The term "pine barrens" has different meanings across the United States, and generically includes the pitch pine barrens of the northeast U.S., the pitch pine and dwarf pine barrens of New York, New Jersey and New England, the jack pine barrens of Wisconsin, the "Kentucky barrens", and many other areas of the eastern U.S.  This page is meant as a starting point for exploring current and past scientific research in, about, or relating to, these "pine barrens", starting from our experience here in the Central Pine Barrens of New York State.

Investigations have looked at community ecology, individual species, surface and groundwater systems, land use history and planning, fire, and other topics.  Some research focuses upon questions with immediate management implications, while other efforts look in a "purer" sense at the physical, chemical or biological parts of the barrens.  Still other investigators examine the historical, cultural, political or social features of the barrens and their residents, attempting to understand the interaction of the natural resources and their residents through the years.

As we work with the Long Island pine barrens, we start there, and note the work of our affiliates and colleagues around the country of which we are aware.  Consequently, we need your ideas and assistance.  Please consider this page as always "under construction", as well it should be, and kindly forward your contributions to us at info@pb.state.ny.us.

Pine Barrens Research Forum Annual Conference

Each October since 1996, the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Central Pine Barrens Commission, and the Long Island Groundwater Research Institute of the State University of New York at Stony Brook sponsor this one and one half day technical forum. Starting with the 2005 Forum, the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast became an additional sponsor. This one or two day event features research talks, student and general poster displays, and a field component.

The materials available online here are complimented by audio and/or video recordings of each year's Forum; these recordings are available for listening and/or watching at the Pine Barrens Reference Library at the Commission Office. Photo:  Pocket sized field magnifier distributed at 2002 Forum.  Contact Commission Office to request one while supplies last.  Click to enlarge.

The chart below provides year by year information about the Forums.  A summary chart listing the titles and topical disciplines of all Pine Barrens Research Forum presentations from 1996 through 2009 is available here (pdf; 7 pages; formatted for 11"x17").

For further information, including requests to be placed on the Forum mailing list, please contact the Pine Barrens Commission Office at 631-224-2604, or email info@pb.state.ny.us.
 

