New Jersey Highlands CouncilThe Regional Master Plan (RMP) provides for the protection and enhancement of Highlands Lakes and their environs, including Highlands lake communities. The management of lands surrounding lakes is an important issue for the Highlands Region. Overdeveloped, damaged, and poorly managed shoreland areas can result in the degradation of water quality, harm the lake ecosystem, decrease natural aesthetic values, and cause an overall loss of property values for lake communities. Lakes can be harmed by pollutant sources in the watershed area draining to them. Polluted lakes can, in turn, damage downstream streams and rivers. Most existing lake communities are fully built out, predate modern environmental protection requirements, and have limited potential for major land use changes. Some have sewer systems, but many rely on septic systems (or even cesspools) on inadequately sized lots, where direct contamination of the lakes is possible. Past NJDEP studies indicate that nearly every public lake (privately-owned lakes were not evaluated) is experiencing unacceptable contamination, often including excessive bacteria and nutrients. In addition, many lake communities have been evolving from summer communities to year-round communities, and many are experiencing greatly intensified land uses as the original buildings are torn down and replaced by much larger structures. Addressing land uses within lake communities allows for potential opportunities to improve community value, to protect the cultural and historic resources often associated with lake communities, to protect natural resources and enhance and restore the quality of lake environments in the Region, and in some cases, to allow for in-fill development where appropriate.ArcGIS FeatureLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/9bcf222ed0ff4dc5860fafaa10a1174a_62engNew Jersey Geographic Information Network (NJGIN) Open Data PortalPublicLake Management Areas [New Jersey]Web servicesNew JerseyLast Modified: 2021-03-11