Woodbine Applies for Pinelands Conservation Funding

WOODBINE – The Borough of Woodbine has made application to the Pinelands Commission for Pinelands Conservation Funding in the amount of $263,200 as the next phase in the Borough’s County Open Space project.
This application is in support of its overall program to preserve a 25-acre tract in the heart of the Borough, which will serve as an environmental resource to our Community School, programs at the County Library’s Woodbine Branch, and other educational opportunities initiated at Stockton University’s Woodbine Anne Azeez instructional site. (The tract is adjacent to the Community School and County Library Branch and is within an easy walk of the Stockton site and the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage.)
The proposed project is consistent with the County Master Plan and long-term plans for the County Park System. The easements that would be created by the Pinelands Conservation Funding complements the Phase I acquisition approved by the Cape May County Open Space Board.
This project will also ensure for posterity that our forested resources remain a part of the public heritage and provide for environmental educational and interpretive opportunities in a Pinelands setting. It will complement the many hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in and around the Borough, augmenting the growing significance of Woodbine as a center for recreation and natural resource conservation.
It is the Borough’s long-term goal to have the entire 25-acre parcel as part of the County’s Park System, while continuing to be responsible for stewardship of the project site.
“Woodbine’s success in securing designation as a “Pinelands Town/Center of Place” serves as the premise for our ongoing efforts to promote managed responsible growth. Towards this end, Pinelands Conservation Funding would enable the Borough to take another step to preserve this important natural resource. ”