League of Women Voters urges support of open space initiatives

Five Ocean County municipalities this November are placing open space funding questions on their ballots. Residents of Barnegat, Jackson, Little Egg Harbor, Manchester and Stafford townships will be voting on this important question.

A "yes" vote will have many benefits to the people in those communities. Open space eases costs from housing development and provides a better quality of life for people and living things.

Preservation of open space will reduce air pollution and mitigate contaminants that get carried into lakes and streams, thus affecting the Barnegat Bay watershed.

Open space improves quality of life for residents, whether it be a small forest for wildlife and native plants, a walking and jogging pathway, or a sea of marshland.

Despite the Garden State Preservation Trust, we are losing open land at a rate of 18,000 acres per year — three times faster than our population growth.

Open space has been developed that could take up an area larger than Hudson, Union and Essex counties combined.

The League of Women Voters has a long-held position supporting the wisdom of acquiring land for open space. It is hoped that voters will seriously consider their options when voting in November on open space funding.

Jacqueline Haaf

Pearl Schwartz

co-presidents

League of Women Voters

of Ocean County