Bass River State Forest

This state forest is known for its 'Pygmy Forests', where trees consistantly grow to less than four feet in height, as well as housing dense cedar forests and their ecosystems.

Bass River State Forest is one of New Jersey's oldest and most scenic state forests, located in the Pinelands region. Established in 1905, it provides a mix of natural beauty, recreational opportunities, and historical significance.

This vast state forest covers one of the most remote areas of the New Jersey Pinelands, and takes up a large portion of the Pinelands National Reserve. Bass River not only contains the Pygmy Pines, which is a mysteriously unique aspect of the Pine Barrens. The forest also contains many of the oldest Atlantic White Cedar forests. These thick ribbons of bristle-like trees have grown and regenerated for many centuries, along with their integral ecosystems consisting of (but never limited to), sphagnum moss, shrubbery, fungi, reptiles, and exoskeleton animals.

Bass River north swamp When we finally get rain after a long drought Tree carcass in swamp

Will the water consume the trees or will the trees make their comeback and consume the swamp

Lone tree in an unknown location

Aftermath of a storm after a long drought

When a whole forest comes crashing down

A Ghost City

Just like if a city were to become uninhabited, where everything just disappeared or died, an area's ecosystem can also fade away. A dead cedar forest just stands there. The water still surrounds it.

Dead cedar forest in a remaining pond

Hollow area with only grass and stumps

Wading River

Water nears the bay through which it has passed through the pine barrens, and this is where it ends up. Water has traveled through hundreds of thousands of acres consisting of cedar and hardwood wetland forests.