Republican legislators in northwestern New Jersey last night blasted the governor's Highlands preservation plan, saying it is being rushed through the political system to meet an April 20 Earth Day deadline and urged that the process be slowed to allow for intelligent debate.

State Sen. Anthony Bucco and Assemblyman Rick Merkt (both R- Morris) and Assemblyman Guy Gregg (R-Sussex) said there are too many unanswered questions on a host of issues - including funding, development rights, affordable housing and watershed moratorium aid - to be considered before legislation is introduced later this month.

They also challenged Gov. James E. McGreevey to immediately release a map of the proposed core, or most environmentally sensitive portions, of the Highlands where development would be most constrained. That document should be available now, while legislative hearings are still going on, they said.

That map will be unveiled next Thursday, Curtis Fisher, a policy official in McGreevey's office, said last night during an informal public session on the Highlands plan last night in Mendham Township. But that would be after a public hearing on Tuesday in Morris County and barely in time for next Thursday's hearing in Hunterdon County.

The GOP trio, who made their comments outside last night's meeting, also announced they will hold their own public session on the Highlands on Tuesday evening at Centenary College in Hackettstown to listen to public concerns and develop a series of questions to be posed to the Democratic administration.

"I don't believe anyone is this room tonight does not believe in the Highlands concept," said Bucco. But they've got to slow it down. This is important to millions of people and has to be crafted in the right way or it can do a lot of harm."

Responding to a report by the Highlands Task Force, McGreevey last month announced plans to preserve critical environmental parcels in the 800,000-acre Highlands region that covers some 90 towns in seven counties.

Legislation introduced two weeks ago would virtually ban development on important watershed lands and establish a regional council with veto power over all major development in the core Highlands area.

A draft map being drawn up in consultation with local and county officials is expected to show about half the region would be part of the core area. It is expected to focus north of Route 80 and west of Route 287 in Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Morris counties, and around Spruce Run reservoir and west of the Musconetcong River in Hunterdon and Warren counties.

Merkt, noting there are no legislative or gubernatorial elections that could make the Highlands an election issue this year, urged the Democratic governor to hold off on the proposed bill for a few months.

But Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), one of the sponsors of the Highlands legislation, said the process should not be delayed, pointing out the Highlands preservation issue has been considered for several decades by five governors, with no plan ever adopted.

Gregg, meanwhile, called on Democrats to at least allow for more Republican participation in the process, noting the Highlands is located in a Republican-dominated part of the state.

"Imagine if this went the other way, that Republicans were in charge and we decided to, say, go into Newark and make changes affecting that Democratic city without talking to (Mayor) Sharpe James," said Gregg. "We would have gotten killed in the press - and rightly so - for doing that. So, in this case, Republican constituents deserve that courtesy."

* * *

Lawrence Ragonese works in the Morris County bureau. He can be reached at lragonese@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910. Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.