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In a decision that dismayed environmental activists, the state Board of Public Utilities Wednesday ruled today in favor of a plan that would destroy hundreds of forested acres in Cumberland County that protect rare wildlife and water supplies.

The BPU's decision would allow the Atlantic City Electric Company to sell the so-called 1,350-acre Holly Farm tract in Millville -- which the activists insist is environmentally sensitive and filled with threatened animal and plant life -- to a developer whose ability to pay in full was seriously challenged by two state agencies, economic experts and environmental groups.

The developer, R.W.V. Land & C.M. Livestock, plans to build 900 age-restricted units and a golf course on 400 of the acres. The environmentalists charge destruction of the forest would strain the populations of threatened Pine Barrens tree frogs, barred owls, redheaded woodpeckers, dotted skipper butterflies and many other species. They also charged it would make the land less able to filter and cleanse local water supplies.

"Today the Board of Public Utilities chose a speculative real estate deal over the environment and the ratepayers," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said. "This is a dirty deal to build senior housing and a golf course in the middle of one of the most ecologically important areas. This is the largest most environmentally sensitive unprotected track of land in New Jersey, and now it will get paved over."

"The decision of the BPU thwarts three decades of effort by citizens and conservationists to stop suburban sprawl in this area and protect the public's investment in the surrounding conservation land," said Emile DeVito, Manager of Science and Stewardship for the NJ Conservation Foundation. "This is a major setback in efforts to preserve a forest ecosystem that houses more threatened, endangered and special concern species than any other landscape in the Delaware Bay region of New Jersey."

The BPU is required to take the value of competing offers and the public interest into account in its decisions.

A competing offer for the land by the state Green Acres Program was superior, according to all three economic experts who testified before the BPU. The buyer of the land, RWV, will not pay over 80 percent of the land cost until four years after the purchase, giving the offer a lower value than the offers made by Green Acres to acquire and preserve the land for the public trust.

If the developer defaults on the payment, the land merely reverts to Atlantic Electric but activists fear environmental values could be destroyed in the meantime.

"The ecological characteristics of this property are unparalleled in New Jersey," said Jane Morton Galetto, president of the Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries Inc, which has been working to protect the site since the early-1980s.
Galetto added, "The site is bordered by federally-protected Wild and Scenic Rivers, and its preservation is needed to help protect those public investments. The decision by the BPU only strengthens our resolve to see that this property is placed in public ownership in order to protect the interests of the people of our state and to leave an important legacy for their children and grandchildren."

The Conectiv tract immediately adjoins The Nature Conservancy's 3,000 acre Manumuskin Preserve, which the New Jersey Conservation Foundation played a role in saving. The Conectiv tract is central to the Conservation Foundation's plan for the Manumuskin River watershed, produced in the mid-1980s, and is at the center of what is described as the most critical forest ecosystem complex in Cumberland, Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Environmental advocates envision increased public access, enjoyment and education on the site if Green Acres was able to acquire the land.

The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commission (ANJEC) also disagreed with the BPU's decision.

"The tract's forests and wetlands help protect the water supply by filtering stormwater and recharging underground aquifers," Jody Cararra, ANJEC's director of coastal planning, said. "We can protect these environmental features by keeping new development in existing centers and on appropriate sites where roads and sewers already exist. New Jersey's growth need not – and should not – be at the expense of our most precious natural resources."

Sustainable development practices also protect taxpayers, Cararra said. "Numerous studies cited by ANJEC show that suburban sprawl often exacts a higher price on taxpayers than well-planned development," she added. "ANJEC is sorely disappointed with the BPU's decision."

"While we are very disappointed by the decision today, the efforts to protect the site will continue," Eric Stiles, NJ Audubon's vice president for conservation, said. "We will continue to work through our counsel at the Columbia Environmental Law Clinic to ensure this site is preserved for future generations. New Jersey already has enough sprawl – we don't need more."

BPU officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the vote or criticism.

– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM