ASSEMBLY, No. 2806

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MARCH 20, 1997

 

 

By Assemblywoman ALLEN and Assemblyman DeSOPO

 

 

An Act appropriating $825,000 from the "Green Acres, Farmland and Historic Preservation, and Blue Acres Bond Act of 1995," P.L.1995, c.204, for the development of certain lands in Burlington county for recreation and conservation purposes.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1.    There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection from the "1995 New Jersey Green Trust Fund" established pursuant to section 23 of the "Green Acres, Farmland and Historic Preservation, and Blue Acres Bond Act of 1995," P.L.1995, c.204, the sum of $825,000 to provide a loan or grant, or both, to assist Burlington county with the development of lands at Palmyra Cove for recreation and conservation purposes, which sum shall include administrative costs.

 

    2.    The expenditure of the sum appropriated by this act is subject to the provisions and conditions of P.L.1995, c.204.

 

    3.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill would appropriate $825,000 in 1995 Green Acres bond moneys to the Department of Environmental Protection to provide a loan or grant, or both, to Burlington county for the development of Palmyra Cove for recreation and conservation purposes.

    Palmyra Cove is one of the few remaining natural sites left in a densely populated and urbanized area in Burlington county that is in great need of more parkland for passive recreation and environmental education. The site of the proposed Palmyra Cove Wildlife Refuge constitutes approximately 350 acres of scenic and ecologically sensitive undeveloped land located on the Delaware river shoreline, just south of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in the Borough of Palmyra, and serves as important habitat for over 200 species of resident and migratory birds, including two endangered and 11 threatened species, as well as various mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and native plant life. The location of the refuge site on the shores of the Delaware river makes it ideal for designation as a major piece of the Delaware River Greenway, a land preservation project undertaken by a large partnership of public agencies and private groups in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Permanent protection of the Palmyra Cove area would also greatly complement conservation efforts undertaken by the States of New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania and the federal government pursuant to the Delaware Estuary Program. The sum appropriated by this bill is needed to develop the Palmyra Cove area as a wildlife refuge and would be used for such purposes as the clearing and enhancement of trails, landscaping, and the construction of observation platforms, picnic areas, education centers, exhibits, and bridges.

 

 

                             

 

Appropriates $825,000 in 1995 Green Acres bond moneys for development of Palmyra Cove, Burlington county, for recreation and conservation purposes.