Pine Barrens Research Forum Materials by Year

Year	Conference Materials
1996 (1st)	Friday, October 4, 1996 1996 was a one day conference without field sessions 1996-1997 Proceedings (71 pages; click image for cover only) Printed copies of the Forum Proceedings for 1996 and 1997 are available at no charge from the Commission Office. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (22 pages)
1997 (2nd)	Thursday and Friday, October 30 and 31, 1997 Field sessions started this year with the Friday morning session "Brookhaven Laboratory Woodlands and Rocky Point Natural Resources Management Area". 1996-1997 Proceedings (71 pages; click image for cover only) Printed copies of the Forum Proceedings for 1996 and 1997 are available at no charge from the Commission Office. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (26 pages)
1998 (3rd)	Thursday and Friday, October 8 and 9, 1998 Concurrent field sessions on Friday morning included "Brookhaven Lab: An Environmental Tour Through the Decades" and "Brookhaven Lab: Environmental Restoration Activities Tour". 1998-1999 Proceedings (75 pages; click image for cover only) Printed copies of the Forum Proceedings for 1998 and 1999 are available at no charge from the Commission Office. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (40 pages)
1999 (4th)	Thursday, October 14, 1999 Friday morning field session was "Ecological Research Programs at Wertheim Wildlife Refuge". 1998-1999 Proceedings (75 pages; click image for cover only) Printed copies of the Forum Proceedings for 1998 and 1999 are available at no charge from the Commission Office. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (36 pages)
2000 (5th)	Thursday and Friday, October 12 and 13, 2000 Concurrent field sessions on Friday morning included "Calverton Ponds" and "Peconic River on Brookhaven National Laboratory". Proceedings: No separate document. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (33 pages) Photo: Peconic River field trip
2001 (6th)	Thursday, October 4, 2001 Morning conference was followed by the concurrent field sessions "The Influence of Land Use History on Pine Barrens Vegetation at Sears Bellows County Park" and "Environmental Tour Through the Decades at Brookhaven National Laboratory". Proceedings: No separate document. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (27 pages) Photos: Sears Bellows Park field trip; BNL Field trip
2002 (7th)	Thursday and Friday, October 3 and 4, 2002 Concurrent field sessions on Friday morning included "Peconic River Pilot Studies at Brookaven National Laboratory" and "Fire Island National Seashore and Otis Pike Wilderness Area Research Overview". Proceedings (17 pages; click image for cover only)
2003 (8th)	Friday, October 3, 2003 Conference only; no field trip. Proceedings: No separate document. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (6 pages)
2004 (9th)	Friday, October 4, 2004 "Monitoring: What and Why?"  (2004 was the first year of designating an annual theme for the Forum.) Conference only; no field trip. A Memorandum of Agreement for a "Parks Twinning" was signed by the Pine Barrens Commission and the Migliarino - San Rossore - Massaciuccoli (MSRM) Regional Park of Pisa, Italy at the 2004 Forum (contained within materials below). Proceedings: No separate document. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials - English (19 pages) Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials - Italian (21 pages)
2005 (10th)	Thursday, October 6, 2005 "Pining for the Forest of Old" The Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast (FERN) became a cosponsor of the Forum starting this year. Conference day included a concurrent field session "Peconic River Cleanup Site at Brookhaven Lab" and an indoor "Work Session to Develop Monitoring Protocols for Freshwater Wetlands in the Pine Barrens". Proceedings: No separate document. Agenda, abstracts and miscellaneous materials (14 pages)
2006 (11th)	Thursday and Friday, October 5 and 6, 2006 "The Natural Wonders of the Central Pine Barrens" Friday morning field session was "Peconic River and Sarnoff Fuel Management Demonstration Site". Proceedings (23 pages; click image for cover only) Agenda and field trip materials (8 pages) For links to video of 2006 Forum, see the 2006 Forum page on the FERN web site.
2007 (12th)	Thursday and Friday, October 11 and 12, 2007 "Water Resources from the Ground Up" All day Friday field session was "The Carmans River from the Top Down". Proceedings (33 pages; click image for cover only) Agenda, flyer and field trip materials (36 pages) For video, see the 2007 Forum page on the FERN web site.
2008 (13th)	Thursday and Friday, October 2 and 3, 2008 "Current Challenges and Future Solutions" Friday morning field session was "Brookhaven National Laboratory Groundwater Treatment Systems". Proceedings (52 pages; click image for cover only) Agenda and field trip materials (40 pages)
2009 (14th)	Thursday and Friday, October 1 and 2, 2009 "Laying A Foundation For Policy Through Research" Friday sessions included an international morning web conference "Biodiversity: Central Pine Barrens Long Island, NY to Migliarino - San Rossore - Massaciuccoli (MSRM) Park Pisa, Italy - A Twinning Experience" followed by a field session "Coastal Plain Ponds of the Peconic River Headwaters". Proceedings - to be produced. Agenda, abstracts and field trip materials (46 pages) For video, see the Brookhaven National Laboratory web links for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
2010 (15th)	Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1, 2010:  "15th Annual Pine Barrens Research Forum  (Theme to be announced)" at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY sponsored by the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Long Island Groundwater Research Institute of Stony Brook University, the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast, and the Pine Barrens Commission.  Thursday will feature research and technical presentations, and Friday will include additional seminars and/or field sessions.  For additional information or to be placed on the mailing list, please e-mail info@pb.state.ny.us or call the Commission Office at 631-224-2604.

"Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York" Annual Conference

The Long Island Geologists, a professional nonprofit organization based at the Department of Geosciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook, sponsors a "Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York" annual conference each April at the University.  The conference, first held in 1994, features a full Saturday program of technical talks, poster presentations, and student research results.  Prof. Gilbert Hanson of the University's Department of Geosciences is the founder and coordinator for the annual Conference. You can see the upcoming dates for this annual conference at the main page of the LI Geologists web site (above), and view the annual conference programs since 1994 at this link. For further information, please contact Prof. Hanson's office at 631-632-8210 or gilbert.hanson@sunysb.edu.

 

U.S. DOE Upton Ecological and Research Reserve

In November 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) designated the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve, a 530 acre portion of the larger Brookhaven National Laboratory site (Upton, NY) owned by the US DOE. The US DOE also provided startup funding in the amount of $200,000 per year for the first five years of the Reserve's existence.  That funding is being used for both land management activities on the site, and for research projects that utilize the Reserve.

