_02:Um but since then, what's what's been the what's been the change?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So since then, I met with Andrea Katz.
SPEAKER_02:Um, so she's she's the eighth district uh assembly person.
SPEAKER_00:So she she just with um a few other people in that district, because I'm from that drift district, and we had a great conversation. She was like, Oh, what what I heard is that Eusham Township loves you guys. And so we were like, Oh, that's a surprise to us. That's not what we were hearing, but okay. So then we went to the next council meeting, and you know, it was fine. There wasn't any like beef, I would say, or like any animosity. So it was nice to see that they were finally like, okay, maybe we should take a step back and actually listen to what they have to say because it is important. Um and I think that's what really pushed them to take the Pilons Commission, um, revise CMP and really like go with it because now we have people still going to meetings, still going to the zoning and planning meetings. So it really like light bulb, like, yeah, we should actually care and listen to the people of our communities. So I feel like we really push democracy in that way. And that was really good for us. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So they so they passed a resolution recommending that their planning board incorporate the the forest uh area rule change from the Pine Lands Commission into their township master plan, which is how if you don't know what that is, that's that's basically if you apply to develop something and it doesn't conform with that master plan, the zoning board can can turn it down. Um really critical aspect of preserving open space, and we accomplish that. But it's not it's not done quite yet, though, right? So we still have to do it, they haven't done it yet. The council has just recommended that they do it. Exactly. And then there's also some news on funding that there's there seems to be potentially you know, I'm gonna hedge a little bit, potentially enough funding to actually purchase the land if the corporate owner, the Vell, DeVell, Develop, Devell LLC, agrees to sell to the public for public open space.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Yeah. They have Burlington County, Evesham Township. They even wanted to pitch in. Um, I know Pilots Commission, Green Acres. We have like a bunch of people who are like pitching millions of dollars down so that we're able to actually purchase that land. We'll see where that goes. There's no like direct say of if it's yes or no right now, but that's really exciting because then that would just be like a load off of everybody, I feel like. Like we finally did it, it's it's okay now.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it'll be it will be hopefully a huge victory because oh, absolutely. Like you said, there aren't many big chunks of forest like that left.
SPEAKER_00:Not at all anymore.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they're either preserved or developed in most cases. There's a lot of farms, of course, but um I'm more optimistic with a lot of those at least. But yeah, there's not many big chunks of just forest left.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly.
SPEAKER_02:So let me let me pivot to the Watchon Ridge forest. So that's in North Jersey. So, so um I've I've never personally been there, but of course I know about it. I know about the the issue. How has that been going? Because I know there's been some contentious township meetings and a different, maybe a different circumstance up there. So, what's going on?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. So that is completely different than what I experienced at Evesham, just because at least Evesham County, they were actually hopping on it and listening to the public. But while we're going to like um like West Orange meetings and trying to meet with like the commissioners and the people who are in charge of maybe developing at Watch on the Bridge, they just aren't happening. Like they don't want to listen to us, they don't want to talk, they hear us at meetings and then they um stopped public comment. They like completely stripped it away. And we were like, but you posted about this, like you're the ones who made public comment this night and then took it away from people because they see that people will care and want to talk about it. So they're just like, we don't have the time for it. So it shows like a sense of like not caring about the community, not really caring about how it's going to impact everybody. It's all about like chitching numbers, everything like that. So it's been hard to really get our voices out there. But at one of the meetings, um, a guy from North Jersey dressed up as the Lorax to talk about Watch on Ridge and to talk about like the local communities and the ecosystem there. And I think since that went viral on social media, um, I think it kind of sparked something in their brains too. Like, yeah, people do care about this. Maybe we should stop not listening to them and stop canceling on them. Now it's just like a waiting game, seeing like what we can do next. I know my co-worker at Climate Revolution, Amani Nia, she's our environmental um justice coordinator. She's really hopped on this because that's like where she lives. I guess we'll see. But it's been completely different than Evecham for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. A little bit more of um, they might feel a little bit more powerful there. I'm I'm just guessing. Yeah. Because it's a harder in Evesham. Basically, this is my interpretation. When when you have a less consolidated political machine, when there's a little bit more threat of that of that political structure being destabilized, so to speak, they don't feel as uh uh emboldened to totally ignore the public. I think Evesham, they recognize that well, one, I actually do think they actually generally do care. Um, so I'm I'm hoping that that comes through. But also when you present a political, potentially a political threat to them, they're gonna listen. It's just it's just the way it is in politics. So I I wish you luck in uh in West Arge. I wish I could help up there. I just my network doesn't quite go that far, but um could you talk about the power of social media in some of you know your work in developing um your social media reach?