Guest Column
Michele S.
Byers
Victory an example of solidarity, cooperation
People often call the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) with a basic question: "How can we save open space that’s slated for development in our community?" This question doesn’t always have a simple answer.
The story of the preservation of the Chase tract in Holmdel is a great example of the cooperation that makes big things happen in the race to preserve New Jersey’s natural heritage.
At almost 417 acres, the Chase tract is the largest remaining undeveloped land in Holmdel. Its location, natural resources and historic significance made it ideal for preservation.
Between Holmdel Park to the north, the preserved Bayonet farm to the east, and the Rama-nessin Brook Greenway Nature Trail to the south, the Chase tract is a key link in this developing greenway.
Much of the land was farmed, taking advantage of prime agricultural soils. More than 300 plant and animal species are found in the fields, wetlands and sloped woodlands. These include bald eagles, ospreys, peregrine falcons and northern harriers, to name a few.
The property is bisected by 1.5 miles of the Ramanessin Brook, as well as four of its tributaries, which flow into the Swimming River Reservoir, a source of drinking water for more than 500,000 Monmouth County residents.
The Chase tract was part of the original 1677 land grant to the Holmes family, for whom Holmdel was named. The two historic farmsteads on the property have structures dating from the 1700s and the 1800s.
When Chase Manhattan Bank acquired the property in 1986, it planned to build corporate offices. But plans changed, and when a proposal for a 550-unit retirement community was presented to the Holmdel Township Committee in 1997, a plan for preservation emerged.
Raising the $19 million needed to preserve the Chase tract took two years, and a creative partnership forged by the Monmouth Conservation Foundation and Friends of Holmdel Open Space helped the N.J. Depart-ment of Environmental Protection (DEP) Green Acres program negotiate a deal between a willing seller and a coalition of nonprofits and government agencies. This is how the partnership worked:
• The state Farmland Preservation Program funded 190 acres of the tract’s farmland for less than $9 million. This farmland will be resold, with permanent restrictions limiting future uses to agriculture.
• The remaining 227 acres were purchased by a coalition of partners, to be maintained as part of the Monmouth County Park System. Green Acres provided almost half the funding needed, in separate grants to be matched by Monmouth Conservation Foundation, Monmouth County and Holmdel Township.
• Local and county open space taxes and trust funds proved their value. The township’s open space tax will repay almost $3 million loaned by the DEP and used to match the Green Acres funds. The county is using $2 million from its open space trust fund to match Green Acres dollars as well.
• Monmouth Conservation Foundation, with help from Friends of Holmdel Open Space, raised $500,000 in pledges and donations — including an interest-free loan of $300,000 from the New Jersey Conservation Foundation — to match the Green Acres grant. This ongoing fund-raising effort is the largest they’ve ever undertaken for a single project.
So, back to the question, how can you save open space that’s slated to be developed in your community? Hard work, creativity, patience and a lot of help from your friends.
For more information, or to contribute to the preservation of the Chase tract, visit Monmouth Conservation Foundation at http://www.monmouthconservation.org.
Please visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation at www.njconservation.org, or contact me at 1-888-526-3728 or by e-mail at info@njconservation. org if you have questions about conserving New Jersey’s natural treasures.
Michele S. Byers is the executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Far Hills.