Help us WIN - we need your support!
Asking for money is no fun. The fact is, hiring professionals to help educate our elected & appointed officials is expensive. Legal professionals, environmental consultants, printing...it all takes moolah.
Your contribution is tax deductible, thanks to our Coalition partner Our Green West Orange. We need you to click the donate button below so we can educate the county on what TRUE conservation education looks like! - Thank You!
People Ask, "What can we do to save the Reservation?"
The Latest
Rally to Save the Rez!
Our FIRST rally with over 350 attendees!
Click the photo to read the NJ.com article by Jenna Wise
Freeholder States Env. Impact Study will be done AFTER the project is done
On February 4, 2020, Freeholder Leonard Luciano explained to the Millburn Town Committee that Essex County will complete an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) after the amphitheater project is complete. According to NJ State Executive Order #215, that would be illegal.
[See 3-min video HERE.]
[View Executive Order HERE]
NJ.com Article, Feb 22, 2020
Residents through Essex County have been contacting their local papers and online news sites. This opinion piece "Don’t fall for Essex County’s greenwash of habitat destruction at Turtle Back Zoo," is written by Coalition SMR's very own Joyce Rudin.
Be sure to write your local editors, too!
Essex County Towns Unite to say, "Big enough!"
Millburn
South Orange
West Orange
February 11, 2020 the Millburn Environmental Commission passed a strong resolution to halt the county's amphitheater project based on detrimental environmental impacts.
West Orange
South Orange
West Orange
Sept 10, 2019 the West Orange Township Council presents resolution calling on Essex Board of Chosen Freeholders to HALT expansion of the South Mountain Recreation Complex. County must provide a traffic study, environmental impact study, &
adhere to all DEP, soil conservation & other environmental protection & erosion guidelines.
South Orange
South Orange
South Orange
February 27, 2020 the South Orange Environmental Commission unanimously passed a strong resolution against the county's amphitheater project.
Maplewood
And YOUR town???
South Orange
Aug. 6, 2019 the Maplewood Township Committee passed a resolution calling on Essex Board of Chosen Freeholders to HALT expansion of the South Mountain Recreation Complex. (Committeewoman Nancy Adams drafted the town’s resolution with help from the Maplewood Green Team.)
[Please view resolution in PDF form below]
Newark
And YOUR town???
And YOUR town???
March 4, 2020, the Newark Environmental Commission adopted a resolution similar to that of the Millburn: Enough is enough.
Details to follow.
And YOUR town???
And YOUR town???
And YOUR town???
Coalition Partners unite to say, "Enough is enough!"
Documents of Interest
County Opens Bids for Faulty Amphitheater
Olmsted Foundation Submits Letter to County
Olmsted Foundation Submits Letter to County
Despite the county only submitting a draft Master Plan, and not including all townships directly impacted by the proposed project in the planning process, and not conducting an environmental impact study, Essex County opens their million dollar amphitheater project up to bidding under the guise of "Conservation Pavillion." [PDF below]
Olmsted Foundation Submits Letter to County
Olmsted Foundation Submits Letter to County
Olmsted Foundation Submits Letter to County
Yes, the very same Olmsteds who designed Central Park! The Olmsted Foundation submits a letter to Essex County to "go slow" and to "include input from concerned citizens and professionals." They remind us that South Mountain Reservation is part of the first county park system in America. The Olmsteds were ahead of the game when it comes to conservation, and fighting climate change.
Turtle Back Zoo Master Plan DRAFT
Taxpayers Buy $600,000 Amphitheater Plan
Taxpayers Buy $600,000 Amphitheater Plan
The county provided a Master Plan to West Orange Township Planning Board after months of both residents and township officials requesting the promised plan be made available. Below is PDF of this plan, for your downloading pleasure, which includes convenient words like, "Conservation" and "Education."
Taxpayers Buy $600,000 Amphitheater Plan
Taxpayers Buy $600,000 Amphitheater Plan
Taxpayers Buy $600,000 Amphitheater Plan
Lights! Sound! Cages! Tranqulizers! Kindergarteners are now ready to learn about conservation while seated in groups of 500, in an entertainment Pavillion that was home to 135 mature trees, and home to native species plants and animals. From here, they can use the planned "rustic toilets" and head to the gift shoppe to forget about climate change and buy stuff! [See the Zoo's PDF diagram below]