HIGHLANDS PRESERVATION MOVES FORWARD
Campbell Announces Acquisition of 290-Acre Lebanon
Township Property
(04/92) TRENTON -- Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today
joined municipal, county, state and nonprofit representatives
to announce the preservation of the 290-acre Pelio property
in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County and to highlight the
significance of saving open space in New Jersey’s
Highlands region.
The preservation of this property will create a contiguous
preserved landmass of over 900 acres of parkland and farmland
and protect the Category One-designated Spruce Run Stream.
The announcement comes just two days after Governor James
E. McGreevey signed the historic Highlands Water Protection
and Planning Act.
“Our commitment to New Jersey families is reflected
in our open space preservation efforts, including my signing
of the historic Highlands Act,” said Governor James
E. McGreevey. “By preserving properties like the Pelio
property, we help ensure all of New Jersey continues to
have access to our most precious natural resource –
clean drinking water.”
The DEP Green Acres Program preserved the $2.27 million
property in partnership with the New Jersey Water Supply
Authority, the County of Hunterdon, Lebanon Township, Hunterdon
Land Trust Alliance and Washington Township Land Trust.
“These acquisitions demonstrate that Governor McGreevey’s
commitment to protecting Highlands resources is shared at
every level of government,” said Commissioner Campbell.
“The expanded Green Acres funding that Governor McGreevey
made available was vital to the preservation of this ecologically
valuable property, and I congratulate the other parties
involved for working together to protect Spruce Run’s
water resources and nurture a grassland wildlife habitat.”
The Pelio site includes portions of both Hunterdon and
Morris Counties. The property consists of 290 acres of fields,
wetlands, ponds and woodlands and is adjacent to land previously
preserved by both the Township of Lebanon and the County
of Hunterdon.
“This is a great example of partners working together
to save land with critical resources in the most cost-effective
and efficient manner,” said Lebanon Township Mayor
Eileen Swan, also serves as a member of Governor McGreevey’s
Highlands Task Force. “It’s important to see
communities working across their municipal borders to save
land of statewide importance.”
The preservation of the Pelio property, which contains
the headwaters of the Spruce Run Reservoir, will conserve
drinking water resources. Spruce Run augments the resources
of the Raritan River, which provides drinking water to residents
of 48 municipalities in Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris,
Somerset and Union Counties. Fifty-five percent of the Raritan
River’s source water area is located in the Highlands
region.
The County of Hunterdon will manage the acquired land as
a park to be used for passive recreation. The Pelio property
will link county parks in the area, creating a greenway
uniting the County of Hunterdon’s Point Mountain Reservation,
September Farms and the Mountain Farm section of the Teetertown
Ravine Nature Preserve. Hunterdon officials plan to manage
a portion of the property as grassland bird habitat, which
is recognized as one of New Jersey’s critical wildlife
habitats.
The Green Acres Program allocated $411,409 in direct aid
and $450,000 in grants to the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance
and the Washington Township Land Trust for the preservation
of the property. The County of Hunterdon contributed $411,407
from its County Open Space Trust Fund; the New Jersey Water
Supply Authority (NJWSA) contributed $593,425 and Lebanon
Township contributed $401,000 through low interest loans
obtained from the Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund.
The purchase of the Pelio property is part of the NJWSA’s
Spruce Run Initiative, which dedicates a portion of its
Raritan Basin System ratepayer funds to assisting local,
county and state governments in the preservation of critical
watershed properties in the Spruce Run Watershed. The Initiative’s
objective is to maximize the efficiency of existing watershed
preservation programs through a coordinated effort of government,
non-profit, and private resources.
"Preserving critical watershed parcels is important
to both our state and to our customers,” said Henry
Patterson, Executive Director of the New Jersey Water Supply
Authority. “That is why, since July 2003, a portion
of our rate is dedicated to the preservation of critical
watershed parcels."
Under the Spruce Run Initiative, NJWSA and the DEP Green
Acres Program have partnered with Hunterdon County, Bethlehem
Township, Union Township, Lebanon Township, and Hunterdon
Land Trust to preserve numerous parcels of land within the
Spruce Run Watershed. The partners are currently engaged
in the acquisition of at least six additional tracts of
land containing more than 320 acres. All six properties
contain water resource protection values and fields and
woodlands that serve as habitat to migratory songbirds and
threatened grassland birds. In addition, the preservation
of these properties will protect streams that support trout
and wetlands that support endangered species including the
bog turtle and the spotted salamader.
The preservation of the Pelio property complements Governor
McGreevey's efforts to protect the Highlands region from
encroaching development. On Tuesday, the Governor signed
the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, the toughest
of its kind in the country. The Act restricts development
on nearly 400,000 acres and heightens the protections on
this environmentally sensitive land, which is the source
of clean drinking water for 5.4 million New Jersey residents.
The Act also establishes the Highlands Water Protection
& Planning Council. The Council will work with local
officials to prepare a master plan for the entire Highlands
region, including preservation and planning areas, within
18 months.
Since taking office, the Governor has preserved an estimated
7,200 acres of farmland in the Highlands, protected approximately
22,000 acres of open space in and around the Highlands,
and applied C1 designation to seven waterbodies in the region.
In November 2002, voters approved Public Question No. 1,
which will provide $150 million toward the purchase of open
space and farms in the Highlands region and throughout the
State.
The DEP Green Acres Program purchases land to protect environmentally
sensitive open space, water resources and other significant
natural and historical open space. Land acquired becomes
part of the statewide system of parks and forest, wildlife
management areas and natural areas.
Since Governor McGreevey took office, the Green Acres Program
has acquired 66,429 acres of open space-44,340 acres for
state projects, 11,284 acres for local projects and 10,805
acres for nonprofit groups. To date, the Green Acres Program
has protected more than 548,797 acres of open space and
provided funding to develop hundreds of parks statewide.
The statewide system of preserved open space and farmland
totals more than 1.28 million acres.
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