New Climate Change Study To Analyze South Jersey

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — The southwest Pinelands region of Burlington County will be the subject of a new study on climate change.

The efforts will specifically focus on threats facing Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Shamong, and Tabernacle.

The county, along with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and the Pineland Alliance, will help these towns assess and improve their resiliency to future wildfires, storms, heatwaves, and other challenges.

"No part of Burlington County is immune," said County Commissioner Deputy Director and liaison to the County Department of Resource Conservation, Allison Eckel. "These threats require multiple levels of government to work together."

According to the 2025 New Jersey Scientific Report on Climate Change, the Garden State continues to warm faster than anywhere else in the Northeast and the overall world average of degrees per year.

New Jersey's average annual temperature has risen by 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit from 1895 to 2024.

Beginning in 2000, the state went on a run to record 15 of its 20 warmest years, with winters warming nearly twice as fast as summers.

The project will be supported by NJDEP funding for professional planners, engineers, ecologists, designers, and other personnel.

These individuals will be tasked with reviewing data that includes climate information, impacts from prior events, demographics, and other environmental information.

Burlington County and the municipalities involved will also be able to receive support from a DEP grant of up to $350,000 for the creation of resiliency actions to aid in future protection.

The community will also be asked to participate through online avenues and in-person events.

The NJDEP will lead the study under its "Resilient NJ" program in collaboration with the Burlington County Department of Public Works Regional Planning office.

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