In the first years of the Reserve's existence, it was managed, through a cooperative agreement, by the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Shirley, NY). Currently, the Reserve is managed directly by the Laboratory's Environmental Services Division. The Reserve's work, status and funding is also discussed in a September 2003 news article available at this link.  In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 Office recognized the principals involved in establishing and first managing the Reserve with the EPA's Environmental Quality award; you can see the BNL press release on this award here.

For additional information, please see the Upton Reserve web page (see link above), or contact Dr. Tim Green, BNL's Natural and Cultural Resources Manager, at at 631-344-3091.

 

U.S. DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its national Office of Science Education) has a nationwide Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program at several national laboratories across the country, including Brookhaven National Laboratory.  The US DOE program places students in paid internships in science and engineering at any of several DOE facilities. Students work on projects related to the Laboratories' research programs.

At BNL, the SULI Program is coordinated through the BNL Science Education Center. Past participants in this program have also been Battelle Pine Barrens Research Award recipients. For further information on the BNL SULI Program, please see the BNL Science Education Office SULI web site, or contact the Science Education Office of BNL at 631-344-4503.

 

Brookhaven National Laboratory Community Summer Science Program

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), through its Science Education Center, sponsors a Community Summer Science Program (CSSP) for high school students who have completed their junior or senior year. This program has directly involved some of the CSSP students in ecological research at the 5,000+ acre Laboratory in Upton, NY.  Some of the secondary and undergraduate students in this program are also affiliated with the Suffolk Community College Center for Community Research program (see below).  Results of their field research have been presented at both the Pine Barrens Research Forum or the Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York conferences. For further information on the CSSP, please see the CSSP web site (see the link above), or contact the Science Education Office of BNL, directed by Mr. Mel Morris, at 631-344-5963 or mmorris@bnl.gov.

 

Brookhaven National Laboratory Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Program

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is working with the National Science Foundation to place teachers in training with scientists as their mentors, with the goal of providing the future teachers with an exposure to scientific research. The BNL PST Program is run by the BNL Science Education Center. Past participants in this program have also been Battelle Pine Barrens Research Award recipients. For further information on the BNL PST Program, please see the BNL Science Education Office PST web site, or contact the Science Education Office of BNL, directed by Mr. Mel Morris, at 631-344-5963 or mmorris@bnl.gov.

 

National Park Service - Fire Island National Seashore Biennial Science Conference

Every two years since 1997, the Fire Island National Seashore has sponsored the Fire Island National Seashore Science Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory.  Although not within the Central Pine Barrens geographic area, the Seashore is immediately adjacent to the Pine Barrens' southerly boundary along Bellport Bay and the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, and shares many of the same scientific questions, resource issues and management challenges.  This biennial conference provides an opportunity for both scientists and the general public to learn about recent and ongoing inventories, monitoring, and research at Fire Island and the William Floyd Estate. See the Science Conference web page. For further information on the Fire Island Science Conference, call the Seashore Office in Patchogue at 631-289-4810.

State University of NY at Stony Brook:  Department of Ecology and Evolution

The Department of Ecology and Evolution at SUNY at Stony Brook has a number of ongoing research projects involving the Central Pine Barrens.  Particularly active in this work is Dr. Jessica Gurevitch. She and her colleagues have examined post-fire plant dynamics, population dynamics in general, and invasive species in the pine barrens. Dr. Gurevitch and her students have contributed both technical presentations and poster displays of their field based research to several Pine Barrens Research Forums. For further information, please see Dr. Gurevitch's web page or contact the Department Office at 631-632-8600.

 

State University of NY at Stony Brook:  Department of Geosciences

The Department of Geosciences at SUNY at Stony Brook also has conducted numerous research projects involving the Central Pine Barrens.  There are several faculty members particularly active in this research, including Dr. Gilbert Hanson (see his web site; also see above description for the Long Island Geologists and the annual Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York Conference), and Dr. Martin Schoonen (who has examined the geochemistry of the Peconic River watershed, among other research efforts; see his web site). The Department site also offers a downloadable Bibliography of the Geology and Hydrology of Long Island. For further information on the Geosciences Department's work, please see the departmental web page above or contact the office at 631-632-8200.

 

State University of NY at Stony Brook:  Long Island Groundwater Research Institute

The Long Island Groundwater Research Institute (LIGRI) at SUNY at Stony Brook, directed by Dr. Henry Bokuniewicz, is part of the Marine Sciences Research Center.  As described in the LIGRI web site, it was established in 1994 "to marshal the resources and expertise of the University for the study of groundwater hydrology and chemistry". LIGRI faculty have conducted research on groundwater modeling, geochemical studies, groundwater impacts on coastal environments, and bioremediation and biodegradation of pollutants. LIGRI is also one of the sponsors of the annual Pine Barrens Research Forum. For further information, please see LIGRI web site above or contact the Institute at 631-632-8674.

