“The Pine Barrens,” John McPhee’s landmark 1967 book about the great stretch of piney forest in South Jersey, helped propel the environmental movement — and the push to preserve the New Jersey’s great forest.

In his book, McPhee wasn’t confident about the Pine Barrens’ chances. He wrote, “Given the great numbers and the crossed purposes of all the big and little powers that would have to work together to accomplish anything on a major scale in the pines, it would appear that the Pine Barrens are not very likely to be the subject of dramatic decrees or acts of legislation. They seem to be headed slowly toward extinction,” he wrote.

But the book was enough to spur a plan to save the 1 million-plus acres. In what’s regarded as the greatest accomplishment of his career, Gov. Brendan Byrne overcame strong opposition from powerful interests to push through the Pinelands Protection Act in 1979. Subsequently he approved the key Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan. Another key element in preserving the Pinelands was the approval of that management plan by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus. That happened on Jan. 16, 1981, just days before the administration of President Jimmy Carter left office and President Ronald Reagan took over.

Decades later, the Pinelands preserve is once again under threat, both environmental and development. But today’s a day to commemorate a victory in the history of the Pinelands.