A
237-acre farm in Allamuchy Township, Warren County,
was permanently preserved today, strengthening
a network of more than 2,300 acres of surrounding
lands that either are protected or slated for protection
in the immediate area. The farm's preservation
was made possible through the state's first direct
purchase of development rights, said state Agriculture
Secretary Art Brown, Jr., who chairs the State
Agriculture Development Committee (SADC). The Garden
State Preservation Trust Act, which was signed
into law by Governor Whitman in June, for the first
time authorized the SADC to directly purchase development
rights. Prior to the Act, development rights could
be purchased only by counties, with the SADC providing
grants to help fund those purchases. The Act also
authorizes the SADC to offer grants to nonprofit
organizations to help fund the cost of acquiring
development easements or properties to be preserved. "The
SADC's ability to purchase development rights directly
from farm owners is another way to preserve our
precious farmland," said Governor Whitman. "Agriculture
is an integral part of the state's character, and
preserving farmland will help us make sure that
New Jersey is a good place to live, work and raise
a family for generations to come." The SADC purchased
the development easement on the former Anisfield
farm - also known locally as the Danks Farm - from
Frank and Joan Gibbs of Allamuchy. The couple owns
an adjacent dairy farm and has been leasing the
Anisfield farm for the past 35 years. The couple
wanted to purchase the farm, but that hinged on
the accompanying sale of the farm's development
rights to the SADC. Simultaneous closings took
place today on both the Gibbses' purchase of the
farm and their sale of the development easement
to the SADC. The couple purchased the farm for
$1.1 million. The SADC paid them $699,488 for the
development easement, with Warren County sharing
approximately $186,500 of that cost. The sale of
the development rights means that the property
can never be used for anything other than agricultural
purposes. "Agriculture provides important economic
and aesthetic benefits to the state," noted Secretary
Brown. "Preserving these farmlands is critical
to maintaining agriculture's continued economic
viability." Other protected lands or preservation
projects in the area include approximately 1,000
acres of additional preserved farmland; the 625-acre
Tranquility Farm, which the The Nature Conservancy,
Warren and Sussex counties, and the SADC are working
cooperatively to protect; and 700 acres owned by
the Pequest Property Co., which the Green Acres
Program is working to acquire and preserve. The
State Agriculture Development Committee administers
New Jersey's Farmland Preservation Program. To
date, 58,056 acres have been permanently protected
under the program, with approximately 18,639 additional
acres approved for preservation.
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