We Are Going to Keep it Green!

The election is behind us and if nothing else, URWA is celebrating the passage of the open space ballot question that approved $400M in funding. The final count was 53% - 47%. Once again the voters have shown a commitment to the preservation and protection of our state’s land and water supplies. However, those numbers represent a pretty slim win and the message here is that it is time to find a stable source of funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust. We can no longer take it for granted that New Jersey’s citizens are going to continue providing stop-gap funding without a plan in place for the future. The good news is that the Keep it Green (KIG) folks are stepping up their work to advocate for stable funding. URWA will continue to support KIG and will work to hold our new Governor to his campaign promise, “In addition to providing a stable funding source, New Jersey will look to increase the number of acres annually preserved. We will look at environmentally sensitive and rural land that is available, especially in the Highlands and Pinelands.”