Sourland Planning Council Gets $100,000 Smart Future Grant

December 7, 2004 -- The Sourland Planning Council, a grassroots, citizen-based organization dedicated to preservation and protection of the Sourland Mountain Region, has been awarded a $100,000 smart future planning grant by the state Department of Community Affairs.

DCA Commissioner Susan Bass Levin made the announcement at a news conference in Trenton on Dec. 7.  The grant will support the development of a plan to guide land use in the Sourland Mountain Region, which stretches across nearly 90 square miles in central New Jersey.

The Sourlands region includes portions of the following municipalities: Hopewell Borough and Hopewell Township in Mercer County; East Amwell and West Amwell townships and the city of Lambertville in Hunterdon County; and Hillsborough and Montgomery townships in Somerset County.  A sliver of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County also lies in the Sourlands.

“We must work to save this incredible resource in the hopes that our children and grandchildren will enjoy it as we have,” said Jennifer Bryson of Hillsborough, who is president of the Sourland Planning Council.

The Office of Smart Growth had previously awarded an $80,000 grant to complete the first phase of the Sourland Resource Management Plan, which examines the region’s current conditions and implications of future growth.  The grant, administered through East Amwell Township as the lead agency, has been used over the past year to conduct a detailed hydrogeology study and a natural resources inventory. 

Other items – a build-out analysis, a comparison of state, county and municipal plans and ordinances and preliminary open space and conservation plans – are in the works.

The largest unbroken forest in central New Jersey, which is the third-largest forest in the state, lies within the Sourland Mountain Region.  It boasts a unique ecosystem of forested wetlands and grasslands that provide a home to numerous threatened and endangered species and other plants and animals.  In fact, about 95 percent of the region is critical habitat.

The unique conditions in the Sourlands create the headwaters for much of central New Jersey’s water supply. 

Their notoriously fickle aquifer is the only source of drinking water for all of the mountain region’s more than 22,000 residents and many neighboring communities.  The Sourlands provide an essential refuge for numerous species of deep woods plants and animals and are a vital stopover for migratory birds including neotropical migratory songbirds like the scarlet tanager that traverse the Atlantic Flyway, the north-south migratory bird route that lies between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The region’s many forested wetlands and vernal pools provide a unique breeding ground and habitat for an array of reptiles and amphibians such as the rare blue-spotted salamander.

The Sourlands have a rich and colorful past and they provide central New Jersey’s only wilderness for a variety of recreational activities including hiking, biking, riding, birding and hunting.

The Sourlands are at crossroads – literally and figuratively.  Located roughly halfway between the Highlands and the Pinelands and halfway between New York and Philadelphia, this natural treasure is smack in the middle of an area that experienced extraordinary growth and suburban development in the 1990s.  This nearly secret place where artists, moonshiners and aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh sought privacy and solace is now threatened by the growth pressure and sprawl all around it.

Development in the Sourlands, however, has been historically buffered for centuries by the presence of hard rock and poor soil.

“Recent changes in technology and an unprecedented level of pressure now has left the region more vulnerable than ever.  Despite their local, regional, statewide and international natural resource importance, hundreds of acres are lost to development each year.  One new house in the Sourlands has the impact of many elsewhere.  A one-acre clearing the Sourlands reduces critical deep woods habitat by 20 acres to 30 acres,” said Ms. Bryson.

Moreover, additional houses bring more wells and more septic systems.  Recent studies indicate that the current pace of development likely will render large swaths of the aquifer undrinkable since there are no protections currently in place for the sole-source aquifer.  More and wider roads, more and larger houses, and changes to the landscape threatens to destroy this critical recreational resource, the scenic vistas, the viable farming community, and the historic value of the Sourlands.

"The Sourlands are central New Jersey's most fragile and imperiled area,” said Patricia Sziber, a member of the Hopewell Township Environmental Commission and the Sourlands smart growth project Steering Committee.  “As Sourlands municipalities, we are its stewards and we have to go beyond our own borders and work together as regional partners to protect the natural resources of this very special area.

"The aquifer, the forest, the birds and wildlife know nothing of municipal boundaries or lines on a map.  We have to understand this fundamental concept and accept the Sourlands as an entity whose boundaries are defined by the natural features of the land,” Sziber said.  “All of the Sourlands municipalities tap into its resources, but we do not do so without affecting all the others."

“The Sourlands area is precious and is facing an imminent threat,” said Mayor Louise Wilson of Montgomery Township, one of the municipalities participating in the Sourlands smart growth project.  “People value this beautiful place for all sorts of reasons – the fascinating plants and animals, the rich and quirky history, the boulders as big as a house.

“I would fight for those things and a lot of other people would, too.  But aside from all that, there is the water.  We need and must protect the clean water of the Sourlands.  We will not succeed unless we work as a team, respecting different perspectives but pursuing a common goal.  The effort so far has been strong, and very good work has been done.  We’re building on that effort as we move forward.  With all the municipalities pulling together, we’ll succeed.  And we cannot afford to fail,” said Wilson.

The Sourland Planning Council, formed in 1986, promotes and encourages a comprehensive approach to planning, conservation, preservation of open space, protection of natural resources and protection of places of historical interest for Sourland Mountain and its surroundings.