TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ............................................................………...............… 5 Overview .............................................................................….........…. 7 1. Open Space Preservation in Camden County ................ 17 State Open Space ........................................................................ 17 Wharton State Forest ...................................................................... 17 Winslow Wildlife Management Area............................................ 18 County Open Space ........................................................... 19 Camden County Park System .................................................. 19 Municipal Open Space ...................................................... 39 Municipal Open Space Inventory ........................................... 39 Municipal Greenways ............................................................. 39 2. Farmland Preservation in Camden County .................... 41 3. Historic Preservation in Camden County ........................ 43 Early History of Camden County ............................................ 43 Local Historic Preservation Efforts ........................................ 46 4. Planning Goal and Objectives ............................................. 49 5. Criteria Ranking for Site Prioritization ........................... 51 6. Application Procedures ......................................................... 57 APPENDICES PAGE Appendix A - Inventory of Municipal Open Space in Camden County ....................... 59 Appendix B - Inventory of Camden County Water Bodies and Watersheds ................................................................................................ 79 Appendix C - Inventory of Rare Species and Habitats in Camden County ......................................................................................................... 93 Appendix D - Camden County Agricultural Development Board Policies and Criteria for Farmland Preservation ......................................................................... 101 Appendix E - Application for Open Space Preservation and Recreation Funding ............................................................................................... 113 Appendix F - Application for Historic Preservation Funding ......................................... 125 Appendix G - Application for Recreation Facility Enhancement Project Funding …………………....................................…………………….. 143 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………..….. 155 INTRODUCTION Camden County, with its proximity to Camden and Philadelphia, has been a prime target of developers since the end of World War II. Evidence of this fact is seen in the growth of the County’s population during this period. Between 1950 and 1990 Camden County’s population increased 66% from 300,743 to 502,824, making it the sixth most densely populated county in the State and the most densely populated in South Jersey. This trend is expected to continue into the first decades of the new millennium. According to projections prepared by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, at the current rate of development, by the year 2020, Camden County will lose an additional 18,531 acres of open space to development. This total represents over half of the 32,378 acres of developable land which remained in Camden County as of 1995. When the farms, fields, and forests of our youth are lost to development, we are losing much more than vacant land. Development places greater demands on our natural environment even as it lessens the environment’s ability to meet these demands. For example, development increases air and water pollution by increasing the number of automobiles and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. At the same time development decreases the availability of natural filtration systems to absorb this pollution. Likewise, development creates an increased demand for groundwater to “feed” residential, commercial and industrial needs while reducing important recharge areas which are essential to the replenishment of groundwater supplies. Coupled with this knowledge is the fact that development results in the loss of habitats for native plant and animal species. Along with our natural heritage, Camden County’s cultural heritage suffers at the hands of development. Many a historical structure has been razed to make way for housing, businesses and infrastructure. Likewise, farms which once predominated the County’s landscape, have been eliminated from all but a handful of municipalities, taking with them a large part of our agrarian past and the physical beauty inherent to such pastoral settings. Development also brings with it a population that demands recreational facilities while diminishing the availability of open space to supply this demand. In recognition of the problems created by development and the resulting loss of open space, in November 1998, the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders presented the voters of Camden County with an opportunity to establish an Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. Following the passage of this ballot question by an overwhelming majority of Camden County voters, in January 1999, the Board established the Camden County Open Space 5 Trust Fund Advisory Committee. This Committee was charged with the task of developing a plan to address the need to preserve additional open space in Camden County. This Open Space and Recreation Plan is guided by the Board’s desire to preserve the significant environmental features of Camden County; to protect areas of agricultural, historic and scenic significance; and to expand recreational opportunities for County residents where the need exists. 6 OVERVIEW The preservation of open space has become the number one environmental issue for most Americans. According to a recent nationwide survey conducted by Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation, nearly 90% of those polled feared that much of the developable open space which remains will be lost forever unless action is taken now to protect it. Testifying to this fact, on November 3, 1998, Camden County residents voted overwhelmingly in support of a referendum to create the Camden County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. Through this Trust Fund approximately two million dollars* will be raised annually to “…purchase, preserve, and maintain environmentally sensitive lands, including open space, farmland, historic sites, and recreational areas…”. This referendum was one of three open space questions on Camden County ballots, joining similar questions put before the voters by the State of New Jersey and the Township of Voorhees. Nationwide, 240 anti-sprawl questions were put before the voters in 1998. In January 1999, the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders appointed the Camden County Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Committee (“The Committee”). Composed of representatives of County and local government, environmental organizations, historic preservation societies, the Camden County Agricultural Development Board, the Camden County Board of Realtors, and interested citizens, the Committee was charged with the responsibility to assist the Freeholders in the development of an Open Space and Recreation Plan including the criteria by which candidate sites for preservation would be evaluated In implementing such a plan, it will become necessary to overcome the popular perception that open space is merely land awaiting development rather than a viable end use in itself. Open Space performs a variety of functions from preserving our natural, cultural and historic resources, to providing recreational opportunities, protecting surface and groundwater supplies, increasing local property values, and sustaining multi-billion dollar industries. * when assessed at the full rate of $0.01 per $100 of assessed value Open Space and the Environment As mentioned in the Introduction, the preservation of open space has many benefits for the environment. Air and water pollution are minimized, critical groundwater recharge areas are protected and habitats for indigenous plant and animal species are maintained. 7 The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Natural Lands Management (ONLM) lists no less than 112 rare and endangered plant and animal species which have been known to exist in Camden County. Many of these species have already been lost to development or other man made alterations of the County’s natural landscape. In compiling this list of rare species (Appendix C), the ONLM has identified 15 sites within Camden County which they have designated Natural Heritage Priority Sites. These sites are so designated as they represent “some of the best remaining habitats for rare species and exemplary natural communities in the State”. The criteria developed by the Committee and contained in Section 5 – Criteria Ranking for Site Prioritization, reflects the emphasis placed on open space preservation as a means of environmental protection. The protection of riparian corridors, wetlands buffer areas, rare and endangered species habitats, and mature woodlands is of primary concern. All contribute significantly to the maintenance of biodiversity. It is this sustained biodiversity which is a determining factor in the State’s establishment of the aforementioned Natural Heritage Priority Sites. Camden County should ensure the continued survival of these environmentally