Lab 3: Land-use Exercise

Environmental Issues
Tom Powers

Table of Contents
I. Abstract
II. Importance of Monitoring Land Use
III.Objectives
IV.Results
V. Discussion
A. Land Use by County
B. Cape May County Wetlands and Urban Development
C. Land Changes Around Me

VI.Conclusion
VII.References

I. Abstract:
In this report I used ArcMap to create maps of the land use for four counties in
New Jersey from the years 2002 and 2007. Also I observed the whether or not there
were major changes in the wetlands and urban development in the Cape May County
region. Finally I looked at the changes that occurred over the time span of 17 years from
1995-2012 in my neighborhood. New Jersey overall is becoming much more of an
urban area and is slowly losing natural land.

II. Importance of Monitoring Land Use:

The importance of monitoring land use is a huge priority. Land use is monitored
so we can determine how to manage the natural resources for the given area. These
resources include water, trees, oil, etc. Monitoring the land will help use prevent the
spread of urban development or sprawl from taking over to much of the area and
destroying the surrounding habitat. New Jersey is the most populated state in our
country and has a major problem wither population which in turn creates sprawl. If the
change in land for water, forest, barren land and wetlands is negative, it shows that that
area is losing its natural land. If it is positive, then that land type is being gained.

III. Objectives:
The objective of this lab is to identify the land use for our county and then for four
other counties in New Jersey and while doing this we will figure out how these land uses
either increased or decreased over the time span from 1985-2012. The information
shown will be used to decide if New Jerseys natural land is diminishing over the years
to urbanization and if it is how much is being lost.

IV. Results
A) Land Use by
County

2002
Agriculture
(Figure 1)

Barren Land
(Figure 2)

Forests
(Figure 3)

Urban
(Figure 4)

Water
(Figure 5)

Wetlands
(Figure 6)

2007 (Maps made before we switch to four counties)

Agriculture
(Figure 7)

Barren Land
(Figure 8)

Forests
(Figure 9)

Urban
(Figure 10)

Water
(Figure 11)

Wetlands
(Figure 12)

B) Cape May County Wetlands and Urban Development

1985
(Figures 13 & 14)

Wetlands

Urban

1995
(Figures 15 & 16)

Wetlands

Urban

2002
(Figures 17 & 18)

Wetlands

Urban

2007
(Figures 19 & 20)

Wetlands

Urban

2012
(Figures 21 & 22)

Wetlands

Urban

C) Land Changes Around Me

1995 (Figure 23)

2002 (Figure 24)

2007 (Figure 25)

2012 (Figure 26)

V. Discussion
A) Land Use by County
The counties I chose to observe were Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, and Cape
May. In each of there counties the amount of wetlands have been decreasing while the
amount of urban areas have been increasing. In figures 1-12 you can see the difference
in each of the regions (Figures 7-12 were done before we switched to only 4 counties). Between
the two land uses I chose to talk about Burlington county has had the biggest lose in
their wetlands while they also had the largest increase of new urban development over
this time period. Atlantic county came in second. If we were to look deeper we could
probably find out that some of these wetlands were used of urban development.
B) Cape May County Wetlands and Urban Development
In Cape May County the upper part of the wetlands seem to shift as the years go.
During the 10 year span from 1985-1995 (Figures 13 & 15) it seems that the wetlands
moved from the top and drifted westward leaving an empty space. This space could of
been slowly changing into a different kind of land use such as a forest or urban area.
From 1995-2002 (Figures 15 & 17) the wetlands still seemed to hold the same shape.
As we move onto 2007 (Figure 19) it seems to go back to its original shape from the
beginning of the report and from 2007-2012 (Figures 19 & 21) there seems to be very
little change in that time frame. In my town nearly 70 percent of Middle Township is
environmentally constrained by freshwater or coastal wetlands, floodplains, Category
One waterways, or other open water bodies. Much of this land corresponds to the
18,780 acres of preserved open space. (Master Consulting)
The urban development of Cape May County showed very similar traits over the years.
From 1985-1995 (Figures 14 & 16) again the urban development seemed to follow the
trends of the wetlands by moving in a western direction. As we reach 2007 (Figure 20) it
comes back with again like the wetlands little change from then to 2012 (Figure 22).
Where appropriate, development shall maintain its original character, with wooded
areas, water features, and vistas providing buffer strips between any natural feature
considered a prime resource to be preserved. Site design, with open space, controlled
density, and proper public facilities as an integral part of any development, should be
required. (Cape May County Comprehensive Plan)
C) Land Changes Around Me
Looking at the orthoquads images I can see that really were no major changes to
my neighborhood over the past 20 years. The biggest changes seen on my street
occurred were during a 15 year time span from 1995-2007 (Figures 23-25). In the first
seven years from 1995-2002 (Figures 23 & 24) a new house was built. From 2002-2007
(Figures 24 & 25) another home was built right next to it while off in the wetlands you
can see trails forming from some sort of vehicles because of all the pushed down
cattails (reeds). As we reached 2012 (Figure 26) we can see in those 5 years the trails
have disappeared and the reeds in the wetlands have grown back. We can also see

that a house was actually knocked down (which as of last year has now has been rebuilt
on).

VI. Conclusion
New jersey as a whole is losing its forests, wetlands, barren land, and agricultural
areas little by little each year. Some counties faster then others. The lose is being used
to create new areas of urban development and water use. These increased urban areas
and upping the amount of sprawl which will have major effects on the local environment.
The overuse of water in the counties will also cause issues if it is not regulated. With
New Jerseys efforts in conserving the land use we are causing more harm then we
think. If this keeps up we will one day reach a point where this decline cannot be
reversed.

VII. References
Cape May County Comprehensive Plan. (2016) (1st ed., pp. 28). Retrieved from
http://capemaycountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/422
Master Plan - Land Use Plan Update. (2016) (1st ed., pp. 66-70, 46-51). Retrieved
from http://www.middletownship.com/zone/Master%20Plan%20Land%20Use%20Plan
%20Update.pdf
LU/LC Statistics Tables by County. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://
www.nj.gov/dep/gis/digidownload/metadata/lulc07/lulc2007stattablescounty.htm