 

Peconic Estuary Program

"In 1993, the Peconic Estuary became the 20th estuary in the nation to receive the designation as an “Estuary of National Significance” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), the Peconics were charged with developing and implementing a watershed based comprehensive management plan. ... The PEP is an innovative partnership of local, state, and federal governments, citizen and environmental groups, businesses and industries, and academic institutions. After years of hard work, the PEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was formally approved on November 15, 2001 by EPA Administrator Christine Whitman, with the concurrence of New York State Governor George Pataki.  There are an ambitious 340 management tasks included in the CCMP; priority topics include Brown Tide, nutrients, habitat and living resources, pathogens, toxic pollutants, and critical lands protection." (from the PEP web site).

As part of it's work, the PEP conducts studies and research, publishes reports, and sponsors conferences. See the full list of reports (including conference proceedings) at www.peconicestuary.org/Reports.html. For further info, please see the PEP web site (link above) or call the office care of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services' Office of Ecology at 631-852-5750.

Suffolk Community College Center for Community Research Program

Suffolk County Community College's main campus (the Ammerman Campus in Selden, NY) sponsors the Center for Community Research (CCR), an outreach program established in 1991 which has involved Suffolk Community College students in pine barrens research. Some of the secondary and undergraduate students in this program also work with the Brookhaven National Laboratory Community Summer Science Program (see above).  Results of their field research have been presented at either the Pine Barrens Research Forum or the Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York conferences. For further information, please contact the CCR Office at 631-451-4842.

 

Battelle Memorial Institute Pine Barrens Forum & Research Grants

Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, OH) is one of the institutional partners that comprise Brookhaven Science Associates, the contractor to the US DOE which operates Brookhaven National Laboratory.  In 2000 and 2001, Battelle generously provided grants to the Pine Barrens Commission for support of the annual Pine Barrens Research Forum and related research activities.  A portion of these grants was used to fund the Battelle Memorial Pine Barrens Research Awards to promising and proven student researchers, whose results are presented at the poster sessions of the Forum. The past recipients of Battelle Awards are:
 

Dowling College's Annual Symposium on the South Shore Estuary

Under the supervision of Prof. Lori Zaikowski through the "Chemistry in Action" program, Dowling College (Oakdale, NY) sponsors an Annual Symposium on the South Shore Estuary (first held in 1998).  The Annual Symposium (normally held in May), is described in the pertinent Dowling College web page as "an open forum for 'Chemistry in Action' students to present the results of their studies to the community and to hear presentations by other Estuary researchers."

There is both geographic and scientific overlap between the two New York State designated areas of the Central Pine Barrens and the South Shore Estuary Reserve, and the subject matter of many of the the Symposium students' work is applicable to an understanding of the natural resources of both regions. See the Dowling College 2004 Symposium web page (including applications for high school students).  You can also download abstracts from past symposia.  For further details contact Prof. Zaikowski's office at 631-244-3180 or ZaikowsL@dowling.edu.

 

Dowling College Long Island Pine Barrens Research Camp

During the summer of 2002, Dowling College (Oakdale, NY), through the Dowling Institute, sponsored its first Long Island Pine Barrens Research Camp during July and August for high school students under the supervision of Prof. Richard Wilkens, in the Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, and his colleagues. Results of the summer camp will be presented at upcoming Forums. Dr. Wilkens has been a regular contributor of technical talks to the annual Pine Barrens Research Forum, as well as a mentor for students. For further information on the Research Camp, please contact Prof. Wilkens' office at 631-244-3491 or WilkensR@dowling.edu .

 

New York Sea Grant

NY Sea Grant is "one of 30 Sea Grant programs nationwide. Created by Congress in 1966, Sea Grant combines university, government, business and industry expertise to address coastal and Great Lakes needs. Funding is provided in NYS through the SUNY and Cornell University educational systems and federally by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)". From the NY Sea Grant web site. For further information on the NY Sea Grant's research activities, see their research web page.

