Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and NJ Keep It Green issue news releases
TRENTON — On July 18, the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (SB-MWA) urged the New Jersey Legislature to let voters decide on creating a sustainable source of funding for critical open space, water supply and flood-plain protection, farmland and historic preservation programs across the state.
The same day, NJ Keep It Green, a statewide coalition of more than 180 park, agricultural, historic preservation and conservation organizations, issued a news release saying that its members also support letting voters make the decision about the funding.
Watershed Policy Director Jennifer Coffey and members of the coalition appeared before the Senate Energy and Environment Committee to voice their support for legislation (SCR160/ACR205) that would ask voters to dedicate a small percentage of state sales-tax revenues to renew and sustain funding for the Green Acres, Blue Acres, Farmland and Historic Preservation programs.
The public hearing cleared the way for a vote in the full Senate and Assembly. The Senate already passed similar legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support (36 to 2). The legislation was amended and reintroduced to dedicate a flat $200 million annually in sales-tax revenues, the average annual investment the state has been making in preservation efforts since 1998.
”The Legislature should move this bill forward as quickly as possible,” said Watershed Policy Director Jennifer Coffey. “The need for renewed funding is clear, and the people of New Jersey have always supported these programs when the question was put to the ballot. The bill has been amended to address concerns expressed in the Legislature,” she continued. “It is time for them to take action now and give the people the chance to vote to renew programs that protect our drinking water, open spaces, historic places, and keep farming in the Garden State.”
”NJ Keep It Green thanks Senate leadership and members of the Senate Energy and Environment committee for advancing this legislation and for recognizing the importance of creating a stable source of funding to continue efforts to conserve our open space and farmland, keep our drinking water clean, and preserve our heritage,” said NJ Keep It Green Chairman Tom Gilbert.
”If our elected leaders fail to pass this measure, New Jersey is at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of acres of critical lands that protect our water supply, guard against flooding, and support the agriculture industry and our state’s economy,” he said.
NJ Keep It Green is asking legislators “to move this bill forward as quickly as possible and give voters the opportunity to support vital land, water and historic preservation efforts that will keep New Jersey’s economy strong and continue the state’s proud preservation legacy,” said Kelly Mooij, NJ Keep It Green coordinator. “Without a sustainable approach to preservation funding, preservation projects across the state will grind to a halt, threatening to undo decades of progress that have made New Jersey a national leader in open space preservation.”
THE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION is sponsored by Sens. Robert Smith and Christopher “Kip” Bateman and Reps. Grace Spencer, John McKeon, Louis Greenwald, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Charles Mainor, Herb Conaway and Jason O’Donnell.
The proposed legislation — which would not take effect until fiscal year 2015 — is a fiscally responsible approach that does not increase taxes or state debt. The $200 million dedication represents less than two-thirds of a percent of the state budget. The funds would come from the projected growth of more than $400 million annually in sales taxes revenues leaving hundreds of millions of dollars available to fund other programs above and beyond today’s levels.
Approximately 20 percent of the state, or one million acres, still remain unprotected and developable. Yet there is a significant need to preserve open space, drinking water sources, and natural buffers along the coast and in-land waterways that will help prevent future flood and storm damage. Further, an additional 350,000 acres of farmland need to be preserved to maintain a viable agricultural industry. Agriculture is the state’s third largest industry, with the state’s more than 10,000 farms generating at least a billion dollars annually.
Moreover, every $1 invested in state land preservation efforts returns $10 in economic value to the state through nature’s goods and services, like flood control and water filtration, which would otherwise have to be paid for by taxpayers.
Since 1961 New Jersey voters have passed 13 out of 13 ballot measures supportive of funding for open space, farmland and historic preservation. Voter surveys continue to indicate overwhelming bipartisan support for a dedicated sales tax for open space funding.
The SB-MWA is a member of NJ Keep It Green, which commissioned a survey recently of 600 registered likely voters, and found that 69 percent of voters support dedicating $200 million annually from state sales tax revenues to fund open space, farmland and historic preservation programs.
Since the start of the year, 15 counties — Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Union and Warren — and more than 60 municipalities have passed resolutions supporting sustainable open space funding as have the NJ Highlands Council and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, a member-supported nonprofit organization, protects the 265-square-mile region of central New Jersey drained by the Stony Brook and Millstone River – an area spanning 26 towns and five counties. As Central New Jersey’s first environmental group, the Watershed Association has been protecting clean water and the environment through conservation, advocacy, science and education since its founding in 1949.
For more information or to sign the NJ Keep It Green Statement of Support, visit www.njkeepitgreen.org.

