In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management and operation of New Jersey's public park system which includes 42 state parks, 11 state forests, 3 recreation areas, and more than 50 historic sites and districts.

[1] The cultural and natural heritage of New Jersey is reflected in the diversity of its public parks, forests, and historic sites.

The division is the steward of the historic homes, landscapes and battlefields where George Washington and the Continental Army spent almost half of the American Revolutionary War.

The State Park Service was organized in 1923 to manage three state parks, including with "four new employees in supervisory capacity and five others as helpers in subordinate positions" and between two and six additional laborers were used for special seasonal work from time to time.

In 2014, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service responded to 1,063 wildfire events that destroyed 6,692 acres.