Green Jersey

Dozens gather in Trenton for open space funding

More than 170 gathered in Trenton yesterday to show support for the depleted Garden State Preservation Trust, according to the New Jersey Audubon Society, one of the groups represented at the forum.

The program held at the Trenton Masonic Temple, “A Wise Investment in the Future of the Garden State,” was sponsored by a group of more than 30 businesses, nonprofit environmental, local government and community organizations, and park and recreation groups, the Audubon Society said.

The trust provides funds for the preservation of open space, farmland and flood-prone areas, and is all but wiped out. Voters in 2007 chose to replenish it with a $200 million bond, and may have the chance in November to vote for more funding again.

“The Garden State Preservation Trust has helped to provide high-quality parks and to restore historic sites throughout Essex County, enriching our communities and quality of life,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said in a statement provided by the Audubon Society. “But there are still enormous needs that must be addressed, and reinvesting in these efforts now can help to create jobs and revitalize struggling communities.”

“Open-space funding is critical to nearly every facet of New Jersey’s environmental and economic future, from water supply and pollution control to tourism and urban renewal,” former New Jersey DEP Commisioner Bradley M. Campell said in the statement. “If we fail to renew our investment in the GSPT now, we will diminish the future health and prosperity of communities throughout New Jersey.”

Eileen Swan, executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Council, said renewal of the GSPT is critical to the future of the Highlands region: “As Governor Jon Corzine noted in Executive Order 114, it is vitally important that the Garden State Preservation Trust be reauthorized, not only to preserve and protect the drinking water for more than half of the state’s residents, but also to address the landowner equity issues in the Highlands,” she said.

“Implementation of the Highlands Regional Master Plan relies upon the success of continued preservation to protect critical state water supplies and provide compensation to those who are being asked to bear the burden while the residents of the state reap the benefit. The State Legislature in the Highlands Act made a ’strong and significant commitment by the State to fund the acquisition of exceptional natural resource value lands,’ and that commitment must be kept.”

More: Preservation groups are preparing for life without state assistance (Express-Times)

Voters may get to decide on preservation fund (Courier-Post)