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Given the challenges of preserving open space
and farmland in New Jersey, it is obvious that the continued
success of open space and farmland preservation in New Jersey
over the next decade will depend on the collective ability
of the conservation community to: (1) maintain and expand
available sources of state and local public funds for preservation
efforts; (2) substantially expand contributions from the private
sector, particularly from private foundations, corporations
and individuals who have not previously been engaged in this
effort; (3) create mechanisms that promote less competition
and greater collaboration, use of partnerships, and sharing
of experiences and skills; (4) increase the capacity of the
conservation community, at both the level of individual organizations
and as a community as a whole, to work more effectively and
to undertake more preservation work with greater leverage;
and (5) identify and utilize new funding mechanisms and techniques
to expand the overall resources which are available to the
conservation community to achieve its ambitious goals. Conservation
Resources Inc. (CRI) was created to help insure that the conservation
community succeeds in these five areas.
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Mountain Laurel, Appalachian Trail
Sussex Cty, NJ
© Dwight Hiscano |
CRI will support, complement, and supplement, rather than duplicate,
the efforts of the various private and public conservation agencies
already established in New Jersey. CRI will not
be in the business of acquiring land or conservation easements itself
– but we very much are in the business
of providing financial and technical assistance so that other conservation
organizations can acquire, better manage and restore additional
acres of land. Specifically, CRI will: assist these agencies in
the development of additional expertise and institutional capacity;
promote the continuation and expansion of partnerships, collaboration
and sharing of skills and techniques among these same organizations;
and provide a mechanism to significantly increase and share the
private and public resources available to preserve adequate natural
areas, farmland, critical habitats, watershed lands, stream corridors,
greenways, trails, and parks for passive and active recreation in
all parts of the New Jersey.
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