Barnegat Bay 2020: A Vision for the Future of Conservation

Photo: Jim David

For two decades, The Trust for Public Land has led the charge to conserve the highly vulnerable land within the Barnegat Bay watershed. In 1995, TPL published The Century Plan: A Study of One Hundred Conservation Sites in the Barnegat Bay Watershed. The Century Plan created a "greenprint" for the conservation of the watershed's most threatened lands. This greenprint served as a valuable public awareness and educational tool, effectively prioritized critical conservation targets and functioned as a powerful marketing and fundraising document. To date, utilizing The Century Plan as a guide, TPL has raised more than $57 million in public and private funding to preserve over 11,200 acres in the watershed.

Protection of land throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed is more important than ever, as unabated development (the county's 500,000-person population doubles and even triples during the summer) continues to severely impact the bay's water quality, as well as habitat lands for over 100 endangered plant and animal species living within its confines.

A new report, Barnegat Bay 2020: A Vision for the Future of Conservation, has been written to build on the success of The Century Plan. The Barnegat Bay 2020 report outlines the future of a rejuvenated watershed by: 1) making a case for land conservation as a water quality protection tool, 2) identifying the highest priority parcels to protect, 3) evaluating land for passive recreational access and use and 4) enhancing the scenic quality of the watershed. 38 pages (2008).

Download the report

Related Links

"A Watershed Moment for Barnegat Bay" Land&People, Fall/Winter 2008

More reports on using land conservation to preserve water quality.

Posted 6/2008

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FILE ATTACHMENTS:

Map: Barnegat Bay 2020 Priority Parcels

Brochure: Barnegat Bay 2020: A Vision for Future Conservation

Criteria for Barnegat Bay 2020 Study and Priorities