National Park Service A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

THIS STATE'S POPULATION of 4,000,000 is largely concentrated in the northeast corner across from New York City, in a strip along the Pennsylvania boundary from Trenton to Camden, and along the Atlantic coast for about 50 miles south of Sandy Hook. It is predominantly urban in character with a large foreign-born-low-income group. The State's principal asset is its fine stretch of coast line. It also has some excellent mountain scenery in the northwest corner. The State Planning Board's report indicates that there are approximately 2,000,000 acres of submarginal lands well distributed over the State, which should be devoted to forest, wildlife, and recreational purposes. The State's first and most important objective should be the acquisition and preservation of a large section of its unspoiled beach lands along the Atlantic coast. Commericial resort interests have already appropriated close to 90 percent of the 130 miles of shore line and most of this frontage is now restricted to private use. The next most important need pointed out by the New Jersey recreation report is for the acquisition of a large portion of the Hackensack Meadows lying between Jersey City and Newark. Properly developed, this area will serve both of these cities as a large public playground and park, and relieve some of the excess burden now placed on some of the surrounding county parks. The extension and further development of present areas and facilities and the bringing into public ownership of at least 500,000 acres of the 2,000,000 that are classified as submarginal, are other undertakings which should be considered in the development of a recreational area program for this State.

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