In 2004, the State of New Jersey enacted the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act with the aim of protecting the region from the wrong kind of development. The law established a procedure enabling municipalities and property owners to transfer their development rights in exchange for grants and other supportive programs. Some have taken advantage of the program to protect the land; others have not.
Running down from the hills above Hackettstown for almost 46 miles into the Delaware is the Musconetcong River, 28 miles of which are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation. The health of the river is a bellwether for our entire state.
But its health is threatened by the temptation of warehouse income to small towns along the river. Although there is local opposition to warehouse development, towns, anxious for money, are neglecting the impact of truck traffic, blasting down hills to build one to 2 million square foot warehouses. The name Musconetcong is from the Lenape meaning “clear flowing stream.” It won’t be that way if this area ends up destroyed by greed.
Prayer for the Day
As we bend down to touch a stream of clear running water,
We remember, O God, it reflects the majesty of your creation;
As we hear birds and watch the life of the river move beneath our feet,
We know, O Holy One, that your handiwork must be protected.
Grant, Creator of life, that we touch the earth gently
As did the peoples who inhabited this land before us.
In the name of the One who walked among us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It’s almost the poster child of where something like this shouldn’t happen.
- Tom Bodolsky, Citizens for Sustainable Development
Overall, we think the Highlands Act has had an extremely significant impact on water quality in the region. … without the Highlands Act and the regional master plan, we would have expected to see significantly more degradation. And if not for the Highlands Act, we would likely have seen many more negative trends.
-Lisa Plevin, former Executive Director, Highlands Council
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind …
“has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb did ice come forth, and who has given birth to hoarfrost of heaven?
The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
Job 38: 28-30