On August 10, 2004, Governor James E. McGreevey signed the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act (HWPPA) into law. This historic legislation institutes protective environmental standards on a 1,250 square mile area in northern New Jersey known as the Highlands region. The region, which covers portions of 7 counties and 88 municipalities, provides drinking water for over 5 million people. It contains exceptional natural resources such as clean air, contiguous forest lands, wetlands, pristine watersheds and plant and wildlife species habitats. It also encompasses sites of historic significance and provides abundant recreational opportunities for the public.
The new law will help preserve New Jersey's dwindling open space by restricting certain types of development. Since 1984, 65,000 acres of the Highlands region have been lost to development, and sprawl and the pace of development in the region has dramatically increased with the rate of loss of forested lands and wetlands more than doubling since 1995.
We have compiled the following resouces for more information about the
highlands legislation:
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