This article originally appeared in APP.com.
New Jersey will spend $3 million to buy islands, forest and wetlands in the Barnegat Bay watershed and $8 million in the Pinelands
A $123 million shopping list for open-space lands approved by the Garden State Preservation Trust includes $3 million for islands, wetlands and forest around Barnegat Bay, $8 million for Pinelands forest and $12 million to buy out repeat flood victims along the Passaic River, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said Tuesday.
The list has $66.2 million in cost sharing from the Green Acres fund for local open space and parks projects, such as $600,000 each for Trader’s Cove, the Barnegat Bay waterfront park in Brick, and boardwalk repairs in Long Branch.
Neptune Township will receive $600,000 for new bulkheading and boardwalks at its Shark River marina, while Ocean Township will get $325,000 in Blue Acres funding to help complete its buyout of 32 Poplar Village housing units that were heavily damaged by flooding during Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm when it reached New Jersey.
Besides the Barnegat Bay and Pinelands purchases, state acquisition projects include $8 million for purchases in the Highlands region and an additional $5 million in purchases to link up public parcels in the upper Delaware River ridge-and-valley region.
The 2013 funding round comes out of the 2009 open space referendum and needs an appropriation from the state Legislature to go forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment