New Environmental Organization Joins Fight To Save Drew Forest

MADISON, NJ — Trees and natural forest space are important in urban areas because they improve air quality and filter and retain stormwater.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is the most recent organization to officially join the fight to keep the Drew Forest from being developed.

Drew Forest, located on the Drew University campus in Madison, New Jersey, is a 53-acre undeveloped, biodiverse preserve with glacial ponds and some of Morris County's oldest trees. The Forest has been called a living classroom for teaching and research for Drew University students and the wider community.

Drew University recently requested that the Borough of Madison rezone the forest to allow for the construction of hundreds of market-rate housing units.

More than 15 municipalities, government agencies, and organizations working with Friends of the Drew Forest have urged Drew University to collaborate with the Borough of Madison to preserve this patch of land.

Green infrastructure in cities that is well-planned and managed, as well as proper forest conservation, can help to mitigate some of the negative impacts and social consequences of urban development.

“Great Swamp Watershed Association is proud to support this important preservation initiative,” said Sally Rubin, GSWA Executive Director. “The Drew Forest is an invaluable natural resource that will be lost forever if the Borough is ordered by the court to allow construction and the land is fragmented by development.”

The Buried Valley Aquifer flows beneath the forest and supplies drinking water to the boroughs of Madison and Chatham, as well as 30 municipalities in Morris, Essex, Somerset, and Union County.

Every year, the Forest provides critical recharge, a natural cleansing process that captures and purifies approximately 71.5 million gallons of rainfall. The Department of Environmental Protection values this ecosystem service at $1.5 million per year, said the GSWA.

Concerned citizens formed Friends of the Drew Forest, a volunteer advocacy group, to permanently protect and sustain the Forest and to raise awareness about the value of all forests. The group has proposed a "win-win" solution: a conservation sale in which Drew University would collaborate with Madison Borough to sell the land to a conservation buyer for full market value.

The organization is asking the public to sign an online petition in support of this initiative. The organization states that with over 13,000 signatures toward the goal of 15,000.

To learn more and to sign the petition, visit friendsofthedrewforest.org.