DEP Honors Clyde Potts Watershed Partners (May 13, 2002)

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell has awarded the Clyde Potts Watershed Conservation Project first place recognition in the county/region Watershed Management Awards Program.

Citing “exceptional result-oriented accomplishments” Campbell honored The Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (SMCMUA), The Township of Randolph, the Township of Mendham, the Morris County Park Commission and the Morris Land Conservancy for permanently protecting over 900 acres of prime watershed property while preserving an additional 60 acres threatened by development to the 1200 acre Clyde Potts Watershed.

The five partners worked over several years to assemble the project and develop the funding and agreements necessary to complete the $6.2 million transaction.  According to Harry G. Gerken, SMCMUA’s Executive Director, the joint venture exemplifies a vision of protecting drinking water and preserving one of Morris County’s last remaining large tracts of open space for the benefit of future generations. “All the partners share the goal of preserving open space.  SMCMUA has the added benefit of protecting one of Morris County’s few surface water sources of drinking water.  Everyone wins in this arrangement”, Gerken said.

Mendham Township Mayor Kathryn Porter pointed out that this project joins the permanently preserved Dismal Harmony Brook, the first Green Acres project funded in New Jersey over 40 years ago.  “Adding almost 1,000 acres to this magnificent open space is a remarkable legacy for Morris County’s future.  Without Green Acres participation, this vast project would still be a dream rather than reality”.

Mayor Jon Huston of Randolph, noted that unlike many other open space acquisition projects, the public, who pays for the open space, will enjoy the area through a system of trails to be constructed by the townships and the Morris County Park Commission. “When the trail system is completed, Randolph residents who live near Route 10 will be able to hike across town and join the Park Commission’s Patriot’s Path and then travel west to the Black River Preserve or east through Washington Valley into Morristown and beyond.  This project is a jewel and the lynch pin for a public that wants to do more than look at preserved open space from a car window.”

Gerken noted that the Morris Land Conservancy’s Executive Director David Epstein played a key role in putting an extremely complex deal together.  “Getting two governmental agencies to agree is difficult and when four are in the same room, it’s nearly impossible.  Add several private property owners to the mix and the potential for chaos exists.  David kept us focus on the project, a task he does exceptionally well.  He deserves to be part of the award.”

The Partnership’s project will be featured at the DEP’s Watershed Symposium on May 14 at the Lafayette Yard Marriott in Trenton.