 

Ph.D. Research through October 2006: Southern Leopard Frog Study on Long Island

Now through October 2006: "Southern Leopard Frog Sighting Reports Sought" for Rutgers University graduate student Jeremy Feinberg's research. He is studying the decline and possible extinction of the southern leopard frog from Long Island, and is seeking any field reports of this species on Long Island. For details, a photograph and description of the Southern Leopard Frog, and contact information, please see this one page pdf flyer.

 

Harvard Forest

Harvard University's Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA is a 3000 acre mixed hardwood and conifer forest. "Since its establishment in 1907 the Harvard Forest has served as a base for research and education in forest biology. Through the years researchers at the Forest have focused on silviculture and forest management, soils and the development of forest site concepts, the biology of temperate and tropical trees, forest ecology and economics and ecosystem dynamics. Today, this research and educational legacy continues as the faculty, staff and students seek to understand historical and modern changes in the forests of central New England resulting from human and natural disturbance processes." (from the "Introduction" page of the Harvard Forest web site.)

Part of the Forest staff's research has included pitch pine barrens throughout New England and parts of New York, including the Central Pine Barrens of Long Island. Researchers and graduate students from the Harvard Forest have been speakers or field trip leaders at several Pine Barrens Research Forums, including Glenn Motzkin, Jon Harrod, David Foster, Tim Parshall, Rob Eberhardt, and Dana MacDonald.  The Harvard Forest is one of the 24 Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network sites designated by the National Science Foundation in 1988, and offers graduate degrees, fellowships, and other research opportunities. Data sets are downloadable from the web site, as are several research publications and annual reports. For further information on the Harvard Forest, please see the web page (link above), or contact its office at 978-724-3302.

 

New Jersey Pinelands Commission Science Office

New Jersey Pinelands Commission (New Lisbon, NJ) has an outstanding Science Program which conducts both monitoring and research efforts within this 1.1 million acre, nationally and internationally recognized pine barrens tract. The Science Office is under the direction of Dr. Robert Zampella, the Commission's Chief Scientist.  Dr. Zampella presented the keynote address at the 1997 Pine Barrens Research Forum at Brookhaven National Laboratory. For further information on the work of the Science Office, please contact the New Jersey Pinelands Commission at 609-894-7300 or info@njpines.state.nj.us.

 

Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast (FERN)

Incorporated in November 2003, the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast (FERN) is a not for profit corporation whose purposes are, in part, to promote aquatic, ecological, environmental, terrestrial and related scientific research in the Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve as described in the NY Environmental Conservation Law Article 57, the greater Long Island, NY environment, and the pine barrens ecosystems found, in part, in such areas as the LI Central Pine Barrens, the NJ Pinelands, the Cape Cod Pine Barrens, the Albany Pine Bush, and other areas throughout the Northeastern U.S.  The Foundation can be reached at P.O. Box 962, Upton, NY 11973-0962, or at 631-344-5810, and can be visited at www.fern-li.org.

 

Does Your Field Research Require a Permit?

Please note that field research activities require permission from the landowner(s)! That permission generally takes the form of a written permit, and the time required to process a permit should be taken into consideration when planning a field research schedule.  Researchers should call the landowning agency directly to inquire about permits. A partial list of common agencies or organizations in the Long Island, NY area that a researcher may need to call is provided here for convenience. Disclaimer: this list may not be exhaustive, and it is the responsibility of the researcher and his or her research team to identify and obtain all applicable permissions and permits! As a courtesy - if it is not also a permit requirement of the relevant landowner(s) - the research team leader should provide both regular updates and a copy of any final papers or reports to the cooperating landowner(s), including formal acknowledgments for their assistance in those final products.
 
 

The Pine Barrens Reference Library at the Commission Office

The Pine Barrens Commission maintains a modest but growing reference library at its Great River, NY office for use by citizens, students, researchers, government and private sector staff, teachers, historians, and any individual interested in Long Island's Central Pine Barrens. Promotion of research, citizen involvement, and access to information are goals of the Library. Towards that end, the Commission encourages students at all levels of academic scholarship to contribute copies of their papers, essays, portfolios, videotapes, and other works.

There is also a "Student Papers" collection within the Library which focuses upon elementary, secondary, undergraduate and graduate academic work, providing a resource for teachers and a historical "student's eye" perspective on the pine barrens through the years ahead.

The Library is open during Commission business hours.  For further information, see the Pine Barrens Reference :Library web page at pb.state.ny.us/ref_lib.htm, or call the Commission Office at 631-224-2604.