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Dear Environment New Jersey Members,
One thing I’ve always loved about New Jersey is the incredible mix of natural places that help to define the character of this state.
From the mountains of the Highlands to Cape May and a hundred places in between, this state is full of beautiful and diverse natural treasures.
Another thing I’ve always loved about this state are the people who time and again stand up to defend our environment.
New Jerseyans know just how precious our natural places are and we’ll fight to protect them, no matter how big the challenge.
We saw this commitment in November when New Jerseyans approved Ballot Question 2, which will help to finally provide long overdue repairs at our parks and protected wildlife habitat.
Another great example was a few years ago when voters went to the polls to support the Garden State Preservation Trust.
New Jerseyans approved a $2 billion bond measure to purchase undeveloped land before it becomes overtaken by scattershot development.
The Trust helped to make New Jersey a national leader in protecting open space. Already, our state has saved an estimated 400,000 acres of undeveloped land and farmland, as well as many historic and cultural sites.
Despite the fact that the Trust has served us incredibly well, it is now running on empty. By the middle of this year, the entirety of its funds may be exhausted.
In total, the Trust has only been able to meet 18 percent of the requests it has received from local governments and private land trusts. And as you well know, we still have plenty of endangered natural places.
Right now, Environment New Jersey is working to ensure that our leaders in Trenton strengthen and renew the Trust so that New Jersey remains a leader in the preservation of open spaces.
Developers are keeping their bulldozers idling in the hopes that it will expire, so it is imperative that we act now to renew it at a sufficiently high level.
Our advocates in Trenton will work to make sure that state government does what it takes to keep our open spaces intact.
We also know that New Jersey citizens have our backs. Again and again, the citizens of this state have stood up in favor of protecting our natural spaces, be it at the polling booth or in the opinion pages of local newspapers.
Now is the time to make your voice heard once again. Please call Gov. Corzine at (609) 292-6000 to let him know that you want to see the Garden State Preservation Trust renewed and strengthened so that we always have a defense against runaway development.
We have a history of successes behind us because we work on behalf of an incredibly dedicated group of citizens.
Looking around at all of the great natural places we have in this state, it’s easy to see why we’re all so passionate about protecting them.
Sincerely,
Dena Mottola
Executive Director
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