$15.5 million helps New Jersey nonprofits buy parkland

New Jersey is putting $15,546,575 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues into Green Acres grants for qualifying tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. The Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, will use the money for land acquisition, development and stewardship tied to recreation and conservation.

That turns tax revenue into the kind of work residents can actually see and use: a park expansion, a protected tract, a restored farm or a trail system that does not disappear the next time a parcel goes on the market.

Buying the land, building the place

The largest share, $9,597,073, goes to eight acquisition projects. Another $5,230,502 supports eight park development projects, and $287,500 is set aside for one stewardship project. In practice, that means the state is paying for more than the first purchase. It is also helping make the land usable and keeping it from sliding back into neglect.

Among the named projects are Branch Brook Park in Newark, Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, Goffle Brook Park in Hawthorne and Highlands Farm restoration in Bloomingdale. Those names matter because they are the kinds of places people know by experience, not by statute.

The upkeep behind the green space

Another $431,500 covers DEP administrative costs. That money is not for a ribbon-cutting. It is for the staff work and oversight that keep the grants moving and the Green Acres system functioning.

Taken together, the appropriation shows how New Jersey’s conservation spending works in practice. It is not just about preserving acreage on paper. It is about funding the acquisition, development and stewardship that make land stay open, usable and protected.