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Requests for Use of NJDEP Property

People walking on a trail through a pine forest

Over 800,000 acres of land are held by the Department of Environmental Protection and managed for recreation, natural resource conservation, wildlife habitat, historic and cultural resource preservation and other public purposes.

Most of the Department’s lands open to the public and are managed by the Department’s State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites and Fish and Wildlife programs.  These lands include State Parks, Recreation Areas, Forests and Historic Sites, and Wildlife Management Areas.

The use of the Department’s lands by a public or private entity, whether permanent or temporary, requires specific permission from the Department. The Department holds these lands in the public trust. Therefore, all proposed uses of Department property must be carefully assessed for their benefits to the public and their effects on natural and cultural resources.

Although Department lands can serve many uses, certain uses conflict with or are incompatible with the Department’s mission. In these instances, requests to use Department lands will be denied. If a request to use Department property is granted, compensation will be required to ensure that the public will benefit from the proposal.

Examples of uses for which permission is required:

Access Easements (driveways)
Utility Easements
Rights of Way (Road or Bridge)
Land Exchanges
Long Term Special Events or Uses

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PLEASE NOTE:

  • The majority of the Department’s lands were purchased with Green Acres funds or other funding sources intended to permanently preserve the lands.  The Department’s lands are not available for single family home construction, expansion of privately owned residential, commercial or agricultural lands, or general private development purposes.
  • When the Department engages in land exchanges, it is generally with our county, municipal or nonprofit open space funding partners in order to improve the management and operation of our respective holdings for the benefit of the public, and not with private landowners.

[/info-box-shortcode][vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”black” css=””][info-box-shortcode]To submit a request to use the Department’s property please complete the Request for Use of NJDEP Property Form.

When submitting a request to use the Department’s property, please note the following:

      • The initial review of a request, to determine whether the Department is willing to consider the request, generally takes 60-90 days.
      • The issuance of a right of entry for temporary use of the Department’s property generally takes six months.
      • The issuance of a lease or license for use of the Department’s property requires a longer lead time.
      • The issuance of a lease on the Department’s property requires the approval of the State House Commission (a legislative commission that meets on a quarterly basis).
      • Land exchanges generally take two to three years to complete, even if all lands involved in the exchange remain as preserved open space.
      • Many uses of the Department’s property require a public offering, through a request for proposal or other means, before the Department can issue a lease or license for that use.
      • OTPLA does not handle the issuances of Department permits but does require all such applicable permits and approvals from other programs. To facilitate the permit application process, please submit a Permit Readiness Checklist to the Department’s Office of Permitting and Project Navigation (OPPN) following the Request to Use NJDEP Property submission. The OPPN checklist can be found here: NJDEP| Office of Permitting and Project Navigation | Permit Readiness Checklist.

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Louis Tallone, Administrative Analyst
Public Land Administration Section
Office of Transactions and Public Land Administration

Email: Louis.W.Tallone@deptest.nj.gov[/info-box-shortcode][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]