The New Jersey Environmental Information Network: Providing Access to New Jersey's Environmental Literature

7 Introduction The environmental situation in New Jersey is complex. The state is replete with areas tremendous natural beauty: pristine beaches and sand dunes, lush green countryside, historic towns, rolling hills, scenic river valleys and mountain overlooks, lush wetlands, and dense pine forests. By many measures, however, New Jersey is the most polluted of the United States’ fifty states, and its environmental heritage is undermined by past and present treatment of the environment. Efforts to remediate environmental damage resulting from New Jersey’s industrial history and current industrial practices, and attempts to preserve open space through intelligent management of future development, have resulted in a tremendous amount of scientific study within the state. However many, perhaps most, of the resulting research reports are unpublished, elusive, and unavailable for secondary research purposes.