It's fitting that on the same day that Lawrence township is debating Wal-Mart's impact on traffic patterns and Washington township is mired in a re-appraisal of its development on Rte. 130 in lieu of a state supreme court decision that a new "Keep it Green" campaign has been created to lobby for the continuation of state funding for preserving open space.
It's doubtful whether Wal-Mart is a part of the nearly 100 environmental groups that have contributed to this campaign, run through the Outdoor Recreation Alliance.
According to an infinitesimal blurb of an article in the Trenton Times this morning, The Garden State Preservation Trust that provides open space initiatives with financial assistance in New Jersey will, by year's end, have exhausted its funding. There are no initiatives currently pending with the State Legislature to continue the operation of this trust.
According to a petition put forth on the preservationNJ website, "Every day New Jersey loses 50 acres of valuable open space and countless historic sites to development. At the same time, the Garden State Preservation Trust, which funds the popular and successful Green Acres, Farmland Preservation and New Jersey Historic Trust programs, is running out of money, and the State Legislature has failed to act to renew the Trust."
Currently, Governor Corzine and the State Assembly are backslapping each other for a 'fight free' budget period that lacked the dramatic government shut-down of last summer. Unfortunately, in deciding on a conciliatory budget agreement, both parties sidestepped this important initiative.
Meanwhile, central NJ can celebrate the impending opening of a new Wal-Mart.
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