A new watchdog organization forms to protect the Highlands

With increasing pressures to further develop and fragment the New Jersey Highlands, NJCF and its conservation partners are forming a new watchdog organization—the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. In 1988, NJCF co-founded the Highlands Coalition, a loose-knit alliance that grew to include over 100 groups from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The Highlands Coalition has led preservation and public policy initiatives in this critical region for two decades.

A view from the Kittatiny Ridge. (Photo: Clem Fiori)

"The Highlands continue to be threatened with overdevelopment notwithstanding the 2004 New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," said Emile DeVito, NJCF Executive Director. "That's why we're taking these steps. The Highlands are absolutely critical to the state's water supplies and their enormous ecological, economic and recreational values must be preserved for current and future generations."

NJCF provided staff, budget support and facilities for the Highlands Coalition since its inception to ensure the protection of the region, which provides water supply to more than half of all New Jersey families. Throughout its 46-year history NJCF has helped establish independent organizations which largely assume responsibility for regional conservation initiatives. Examples include the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance, Monmouth Conservation Foundation and the watchdog organization Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA).

"There are strong similarities between the forming of PPA and the New Jersey Highlands Coalition," said Byers. "They are both strong citizen advocacy organizations which were created after major new laws were enacted to protect environmentally-vital regions. PPA was formed after the passage of the Pinelands Protection Act in the 1970s. NJCF and its partners were the driving force behind the passage of the Pinelands Protection Act and the establishment of a regional land use plan for the 1 million acre area. PPA was formed to ensure that the law was properly implemented. Establishing the New Jersey Highlands Coalition and Pinelands Preservation Alliance are examples of the merging of two key NJCF strategies—promoting public policies that protect our natural resources and then providing assistance in establishing organizations that continue to protect the public's interest after laws are in place."

The New Jersey Highlands Coalition will soon be incorporated as an independent non-profit organization. Julia Somers, formerly the Executive Director of the Great Swamp Watershed Association, has assumed the role of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition's new executive director.

"I am honored and humbled to have this incredible opportunity," Somers said. "Together we will bring grassroots environmental advocacy to a whole new level as we watchdog the Highlands. My experience at the Great Swamp Watershed Association has afforded me the opportunity to work with many of the organizations that belong to the Coalition, state regulators and some legislators, and multiple federal, county and municipal officials and employees. Those relationships will prove invaluable in strengthening the Coalition and helping it achieve its goals."

The New Jersey Highlands Coalition includes approximately 80 local, regional, statewide and national environmental, sportsmen, and planning groups dedicated to the preservation of the New Jersey Highlands. Wilma Frey, NJCF's Highlands Project Manager, is continuing to assist in staffing the new organization during this time of transition. The Coalition's Executive Committee includes representatives from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, Morris Lands Conservancy, New Jersey Audubon Society, New Jersey Environmental Federation, NJCF, New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, North Byram Concerned Citizens, Passaic River Coalition, Pequannock River Coalition, Sierra Club and Skylands CLEAN.

To learn more about NJCF's work with the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, please contact Wilma Frey at wilma@njconservation.org or 1-888-LAND-SAVE (1-888-526-3728).