Hall of Records Annex
1 East Main Street
Freehold NJ 07728
Phone: 732-431-7460
Fax: 732-409-7540

Environmental Section Main Page

The protection and preservation of the county's natural resources are important functions of the Monmouth County Planning Board. Management of these resources is influenced by decisions made at the local level. However, the impacts of these decisions are often felt regionally. The Environmental Planning Section is charged with the responsibility of working closely with the municipalities to improve the regional preservation, protection and improvement of our valuable regional resources. The Section provides staff support services to the County Environmental Council, the County Agricultural Development Board, the Regional Environmental Planning Councils, the Areawide Water Quality Management Planning Agency Amendment Review Committee, the Stormwater Technical Advisory Committee, watershed management partnerships, and other county agencies interested in environmental issues.

In conjunction with the County Environmental Council, the Environmental Planning Section completed  regional Ecological Resource Inventories for the South Coast, North Coast and Mid Coast regions of the County. These documents provide detailed information on land uses, land cover, habitats, historic resources, agricultural resources, coastal resources, soils, geology, topography, surface water resources and vegetation. Most of this work has been grant funded. Additional inventories are being drafted.

Eco-Tips is a brochure series prepared by the Environmental Planning Section. Titles in this series include "What is a Watershed", "Problem Geese", "Lawns and Gardens",  "Stream Corridor Protection" and "Coastal Dunes". 

This section also publishes "Eco-Logic", the County Planning Board's environmentally oriented newsletter several times each year. The newsletter is designed to communicate the latest environmental information and the initiatives of the Monmouth County Environmental Council, the Monmouth County Agricultural Development Board and the Regional Environmental Planning Councils.

This section organizes, collects and analyzes data from a network of Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring groups around the county. This information is geographically located and stored in a Geographic Information System. Informational videos were developed and are available for towns, schools, youth groups, municipal environmental councils and adult groups who are interested in volunteering their time.

Watershed Management Studies have been conducted for Wreck Pond Brook in Wall Township and Lake Topanemus in Freehold. Environmental Planning staff provides technical support and assistance. Additional watershed management planning studies have been initiated in the North Coast, Mid-Coast and Panhandle regions.

A significant role of the Environmental Planning Section involves public education and outreach. The Section is responsible for the following public outreach and education projects:

• Environmental Roundtables are held to offer information about programs and issues that affect the environment and citizenry of Monmouth County. Past events focused on environmentally friendly landscaping techniques, watershed management issues and grant writing.
  
• GIS training workshops are offered free to municipal officials and members of local environmental commissions.  This training enhances the commissioners abilities to gather environmental information.
  
• The Environmental Planning Section plans and implements an annual Earth Day Fair and county-wide environmental education competitions. The Earth Day Fair has received an outstanding attendance from county schools. Appropriate contests are available for all grade levels and sponsorship is from area businesses. The fair includes display of winning entries, interactive education exhibits, awards ceremony and environmentally oriented entertainment.

• Non-Point Source Pollution is a subject that young students can learn about and find solutions in their own neighborhoods. This section has developed a series of three award winning coloring books which presents this material for students in grades K through 3. The lesson plans help teachers answer and ask specific questions and provide lesson extensions to take the concept a step further. They are available free to all schools in Monmouth County.

The Monmouth County Farmland Preservation Program was designed to maintain farming as a viable economic resource in the county by preserving large, contiguous tracts of high quality farmland. Under the program, agricultural landowners receive payment for the development value of their properties. In return, the land is deed restricted with the landowners agreeing to use the land for agricultural purposes only, prohibiting any future development. This program is staffed by this section, and administered by the Monmouth County Agricultural Development Board on behalf of the County Board of Chosen Freeholders. As of January 1, 2005, through the efforts of the Farmland Preservation Program, the county has preserved 91 farms totalling almost 9,200 acres.

Name	Title	email
Linda Brennen	Supervising Planner, Environmental
Harriet Honigfeld	Agricultural Resource Specialist I
Jessica Kubida	Principal Planner, Environmental
Turner Shell	Principal Environmental Specialist
Amanda Carl	Farmland Preservation Program Coordinator
Ann Waters	Senior Planner, Environmental
Jenna Provost	WMA 12 AmeriCorps Ambassador

Section Phone # 732.431.7460

Copyright 2006 - Monmouth County Planning Board - All Rights Reserved