Holiday time is upon us. And everyone is "making a list and checking it twice." As the new year approaches, our focus turns to setting goals for the next 12 months and resolving to meet them.
At Monmouth Conservation Foundation, our mission is land preservation within Monmouth County, and we are creating our "wish list" of land to save from development in 2002. What better way to celebrate our 25th silver jubilee year as a countywide land trust than saving 25 parcels of land?
There are so many parcels of land, both large and small, throughout Monmouth County that need to be saved from the bulldozers and their products.
We at Monmouth Conservation Foundation have targeted many properties for preservation in 2002.
I believe it is just as important to save a small 1-acre parcel for a "pocket park" to help an underserved neighborhood as it is to preserve a 473-acre parcel for the active and passive recreation of all residents. Some projects are geographically adjacent to existing county parks or trails and could be connected to those sites and become wonderful additions for the public’s use.
Granted, we have set ambitious goals, but we are resolute in our conviction to work on behalf of all Monmouth County residents to protect our quality of life: the air we breathe, the water we drink and the roads we travel. We must preserve our natural places forever and we must do it now. A year from now will be too late.
Judith H. Stanley
President, Monmouth
Conservation Foundation
Middletown