A Few Words from the New Jersey Highlands Coalition & The Highlands Region

Recognition of the critical importance the watersheds of the New Jersey Highlands as a source of clean drinking water dates back to at least 1907 when the NJ Legislature established “The Potable Water Commission” to recommend how the State’s diminishing clean water supply could be protected. The Commission found that “the Highlands watersheds are the best in the State.” In the 1920’s, with the establishment of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, the Highlands became the source of drinking water of many of the State’s northern industrialized cities.

After World War II, the rate of development in the Highlands increased to the extent that the quantity and quality of Highlands waters were threatened. In 1988, environmental organizations pooled their resources to form the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. Its mission was to garner support from local, state and national governments to preserve the water and other environmental and cultural resources of the Highlands Region.

Partly as a result of the Coalition’s efforts, the US Forest Service conducted studies of the region in 1992 and 2002. These studies found that “unprecedented development pressures… place the extraordinary and essential resources of the Highlands at risk.”

By having achieved national recognition for the critical importance of the region’s natural resources, the Highlands Coalition pressed on. In 2003, Governor Jim McGreevey established the Highlands Task Force to make recommendations regarding preserving the Highlands resources and regulating growth while maintaining the region’s economic vitality. The recommendations of the Task Force led to the enactment of the Highlands Act and the formation of the NJ Highlands Council in 2004. The Council was charged with developing a Regional Master Plan which was adopted in September, 2008.

In 2006, the alliance of environmental organizations that had pushed for the protections sought in the Regional Master Plan became formally established as a 501(c)3 non-profit. Today, the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, with its 51 member organizations and over 500 individual members, continues as an effective force in preserving the Highlands resources through education, advocacy, grassroots development, and by representing its membership in front of local, regional, state and federal decision makers.

The Coalition advocates for the continued development of ecotourism in the Highlands region. Ecotourism enhances the value of Highlands resources by promoting responsible recreational opportunities while contributing to the region’s economic vitality.

Please visit our website’s “Activities” page for links to dozens of organizations offering a surprisingly wide variety of great things to do outdoors in the Highlands: www.njhighlandscoalition.org

 

Click here for a great article published in the Daily Record (Oct/2011)
The Highlands Discovered
Download in PDF Format

 

Check out their new video (10/2011)