Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s Highlands Conservation Act included in appropriations bill

After the House Appropriations Committee acknowledged his request to include funding for the Highlands Conservation Act as part of the Fiscal Year 2016 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) released a statement discussing his support of the measure.

“I am pleased that Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) recognized the ongoing need for this critically important funding,” Frelinghuysen, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, said. “Preserving the New Jersey Highlands is, and should remain, a federal priority. A major source of drinking water and in the most densely populated metropolitan area in the country, the Highlands is a critical area in need of protection.”

Frelinghuysen explained that $3 million for land acquisition, from willing sellers, in the Highlands region was included in the bill passed by the Appropriations Committee. The legislation now continues to the full House for further review.

“By negotiating land acquisition with willing sellers, this appropriation shows just how efficiently the federal Highlands Conservation Act has been working,” Frelinghuysen said. “The act requires that every federal dollar be matched 100 percent by non-federal dollars. Over $17 million that has been previously appropriated under the act has leveraged state, local and private funds at a better than two-to-one ratio.”

The Highlands Region covers more than three million acres across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The Highlands Conservation Act is credited with the preservation of over 5,000 acres within that area.