Lacey Township, New Jersey

Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey, and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county. Its county seat is Toms River. The county is part of the Jersey Shore region of the state.Since 2020, Ocean County has been the fastest-growing county in New Jersey, with a population of 637,229 recorded at the 2020 United States census, its highest decennial count ever and ranking the county as the state's sixth-most populous county, with an increase of 60,662 (+10.5%) from the 576,567 enumerated at the 2010 census, which in turn had reflected an increase of 65,651 (+12.8%) from the 510,916 counted at the 2000 census. Since 2010, Ocean County's population has been growing faster than the United States as a whole. The United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated a 2022 population of 655,735, an increase of 18,506 (+2.9%) from the 2020 decennial census.Ocean County is located 50 miles (80 km) east of Philadelphia, 70 miles (110 km) south of New York City, and 25 miles (40 km) north of Atlantic City, making it a prime vacation destination for residents of these cities during the summer. As with the entire Jersey Shore, summer traffic routinely clogs local roadways throughout the season. Ocean County comprises 31.3% water. Ocean County is part of the New York metropolitan area. The county is also home to many tourist attractions frequented by Philadelphia metropolitan area residents, including the beachfront communities of Seaside Heights, Long Beach Island, and Point Pleasant Beach, and Six Flags Great Adventure, an amusement park in Jackson Township that is the home to the world's tallest and second-fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka. Ocean County is a gateway to New Jersey's Pine Barrens, one of the largest protected land areas on the East Coast. Ocean County is part of both the New York City and Philadelphia media markets.

Double Trouble State Park is located in Berkeley and Lacey Townships in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The park was once the Double Trouble company's company town. The park's wilderness is part of the Pine Barrens ecosystem. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

The Forked River Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed nuclear power plant in Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey. It was proposed as a single 1,070 MW reactor in 1969 to be built by Combustion Engineering and operated by Jersey Central Power and Light. The facility would have been located on a site between JCP&L's existing Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and the Garden State Parkway. Unlike the Oyster Creek Plant, the Forked River Plant would have a cooling tower to prevent the release of hot water into Oyster Creek and Barnegat Bay.Construction of the plant was halted in 1974 due to financial cut-backs and environmental protests, but was resumed in 1976. The plant's construction was ultimately canceled in 1980, when General Public Utilities (the parent company of JCP&L) halted construction "because of financial difficulties stemming from the accident at its Three Mile Island facility", as well as uncertainty over whether the NRC would grant a license or possibly institute other costly regulations. In addition, community fears and a construction accident that killed one worker helped end the plant's construction.

Aserdaten is an unincorporated community and ghost town located within Lacey Township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.The former community is located within the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area, surrounded by the densely forested Pine Barrens.In 1893, Aserdaten was noted by the United States Geological Survey as a "village in Lacey Township".A forest fire watch tower, the Cedar Bridge Lookout Tower, was located in "the remote area of Aserdaten" until 1983.

The Lacey Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located in South Jersey along the state's Jersey Shore.As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,864 students and 334.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.6:1.The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.The school district includes six schools. Cedar Creek School (CCS), Lanoka Harbor School (LHS) and Forked River School (FRS) serve grades 1-5. Mill Pond serves grades Preschool-K. Lacey Township Middle School (LTMS) is an intermediate school for grades 6-8 and is located behind the high school. Lacey Township High School (LTHS) has served grades 9-12 since its creation in 1981.

Central Regional High School is a four-year regional comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Central Regional School District. The high school serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,606 students and 121.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.2:1. There were 434 students (27.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 139 (8.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station was a single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant in the United States. The plant is located on an 800-acre (3.2 km2) site adjacent to Oyster Creek in the Forked River section of Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey. At the time of its closure, the facility was owned by Exelon Corporation and, along with unit 1 at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station, was the oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. The plant first started commercial operation on December 23, 1969, and is licensed to operate until April 9, 2029, but Oyster Creek was permanently shut down in September 2018. The plant got its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet. At the time of shutdown, Oyster Creek was one of four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, and the one unit at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 9th among the 31 states with nuclear capacity for total MWe generated. In 2003, nuclear power generated over one half of the electricity in the state.In 1999, GPU agreed to sell the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant to AmerGen Energy for $10 million. AmerGen was later purchased by Exelon in 2003. Exelon fully integrated AmerGen's former assets, including Oyster Creek, in early 2009.The reactor was shut down on September 17, 2018.In September 2019, Ocean Wind, a proposed 1,100 MWe offshore wind farm, with the approval of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, secured the capacity interconnection rights to bring the power generated by the wind farm on-shore at Oyster Creek. It can use the existing power infrastructure of the plant, after some upgrades, to connect to the regional transmission grid.In January 2021, Holtec suggested that a "new generation" nuclear plant might be built at the location.

Lacey Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which operates as part of the Lacey Township School District. The school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1983.As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,256 students and 92.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.7:1. There were 200 students (15.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 52 (4.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.The school's mascot is a lion, the symbol is a paw, for the "Lacey Lions." The school's colors are navy blue, silver, and cardinal Lacey Township High School has implemented a random drug testing policy. Students participating in any extracurricular activities including after school sports, clubs or any school event must sign a waiver that allows them to be drug tested randomly. The first offense includes suspension from all after school activities for 10 days.

The Central Regional School District is a regional public school district in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 2,414 students and 177.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1.The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second-lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Forked River () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 5,274, an increase of 30 (+0.6%) from the 5,244 enumerated at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 330 (+6.7%) from the 4.914 counted in the 2000 census.Many Ocean County residents commonly refer to all of Lacey Township as Forked River. The first word is pronounced by locals with two syllables (). Pronouncing the first word with one syllable () is a sign of a new resident or outsider.

The Jersey Shore Council serves all of Ocean and Atlantic Counties, and part of Burlington and Cape May Counties. Its camp is the Joseph A. Citta Scout Reservation, located in Brookville, New Jersey.

Popcorn Park Animal Refuge is a small non-profit 7-acre (2.8 ha) animal refuge and sanctuary located in Forked River, New Jersey, within Lacey Township. According to the Associated Humane Societies, the refuge is "a sanctuary for abandoned, injured, ill, exploited, abused or elderly wildlife, exotic and farm animals, and birds." The refuge has programs to educate visitors about animals and their environments and offers hundreds of rescued dogs and cats for adoption, in their separate adoption building. The name "Popcorn Park" was adopted due to the small fee visitors pay to the entrance which grants them entry. No feeding of the animals is allowed since 2022.