May 31, 2000

Dear Friend,

This is why I recently announced a new initiative, known as the Conservation Action Fund, that will dedicate $5 million annually from the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund and allow the state to purchase land threatened by development in an expeditious manner. This legislation enjoys the support of the Passaic River Coalition and four other leading environmental organizations, including the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the New Jersey Environmental Federation and the Sierra Club.

The bill would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to acquire open spaces without going to the Legislature first for approval, a process that all-too-often takes between six and 18 months to complete. The flexibility will make New Jersey's successful open space protection program even better. With the addition of the Conservation Action Fund, New Jersey's open space program will set the standard for acquiring parcels of land to be used to preserve open space.

We have already made significant progress in protecting open space over the past four decades. The Green Acres program and the newly established Garden State Preservation Trust Fund have enabled the State to preserve more than 850,000 acres. The Conservation Action Fund will ensure that time does not run out on our efforts to preserve New Jersey's last remaining open spaces.

Enclosed you will find a petition in support of the Conservation Action Fund. Please take the time to sign it and distribute it to others who share your concern for open space. This petition may be copied. Please mail completed petitions to the following address:

Senate President Donald T. DiFrancesco
Statehouse/Senate Majority Office
P0 Box 099
Trenton, NJ 08625-0099

Sincerely,

Donald T DiFrancesco
Senate President

246 MADISONVILLE ROAD
BASKING RIDGE, NJ 07920 
(908) 766-7550

May, 2000

Dear Friends:

Senate President Donald I DiFrancesco has introduced a bill (S.5) that would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to acquire open spaces without going to the Legislature first for approval, a process that all-too-often takes between six and eighteen months to complete. The flexibility that this bill can provide will make New Jersey's successful open space protection program even better.

Under this program, only the state would be able to acquire land which cannot proceed through the standard process. However, the state would be able to respond to requests from counties, municipalities, and the public to move forward on a threatened piece of property. Twice since the Passaic River Coalition established its Land Trust in 1993 have we lost property because the process didn't allow for a quick purchase. In one case the heirs to an estate wanted to sell immediately, and in the other, a bank held property and would not wait the time necessary for Green Acres to process an application for us.

Since the 1960's, New Jersey has wisely implemented a program for the preservation of open space. However, every once in a while, a site must be sold quickly or is recognized as being significant for preservation in place of development. Time, however, is our greatest enemy in meeting the goals of open space preservation. We need a process that will move quickly on certain projects before it is too late, and this land is lost.

We urge you to support S.5, the Conservation Action Fund, by signing the attached petition Have your friends and neighbors also sign this petition, and return it to Senator Donald DiFrancesco Please make copies of this petition if you need more. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call. Thanks you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ella F. Filippone
Executive Administrator

We support Senate President Don DiFrancesco in his efforts to create a Conservation Action Fund. This quick strike fund, using $5 million from the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund, will be used to bypass cumbersome bureaucracy in order to preserve open space in an expeditious manner.

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Please Return to: Senate President Donald DiFrancesco
Senate Majority Office
State House
P0 Box 099
Trenton, NJ 08625-0099

THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE COPIED