Chris Smith Works With Dem Congresswoman To Save NJ Open Spaces

Rep. Chris Smith, this area's longtime Republican congressman, lent his continued support to Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, a freshman Democrat from Morris and Essex counties, to help provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a federal program that funds the acquisition and development of thousands of acres of open space and recreation areas, not just in New Jersey but across the United States.

For example, some of New Jersey's most beloved spots have been funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, among other sources. This includes the Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area, Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Morristown National Historic Park, Edwin Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge.

Congresswoman Sherrill and a representative from Smith's office announced the news on Wednesday of this week, Sept. 2, while standing in front of the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge in New Vernon. The Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge is among the many New Jersey places preserved through the fund, financed entirely by revenues from offshore oil and gas leases, not tax dollars.

The funding was included as part of the Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law by President Trump in early August.

New Jersey Conservation Foundation said the legislative success of the Great American Outdoors Act this summer "took years."

“The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides tremendous benefits to New Jersey and everywhere in the nation,” said Michele Byers, director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “It is far and away our nation’s most important conservation program, and now that it's been made permanent, we can move forward to protect the natural lands still needing preservation in New Jersey.”

"New Jersey's entire congressional delegation supported this bipartisan effort," she said.

“I frequently highlighted the Great Swamp as I worked to build support from members of Congress to sign on to the Great American Outdoors Act," said Congresswoman Sherrill. "This bipartisan legislation is a historic investment in our open spaces."

“We have been fighting a long time to permanently authorize the LWCF,” Congressman Smith said in a letter read by his staff at the event. “The new law signed by President Trump assures a steady, reliable federal investment, and the private partnership funding it will generate for critical conservation projects. The law also funds much-needed maintenance at national parks and federal lands that has been backlogged for years."

"In New Jersey, we are particularly fortunate to have many environmental treasures – including coastal areas, wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries – that already benefit from the LWCF," Smith continued. "By fully stabilizing the fund we are assuring that New Jersey citizens will have more and better protected outdoor landscapes to visit and enjoy in the future."