New Jersey Highlands CouncilIn order to protect the important critical resources of the Highlands Region, preservation of the lands in which these resources are located must be encouraged and funded. However, since funds are not limitless, the resource values of lands must be ranked in terms of their importance and long-term viability. In order to determine high priority areas in the Highlands Region for preservation, the Council used the results of the Resource Assessment to identify and prioritize those lands within the Highlands Region which have the highest water and ecological resource values. These values are based on a combination of indicators using methodologies discussed elsewhere in the RMP which measure the quantity and quality of regional resources such as: watershed conditions, Highlands Open Waters, Riparian Areas, prime ground water recharge areas, forests, Critical Habitat, and steep slopes. Moreover, existing protected lands, showing the historic pattern of land preservation activities in the Region, will be identified and integrated with the ecological resource value to identify priority areas for conservation. This prioritization process will enable the Council to identify a confidential inventory of open space lands and farmland within the Conservation Priority Area and the Agricultural Priority Area and a Special Environmental Zone in the Preservation Area to respond to Section 12.a of the Highlands Act, which are areas that should not be developed due to their importance for water resource and ecological protection. The Highlands Council used its identification of Conservation Priority Area and other data to identify the Special Environmental Zone. Preservation of the Special Environmental Zone will occur through a variety of regulatory and preservation programs, including coordination with the NJDEP regarding both.ArcGIS FeatureLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/0ec4a0c443d24eafb7cc103d49035539_1engNew Jersey Geographic Information Network (NJGIN) Open Data PortalPublicSpecial Environmental Zone [New Jersey]Web servicesNew JerseyLast Modified: 2008-07-01