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In September 2003, Governor McGreevey issued the Highlands Executive Order which established the Highlands Task Force. The task force is charged with the complex mission of developing a management strategy to conserve the resources of the Highlands, the 1,000 square mile region of northwestern New Jersey that supplies drinking water not only to the region’s inhabitants, but also to more than 3.8 million residents in the counties of Passaic, Essex, Bergen, and Union.

Although the Highlands is a significant natural resource area, it is more than wilderness. Nestled among the natural resources are over 137,000 acres of active farmland that contributes over $120 million to the local economy every year, and 90 municipalities located within seven counties.

Any proposed management strategy for the Highlands must therefore be carefully crafted and well balanced to conserve the natural resources while enabling the agricultural, commercial, and residential areas to prosper. Critical land resources must be preserved, land values and equity maintained, regulations and compliance measures established and funded, and local governments enabled to plan for both their future and the future of the Highlands region.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the delegates to the 89th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Long Branch, New Jersey on February 3, 2004, strongly urge the Highlands task force to incorporate strategies similar to those described in the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s recently adopted Agricultural Smart Growth Plan for New Jersey when considering possible land use regulations.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we request all government agencies responsible for Highlands issues to provide at least two week’s advance notification of the time and place of all public meetings and distribute to agricultural organizations and agencies any feedback or contact information that will allow the agricultural community to participate more fully in the decision-making process for the Highlands.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we urge the task force and all government agencies to identify revenue sources to fund conservation cost-share programs to help farmers comply with any new environmental quality regulations developed for the Highlands region.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we strongly encourage all government agencies to respect the initiative and autonomy of the Highlands municipalities and counties and not establish a Pinelands-like management entity without a thorough review of the positive and negative experiences of the Pinelands program from the perspective of all affected parties, but continue to allow the municipalities and counties to exercise their authority to find the best way to achieve the resource preservation goals while protecting the equity and ownership rights of farmers and other stakeholders.