Time to preserve open space growing short

Recent property revaluations have shocked residents as they discover their land is worth four to six times more than their homes. "I didn't know grass cost so much," one surprised resident said. With less than 55,000 available acres left undeveloped in Monmouth County, land values are skyrocketing as population growth eats up at least 7,000 acres each year. At this rate, all undevelopable parcels in Monmouth will be gone in less than seven years.

To understand the enormous pressures to develop our remaining open lands, we should look beyond our county borders and examine regional and national trends.

The pressure for developing land isn't unique to Monmouth County. It is occurring in all the nation's coastal states, home to 50 percent of the U.S. population. An unexpected quarter - the timber industry - confirms our fears that any remaining open space will soon fall to housing developments, condominiums, offices and shopping malls. Rising land values are making the timber industry's vast acreage more profitable to develop than to harvest. These companies are selling off huge portions of their land for housing developments, golf courses, shopping malls, and condominium communities. Large 1,000-home subdivisions popping up overnight are common in coastal areas.

If timber companies find it more profitable to sell land than to grow trees, can our own farmlands and horse farms in red-hot Monmouth County resist the siren song of developers? Unfortunately, as land skyrockets in price, an analysis of federal budget data by the Wilderness Society shows that conservation funding - money available to buy open land either directly or through grants to states - has shrunk from more than $500 million in 2001 to about $140 million in 2006.

Even though voters last November approved both New Jersey and Monmouth County propositions to fund open space programs, less money is available overall for states and local communities to preserve fast-disappearing, environmentally sensitive acreage. And that great engine of conservation, the New Jersey Preservation Trust - which funds Green Acres and several open space and historical preservation programs - will run out of funds this year unless it is quickly reauthorized by the legislature and approved by the voters.

The time to preserve Monmouth County's opens spaces and historical resources is growing perilously short. Once the concrete and macadam harden, the damage is done and the land is lost forever. It is sad to reflect that when we started the Monmouth Conservation Foundation 30 years ago, much of the county was woods, farmland, and horse farms. There appeared to be no great hurry then to set aside public land. Yet, incredibly, just three decades later, we have just seven years - or less - to preserve for future generations any remaining open land in the county.

Our state, county and local officials know that taxpayers support the preservation of open spaces, farmlands, historical resources and parklands. But we need to give them a nudge. Contact your elected state officials today and tell them to renew the New Jersey Preservation Trust.

Judith Stanley Coleman

President and a founder of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation

Adele Keller

Executive Director

Monmouth Conservation Foundation