Highlands Stewardship Act Reintroduced in Congress

Date: 06 May 2003

Washington - Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) reintroduced federal legislation in Congress today to help protect priority lands threatened by suburban sprawl in the Highlands region of NJ, NY, PA and CT. The Highlands Stewardship Act would designate the more than two million acre Highlands region as the nation's first "Stewardship Area" and provide up to $25 million annually over ten years to help the Highlands states conserve critical and threatened open spaces. The Highlands region provides and protects the water supply for over 15 million people and has been declared " nationally significant" by the U.S. Forest Service in several studies of the region.

Senator Corzine was joined by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in introducing the bill in the Senate. Every member of NJ's House Delegation signed on as original cosponsors of the bill, including Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5) and Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-7) who represent portions of the Highlands, and Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6) who serve on the House Resources Committee that will have jurisdiction over the bill.

"We applaud the continued leadership of Rep. Frelinghuysen and Senator Corzine in the effort to protect the Highlands," said Tom Gilbert, Executive Director of the Highlands Coalition, an alliance of more than 100 organizations working together to protect the region. " It is encouraging to see such broad and bipartisan support for this important legislation and we hope that our entire Congressional Delegation will do everything in their power to ensure that it passes in this Congress."

"The Highlands Stewardship Act is modeled after the successful state and federal partnership approach that was employed to protect much of Sterling Forest, a crown jewel of the NY Highlands," said Jim Tripp, General Counsel for Environmental Defense and Chair of the Highlands Coalition. "Passage of this legislation would facilitate similar conservation partnerships to protect critical treasures threatened by sprawl throughout the Highlands."

"We must build upon the legacy of Sterling Forest by passing the Highlands Stewardship Act," said Carol Ash, Executive Director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and Vice-Chair of the Coalition. " It will take a similar commitment and partnership between the Highlands states and the Federal Government to safeguard the future of this region of water, beauty and life."

"Governor McGreevey recently called for preservation of the Highlands in his State of the State address and pledged an additional $50 million in state funding over the next three years to protect open space in the region," said Michele Byers, Executive Director of the NJ Conservation Foundation and Vice-Chair of the Coalition. "Now the Federal Government must match this commitment through passage of the Highlands Stewardship Act."

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Thomas A. Gilbert, Executive Director
The Highlands Coalition
POB 118
Titusville NJ 08560
Tel: 609-818-1776
Fax: 609-737-7264
Email: tgilbert@igc.org

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