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The Pinelands Protection Act, passed by the New Jersey Legislature in June 1979, required the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a relatively undeveloped, ecologically unique area in New Jersey. The goal of the CMP was to state the rules on how the land may be used.
In 1978, the US Congress had passed the National Parks and Recreation Act, which made the Pine Barrens the first National Reserve and authorized the creation of a planning entity. In 1979, because of concern that this unique area would be destroyed by overdevelopment, Governor Brendan T. Byrne declared a moratorium on development in the Pine Barrens. This prompted the New Jersey legislature to pass the Pinelands Protection Act to end the moratorium while the Pinelands Commission put rules in effect to regulate development in the Pine Barrens.