New Vision Needed for NJ State Parks
Leaders are needed to ensure a healthy future for NJ’s public lands.
The New Jersey State Park Service is full of hardworking and talented individuals with a desire to serve the public and protect natural resources, but they have been hampered by ineffective or politically motivated leadership during the past 8 years. Because of this, the Murphy administration has a great chance to rectify the situation and renew a positive vision for New Jersey’s public lands. These leaders should have a commitment to science-based decision making aimed at protecting natural resources while providing low-impact recreation opportunities for the public.
This is why we need Governor Murphy and Catherine McCabe, acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to take a close look at how New Jersey’s State Parks and Forests, the DEP, and the Pinelands Commission are addressing serious harms and threats to public lands. Governor Murphy is committed to scientific decision making and has already taken strong steps to get New Jersey going in the right direction with the recommitment of NJ to the Regional Green House Gas Initiative.
This kind of decisive action is also needed for good stewardship of State Parks and Forests, and it begins with putting the best people in the key policy-making and implementation roles of state government. These staffing decisions will set the course and ultimately define the governor’s environmental legacy for our state lands.
The citizens of New Jersey do not want habitats to be destroyed by illegal off-road vehicle abuse, and we do not want our parks to become corridors for the fossil fuel industry or commercialized clear-cut logging. We want to protect and promote the state’s biodiversity, we want clean drinking water, and we want our public recreation areas to be treated as a sacred trust.
Please join us now in asking acting Governor Murphy and Commissioner McCabe to bring in leaders who have a positive vision for the future of New Jersey’s open spaces and the commitment to make it happen.
E-mail catherine.mccabe@dep.nj.gov and ask her to hire leaders with a commitment to science and the environment and SIGN this petition.
Slashed park budgets, a contrarian administration, and threats from developers, pipeline companies, and off-road vehicles have hurt our preserved lands, and greatly increased the challenges of stewardship. We welcome a fresh, scientific, and responsible commitment from our new governor and the NJDEP Commissioner to protect and care for our shared open spaces.