Gov. Chris Christie has nominated two new members to the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, which voted earlier this year not to allow a natural gas pipeline that his administration supports.
New Hanover Mayor Dennis Roorhr and Robert Barr need to be approved by the state Senate before they can join the commission. It's charged with protecting the sandy forestland that makes up much of southern Jersey's interior.
The two nominees would replace D'Arcy Rohan Green and Robert Jackson. Both of their terms have expired.
Green and Jackson voted in January against allowing the natural gas pipeline through the Pinelands. The panel deadlocked 7-7 with one recusal, and that blocked the project.
Sierra Club of New Jersey executive director Jeff Tittel calls the decision to replace them "political retribution."