Editing Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township had a total area of 75.47 square miles (195.48&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 67.05 square miles (173.65&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 8.43 square miles (21.82&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (11.16%).<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />

Portions of the township, notably the West Atlantic City and Anchorage Poynte areas, are not contiguous to the main body of the municipality, having been separated from the mainland portion of the township as municipalities were formed, largely since the ''[[boroughitis]]'' phenomenon in the 1890s.<ref>Lemongello, Steven. [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/eht/egg-harbor-township-borders-leave-locals-businesses-confused/article_020bf44a-302d-11e1-86ac-001871e3ce6c.html "Egg Harbor Township borders leave locals, businesses confused"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', December 27, 2011. Accessed July 2, 2012. "Besides the main section, which contains the vast majority of residents and businesses, there is the West Atlantic City section — snugly squeezed between the embracing arms of Pleasantville — and also the large swath of marshes and islands between the mainland towns and Absecon Island.... The brand-new communities — many of them created during the manic period of 'borough-itis' in the late 1890s, when dozens of practically postage stamp-sized towns across the state broke away to take advantage of a school tax loophole — took the easy route when deciding which land to include."</ref>

The township is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the [[New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve]], a protected natural area of unique ecology covering {{convert|1100000|acre}}, that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve.<ref>[http://www.nj.gov/pinelands/reserve/ The Pinelands National Reserve], [[New Jersey Pinelands Commission]]. Accessed November 18, 2013.</ref> Part of the township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington]], [[Camden County, New Jersey|Camden]], [[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May]], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey|Cumberland]], [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester]] and [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean]] counties.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/home/munico/municipalities/ Pinelands Municipalities], [[New Jersey Pinelands Commission]], April 2003. Accessed November 18, 2013.</ref>

Egg Harbor Township includes the [[Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities|unincorporated communities]] of Bargaintown (the township's seat of government<ref>Mason, Beryl D. [http://www.eht.com/history/Sketches/bargaintown/ Bargaintown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060127084851/http://www.eht.com/history/Sketches/bargaintown/ |date=2006-01-27 }}, Sketches of Egg Harbor Township. Accessed October 7, 2013.</ref>), Cardiff, English Creek, Farmington, Scullville (formerly known as Jeffers), Steelmanville and West Atlantic City, as well as part of [[McKee City, New Jersey|McKee City]].<ref>Staff. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10062A4338D6206D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Egg Harbor Township: A Brief History (Timeline)"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', January 28, 2004. Accessed May 3, 2012. "It will become known as one of the seven 'outlying' schools, along with Bargaintown, Steelmanville, Farmington, McKee City, Cardiff and West Atlantic City."</ref> Other localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Devenshire, English Creek Landing, Greenwood, Idlewood, Jeffers Landing, Jobs Point, Jones Island, McKee City Station, Mount Calvary, Pleasantville Terrace, Pork Island, Rainbow Islands, Sculls Landing,<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/infobank/localnames.txt Locality Search], State of [[New Jersey]]. Accessed November 28, 2014.</ref> and [[Seaview Harbor, New Jersey|Seaview Harbor]].

The township borders the municipalities of [[Absecon, New Jersey|Absecon]], [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], [[Corbin City, New Jersey|Corbin City]], [[Estell Manor, New Jersey|Estell Manor]], [[Galloway Township, New Jersey|Galloway Township]], [[Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey|Hamilton Township]], [[Linwood, New Jersey|Linwood]], [[Longport, New Jersey|Longport]], [[Margate City, New Jersey|Margate City]], [[Northfield, New Jersey|Northfield]], [[Pleasantville, New Jersey|Pleasantville]], [[Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point]], [[Ventnor City, New Jersey|Ventnor City]] and [[Weymouth Township, New Jersey|Weymouth Township]] in Atlantic County; and [[Ocean City, New Jersey|Ocean City]] and [[Upper Township, New Jersey|Upper Township]] in [[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May County]].<ref>[https://global.mapit.mysociety.org/area/1199314/touches.html Areas touching Egg Harbor Township], MapIt. Accessed March 30, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.atlanticcountynj.gov/government/county-government/board-of-county-commissioners/atlantic-county-district-map Atlantic County District Map], [[Atlantic County, New Jersey]]. Accessed July 9, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/polnoroads.pdf New Jersey Municipal Boundaries], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref>