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So I think it's really been the way that we've gotten people to really understand what's going on anywhere, like that any issue that's going on. When I first joined Climate Revolution, I immediately made a video about the Pine Barrens and why it's so special and important. And then immediately after that, we heard about Black Run preserve and everything that's going on with that. We immediately were like, let's hop on social media, let's get the word out on this, let's tell people what's going on and why it's important, what what the issue is, because people love to see an issue and love to watch it go from bad to good. We made a video at Black Run just like stating what's going on, and it blew up. Um, we got like 12,000 views in a week on Instagram, and then we had people sign a petition and we had over 50,000 people sign the petition to not overdevelop Black Run and the surrounding areas or develop them in general, and that was really insane. Um, that's something that we really didn't like see happening, but because of our social media presence and the amount of times that we were posting like every week about Black Run Preserve was the reason that so many people started to care, even people who weren't even from New Jersey. We got posted on Future Earth, which is a huge organization on Instagram with like over a million followers, saying that there are Gen Z and young people trying to preserve a natural area that boosted us as well. That had more people coming out to meetings, which is why our first meeting went so insane and there were so many people there. Um, also thanks to the Pilots Preservation Alliance, they were a great help in that as well. And even partnering with them was probably the thing that made us really go up too. But yeah, just having that social media presence and trying to reach out to like Gen Z and younger people, I think that's what really like made us pivot into the right space instead of just continually just going in the same motions, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02:Definitely. Yeah, you gotta expand, expand your uh your read. Here's a big question. What what do you see as the future of the environmental movement in in New Jersey? Where where do you want to take it? Is I guess that's the it's a big question.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, yeah. That's a loaded one, but I think right now what's important to me is just making sure people understand why New Jersey is so different than other states or different in the aspect of the environment. Um, we hold like the pine barrens, we have the highlands, we have like all these different areas that are different because of the split space that we live in. And we're also extremely like we develop so much New Jersey. We have so many people living here. So we have a crazy ecosystem, whether you go uphill or downhill, uplands, lowlands, trying to protect what we already have structured in our environment ecosystem is super important to me, which is why if there's like an issue where somebody's trying to overdevelop, that's when it's something that lights spark in me. Um, I think for the future, obviously my whole thing and climate revolution's whole thing is Gen Z is the future. We really do have power. And I feel like um even working with so many people who are my age has really shown me like, yeah, like this generation does have power to do things and to create change. So I think um what I want to continue to do is making change, um, conserving what we already have in New Jersey, and maybe even in surrounding areas like in Camden and Philly, um, things like that, because they're being directly affected by New Jersey as well, because we're all interconnected, no matter like how you really view it. Everybody is interconnected, and that's what makes it so special in New Jersey.
SPEAKER_02:I would I'll give you I'll give you a crazy stat. I I I learned 12% of the drinking water that Philadelphia uses, so 12% of the water actually comes out of the Rancocos.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, isn't that insane?
SPEAKER_02:Feeds the Rhincocos, which then feeds the Delaware, and then downstream of the Rancocus um, you know, interface with the Delaware is the water intake for Philly. So that that water coming out of the forest is then going right into Philadelphia.
SPEAKER_00:Like, that's so crazy. Like, that's why we care so much, because it impacts other communities. It's not just us. We do care about the surrounding communities and surrounding areas because, like, why is it going to impact us badly and also impact somebody else badly? Like, that's a huge issue now as well. So I think that's why people are starting to really like care and just like really lock in on what's going on with everything, um, including Black Run, water rights, and watch on ridge. You know, you can't get it back. You can't get it back.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it when it's gone, it's it's gone. Yeah. Do you have anything that you wanted to talk about that we didn't we didn't touch on yet?
SPEAKER_00:I feel like we really covered most of what I've been like passionate about this past year.
SPEAKER_02:So I'm not really sure. Things are uh looking pretty bright, I would say, right? I would I would agree. People seem really motivated to keep going. So it seems like if we just stay focused, stay on the ball, we can we can really do a lot of good and keep keep a lot of the nice, nice things we have. And absolutely. So I'm really thankful for your work and your organization because you're bringing a renewed energy, which you know, we need we need the energy to keep things going. So uh I just want to thank you for that. And thanks for joining the podcast. And I think uh, you know, you have obviously have a very bright future in conservation and uh and the environment. So yeah, thanks a bunch for everything you're doing.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks so much. Yeah, thank you. Couldn't have done it without you.