BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
While land prices in Monmouth County skyrocket and developers gobble up acres, the Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) is doing what it can to preserve open space.
"There is little time left," said MCF Executive Director Adele Keller. "Escalating real estate prices, combined with the desirability of living here, means we must act fast to preserve as much as we can."
The need comes at a time when state Green Acres funding is at an all-time low, she said.
The foundation has developed funding partnerships with several municipalities and the Monmouth County Park System, but that is not enough, Keller said.
"We must find other ways of raising money to meet the pressing demand," she said.
Since it was established in 1977, the foundation has preserved 4,000 acres.
Last year, the group partnered with Upper Freehold, the county park system and Green Acres to preserve the 58-acre Thoroughbred Breeders parcel, which will become part of the county’s Crosswicks Creek Linear Greenway.
The foundation is working on 20 different projects in various phases throughout the county, including Upper Freehold, Howell, Holmdel and Middletown, Keller said.
The 72-acre Reid property in the Chapel Hill section of Middletown — which sits in the McClees Creek Basin — boasts views of the Navesink Highlands. Through its work with the township, MCF has secured an option agreement on the land, and preservation of the property will require both Green Acres’ funds and MCF’s own funds to put a scenic conservation easement in place, the executive director said.
The Reid property is part of a 900-acre priority project for MCF that stretches from the North Shore of the Navesink to Route 36.
The varied landscape includes beaches, rolling hills, river inlets, and some of the remaining farmland of this historic area. Negotiations continue on the 40-acre Fisher-Stern estate in the Locust section, which will connect the county-owned Hartshorne Woods and Huber Woods parks.
For all the foundation has managed to accomplish, there is still much to do, said Keller.
"It’s very hard to keep pace with this, due to the high land prices," she added. "We’re committed to working throughout the county to protect and preserve land that is endangered. A good way to do it is with outreach because it is not only our priorities, but the priorities of the municipality."
The foundation’s outreach program began two years ago to help communities succeed in meeting their open space and farmland preservation goals.
So far, the foundation has helped Howell, Upper Freehold, Millstone and Holmdel. Expan-sion into other municipalities is planned, she said.
Courtney Wald, coordinator of the Outreach Program, helps develop an individual plan for each town, based on its particular needs, Keller said.
Among the services offered are identifying open space needs; working on a strategy and priority for land preservation; and making sure open space plans comply with Green Acres standards, she said.
The foundation will work with landowners and advise them on both acquisition negotiations and funding. In addition, it will act as a liaison between the municipality and the state in acquiring lands that can be added to existing state lands, said Keller.
MCF is also working with the Monmouth County Planning Board in order "to determine how much land is really left." The best calculation, from 1997 aerial photos, was approximately 56,000 acres, according to Keller.
"We’re trying to find out what’s at risk," she said.
New aerial photos being taken now will be released in June, she added.
"We’ll have a much better way to judge," Keller said.
The foundation is taking advantage of such tools as geographic information systems (GIS), which will identify vacant, developable land.
"Right now, developers are going after land that is historically not developable," she said.
Protecting water and critical habitat areas has also been a major MCF focus.
"I cannot emphasize enough how important Monmouth Conservation has been to our efforts here in Upper Freehold Township," said Mayor John Mele, who also serves as chairperson for the township’s Open Space Committee.
Working with the foundation has been a "turning point" for Upper Freehold’s preservation program, he said.
"The drive of Monmouth Conservation to work hand in hand with landowners, and to provide interested parties to consider the many programs available to us and them, is the true value of their efforts," he said.
For more information or to make a donation, visit the MCF Web site at www.monmouthconservation.org or call (732) 671-7000.