NJAS Opinion: September 2, 2002

Highlands Regional Planning - Act Now for Future Generations

By Eric Stiles, Vice President for Conservation & Stewardship

New Jersey, my home of three decades, is chock full of people and natural diversity. For me, the answer to the age-old question of which exit do you come from was an emphatic Exit 25 off the Garden State Parkway. While comedians rejoice over New Jersey for material, its residents know better. Tucked amidst the Washington D.C. to Boston urban belt, New Jersey hosts world-class wildlife, open spaces, ridges, rivers, marshes and beaches.

While we are home to more people per square mile than any other U.S. state, Japan or India, New Jerseyans should be proud of our history of protecting natural heritage for future generations. As a new father, this adage of "future generations" now has a special place in my heart; I want my daughter to enjoy the same outdoor opportunities I had growing up in the Pinelands. When a threat to our heritage is identified, New Jerseyans have never failed to act. The time has come to once again take action - we need new, innovative regional planning to safeguard the Highlands.

The New Jersey Highlands, which comprise 12% of our land area, is a landscape under attack. The Highlands is New Jersey's tropical rain forest for wildlife. It is home to more than 145 breeding birds and 23 state-listed species. This area dominated by 300 to 1500' ridges offers a rich blend of habitat for wildlife. NJ Audubon Society co-founded the NJ Highlands Coalition in 1989 to help safeguard the region's natural resources.

The Highlands, in addition to wildlife, provides critical water resources, forests and recreation opportunities. The US Forest Service recently completed a study of the NY/NJ Highlands, and the findings were staggering. The region exports drinking water to 4.5 million residents, and has over 14 million recreational visitors yearly. Over 100,000 acres of critical conservation lands are immediately threatened by development. The current municipal based planning efforts are failing to protect these resources; the time has come for a regional planning authority to protect our water, wildlife, woods and recreation.

New Jersey residents have long been innovators in conservation. Threatened by a proposed jet port and water exportation, we passed the Pinelands Preservation Act in 1979 to protect the area's water, wildlife and habitat. When our wetlands were being filled and destroyed, NJ Audubon and NJ Conservation Foundation spearheaded an effort leading to the passage of the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act in 1987. Our coastal areas were being inundated by pavement; New Jerseyans again rallied by passing new rules (CAFRA) to protect our rich coastal areas. Realizing New Jersey's last farm and wild lands were being lost forever, NJ Audubon worked with other organizations and residents to create a stable funding source for open space land acquisition. In 1998, residents overwhelmingly passed a resolution establishing the Garden State Preservation Trust, providing for protection of 1 million acres in 10 years.

A handful of areas between Washington D.C. and Boston remain ecologically intact despite intense development pressures. The New Jersey and Long Island Pine Barrens, Cape Cod, Adirondacks and Tug Hill (west of the Adirondacks) remain natural resource oases. They have one thing in common - a regional planning authority working to safeguard natural and cultural resources.

Many of these regional planning authorities were initiated with much less information than is known about the Highlands. We are poised for action, outfitted with a toolbox with all the right tools. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and US Forest Service have identified areas critical for water, wildlife, farms, forest and recreation. We can choose from and improve upon existing models to create a regional planning authority, which would set planning and zoning policy for this nationally important area.

The enabling legislation for a Highlands planning authority needs to call for three distinct zones: core areas, ecologically constrained areas and growth zones. Core areas would protect core forests, farms, wildlife populations, water resources and recreational opportunities. Core areas would severely limit any development within its boundary. Ecologically constrained areas would include locations where limited development would not impair the Highlands critical resources. Lastly, growth areas would identify sites where commercial and residential growth should occur. Transfer of Development Rights and other innovative programs should be established in this process.

This approach offers predictability for landowners and developers. It provides clear direction for areas where growth is compatible with preserving natural resources. The state should offer incentive programs in growth areas. Grants for urban renewal, sewer and water services, urban enterprise zones and brownfield revitalization and other programs should be made available from state, county and federal officials.

I was recently asked at a meeting if it was too late to save the Highlands water, wildlife, forests and farms. As I stand peering at the cliff ahead, my only response is "No, but we must act quickly." The Highlands is under threat of being loved to death. People want to live amidst its natural splendors. However, the Highlands is dying the death of a thousand cuts through development. Join NJ Audubon in its call for a Highlands regional planning entity. I don't want to tell my daughter of this missed opportunity when her heritage was stolen forever.