An Appeal from the Rails to Trails Conservancy
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy calls your urgent attention to some disappointing news in New Jersey, where the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has reversed its previous denial of a Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit to Lacey Township.
In the settlement, the NJDEP now plans to allow Lacey to build a two-mile road in the railroad corridor that would have been a segment of Ocean County's Barnegat Branch Trail. If the road is built on this section, the trail can not be.
This development would also mean the loss of thousands of trees and would be a serious blow to the integrity of the overall trail, other segments of which are now under construction.
To learn more, please see these two recent stories from the Asbury Park Press:
DEP Reversal Ignores History
Lacey-DEP agreement clear way for road construction
As a trail supporter--especially of trails in New Jersey--we ask that you send an e-mail or letter to the NJDEP calling on them to deny this permit, as they originally did. For more information, addresses and a sample letter, visit the Lacey Rail-Trail Environmental Committee website at www.laceyrailtrail.org. The deadline for public comment is next week, so do not delay!
We also urge you to attend a public rally this coming Saturday, September 11, to save the Barnegat Branch Trail.
When: Saturday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m.
What: "Save It! Don't Pave It! Once the trail is gone, it will be gone forever!"
Where: 828 Route 9 in Lanoka Harbor, N.J. Parking is available on Warren Avenue between Route 9 and South Street.
View Barnegat Branch Rail Trail in a larger map
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