===Parks and protected areas===
[[File:Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area.jpg|right|thumb|Sign for the Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area]]
There are three [[List of New Jersey wildlife management areas|wildlife management areas]] (WMAs) in Egg Harbor Township, two of them in the eastern discontinuous segment of the township. Malibu Beach WMA is located on marshlands between the Great Egg Harbor Bay and Broad Thorofare, covering {{convert|95.7|acre|ha|abbr=on}}, and bifurcated by [[Ocean Drive (New Jersey)|Ocean Drive]] and NJ 152.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/malibu_beach.pdf Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area Atlantic County], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]]. Accessed September 25, 2019.</ref><ref name="ehtmp"/> It serves as the habitat for several birds, including migratory species in the spring and fall. Known locally as "Dog Beach", the WMA consists of a back-bay pond, dunes, and one of the only beaches in New Jersey that permits dogs. From the 1930s to the early 2000s, Malibu Beach lost about {{convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on}} of sand due to erosion. The [[Environmental Protection Agency]] designated the beach as a priority wetland in 1994. From 2002 to 2004, the [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection|state Department of Environmental Protection]] purchased Malibu Beach for $975,000 to make it available to the public, with funding from the [[Federal Highway Administration]] related to the [[New Jersey Route 52|NJ 52 causeway replacement project]]. About {{convert|40000|yd3|m3|abbr=on}} of clean sand was dredged from nearby waterways and placed on Malibu Beach. The state also restored the beach's wetlands, and removed rubble and invasive plant species. In 2012, [[Hurricane Sandy]] severely eroded the beach, as did [[Winter Storm Jonas]] in 2015.<ref name="ehtmp"/><ref name="dep">{{cite news|title=DEP Announces Addition to Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area|author=Erin Phalon|date=September 30, 2004|publisher=New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection|access-date=September 12, 2018|url=https://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2004/04_0113.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite conference|title=Strategic Public Partnering For Ecological Benefit|url=http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ncer2009/PPTPDF_pres/Poster/session%201/NCER%20POSTER-comp-Bevilacqua.pdf|author=Robert A. Bevilacqua|author2=Michael Baker Jr.|conference=National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration|date=July 20–24, 2009|access-date=September 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area, Egg Harbor/ Longport, NJ|publisher=Rowbear Consulting|access-date=September 12, 2018|url=http://www.rowbearconsulting.com/malibu.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911043147/http://rowbearconsulting.com/malibu.html|archive-date=September 11, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, the city of [[Ocean City, New Jersey|Ocean City]] began collecting trash from the site, after the [[Ocean Drive (New Jersey)|Cape May County Bridge Commission]] ended collection in Fall 2016, and the state considered shutting down the park.<ref>{{cite news|author=Bill Barlow|date=April 25, 2017|title=Ocean City saves dog beach from closing|publisher=WHYY.com|access-date=September 12, 2018|url=https://whyy.org/articles/ocean-city-steps-in-to-keep-popular-jersey-shore-dog-beach-open/}}</ref>

Adjacent to Malibu Beach WMA is Pork Island WMA, which covers {{convert|867.2|acre|ha|abbr=on}} of land on four marshy islands between NJ 152 and Margate Blvd, and between [[Absecon Island]] and the mainland. It is inaccessible by car.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/pork_island.pdf Pork Island Wildlife Management Area Atlantic County], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]]. Accessed March 30, 2020.</ref><ref name="ehtmp">{{cite report|pages=37–40|title=2017 Open Space and Recreation Plan Element|publisher=Township of Egg Harbor|date=August 2017|url=http://www.ehtgov.org/LandUse/2017%20Mater%20Plan%20Recreation%20and%20Open%20Space%20Amendment.pdf}}</ref> In the southern part of Egg Harbor Township are scattered plots of wetland near the [[Great Egg Harbor River]] that consist of about {{convert|1039|acre|ha|abbr=on}}, or 5.9%, of the Lester G. MacNamara WMA, previously known as Tuckahoe WMA. Established in 1933, the WMA is the oldest in the state, and spreads across four municipalities in Atlantic and Cape May counties.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/tuckahoe.pdf Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area Atlantic County - Corbin City Egg Harbor Township, Estelle Manor City; Cape May County - Upper Township], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]]. Accessed March 30, 2020.</ref><ref name="ehtmp"/><ref>[https://www.atlantic-county.org/parks/other-parks.asp Other Parks in Atlantic County], [[Atlantic County, New Jersey]]. Accessed March 30, 2020.</ref> 

The area is home to the [[Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve]], a former mining site that was converted into a park in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hawk |first=Tim |date=2020-09-29 |title=Long-abandoned mining site is now a passive recreation paradise hidden in N.J. |url=https://www.nj.com/atlantic/2020/09/long-abandoned-mining-site-is-now-a-passive-recreation-paradise-hidden-in-nj.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621204617/https://www.nj.com/atlantic/2020/09/long-abandoned-mining-site-is-now-a-passive-recreation-paradise-hidden-in-nj.html |archive-date=2024-06-21 |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=NJ.com |language=en}}</ref>