The New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project Leg 174AX represents a continuation of the onshore component of the New Jersey Sea-Level Transect begun with Leg 150X. Onshore drilling complements ODP Leg 150 slope and Leg 174A shelf drilling. The JOIDES Planning (PCOM) and Science Committees (SCICOM) recognized the Bass River (1996), Ancora (1998), Ocean View (1999), and Bethany Beach (2000) boreholes as ODP Leg 174AX. Leg 174AX is an international effort that follows the guidelines and procedures of the ODP including all sampling protocols. Contributors to Leg 174AX thank the many individuals that made this study possible. The National Science Foundation Continental Dynamics Program (L. Johnson, Program Director) and Ocean Drilling Program (B. Malfait, Program Director) co-funded the onshore boreholes (Legs 150X and 174AX; NSF grants EAR92-18210, EAR94-17108, and EAR97-08664 ). The New Jersey Geological Survey (NJGS) partially funded direct drilling costs for Bass River, Ancora, and Ocean View sites through the 1981 State Water Bond issue and supplied materials, personnel, and logging support. The Delaware Geological Survey partially funded direct drilling costs for Bethany Beach site and logging support for the Ocean View and Bethany Beach sites. We thank H. Kasabach (past-State Geologist, NJGS), K. Muessig (current State Geologist, NJGS), and R. Jordan (State Geologist, Delaware) for their foresight in funding deep, continuous coring of aquifers, R. Canace (NJGS) for administering the New Jersey Water Bond funding, J. Curran (NJGS) for logging at Bass River and Ancora, and D. Kent for advice. The Department of Geological Sciences Rutgers University provided space and facilities for core storage and core analyses. G. S. Mountain (LDEO, Leg 150 co-chief), N. Christie-Blick (LDEO, Leg 174AX co-chief), and J. Austin (UTIG, Leg 174AX co-chief) collaborated in designing the New Jersey Sea-Level Transect which includes the New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project. We thank the USGS drillers (D. Queen, Gene Cobbs, and Gene Cobbs III) for their exemplary efforts and T. Bralower for support and advice on Cretaceous nannofossil studies. The ODP publications (A. Klaus, Director) staff responded well to the challenge of this unusual "leg." The NSF, PCOM/SCICOM, and ODP are to be commended for their flexibility and vision in authorizing both Legs 150X and 174AX as an ODP activity.