Today, October 9, 2018, environmental groups, open space and smart planning advocates, academic and research institutions, recognizing that the impacts of climate change directly threaten the communities, infrastructure and ecology of the Meadowlands region, issued a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection asking that the State of New Jersey:

• Address the long term impacts of climate change in the Meadowlands within the forthcoming NJ SEA Master Plan, including the concept of a climate resilience park;
• Grant all applicable state-owned open space, natural lands and waterways in the Meadowlands special designation that recognizes the Meadowlands as a cohesive unit of park, preserve or natural areas system within the state’s existing framework of natural lands stewardship; and
• Work with other government entities and property owners to acquire any high-priority, privately-held wetlands remaining in the District, and add them to the specially designated area.

These requests stem from the work that RPA and its partners have done in the year since RPA issued a recommendation in its Fourth Regional Plan to transform the Meadowlands into a climate resilience park.

Read the full letter.