Issue #11           

Fall 2005           

 

The Basin Bulletin   
Newsletter for Stakeholders of the Raritan Basin Watershed    

 

 

River Friendly Farms

North Jersey Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council has recently been awarded two grants to develop and implement River Friendly Farm programs in the Raritan Watershed.  The first of its kind in the state of NJ, the goal of the River Friendly Farm project is to improve water quality in the Raritan Basin through increased implementation of farmland best management practices.  Once the River Friendly Farm criteria are met on a property, the agricultural producer will receive recognition that he or she is being a good steward of the land and protecting our rivers and streams.   Recognition will include signage and publicity, which can be a real draw for a direct marketing farm operation.

Over $200,000 of grant funds and in kind contributions will be utilized in developing and implementing the River Friendly Farm Program in the Spruce Run, Long Valley, and Neshanic watersheds.  The NJ Water Supply Authority is funding program development and pilot implementation in the Spruce Run watershed through the EPA Targeted Watershed Grant.  In addition, North Jersey RC&D received a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from Natural Resources Conservation Service to expand the program to the Neshanic River watershed. The Neshanic alone covers 56 square miles and as of the 1995/97 land use/land cover dataset half of the watershed was agricultural land.

For more information about the River Friendly Farm program contact:

Christine Hall

RC&D Coordinator

(908) 735-0733 x105

 

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