Welcome to the Skylands Preservation Alliance

We are a grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit in New Jersey made up of community residents who want to preserve the rural nature of Warren and Hunterdon Counties.
Current areas of focus include:

  • Identifying ecologically sensitive areas within the Skylands region
  • Raising awareness about potential impacts of development
  • Promoting sustainable development projects
  •  Championing Open Space and Land Preservation

As the season wraps the world in its chilly embrace, we're given a front-row seat to one of the most spectacular displays on Earth—the graceful dance of snow geese. With their pristine feathers reflecting the sun's soft light and their harmonious calls echoing through the crisp air, these elegant creatures paint a picture of pure serenity against the winter landscape.

 
A new study just came out about warehouses and their detrimental impacts. According to NJ.com, "According to the report, there are 3,034 warehouses in the Garden State that take up 527 million square feet. About one in three people in New Jersey live within a half mile of a warehouse.
The facilities reportedly generate at least 380,000 daily truck trips.
The number of warehouses in the state has grown by 35% in the last two decades and 2.7 million people (about 1 in 3) live within half a mile of these facilities, authors said."
You can view the full report here: https://cleanwater.org/.../NJ-Warehouse-Boom-Report-EDF-6

Video of tractor trailer turning onto Bloomsbury Road from the Route 173 truckstop. Note that the truck needs the entire width of the road to make the turn.

Some History

In 2009, there was a proposal for a massive truck hub in Franklin Township, Warren County. Essentially an extension of Port Newark, the plans called for more than 1000 tractor trailers a day to come through Bloomsbury and Franklin Township, threatening the federally designated Wild and Scenic Musconetcong River and the surrounding watershed, and forever changing the bucolic area in which we live. Local residents responded by uniting to form the Skylands Preservation Alliance,  delivering the clear message that this type of project l is inappropriate for this part of the Skylands’ Region in terms of environmental safety, traffic safety, infrastructure capacity, and quality of life. Through our concerted efforts with the help of many friends, neighbors, local environmental non-profits and municipal government, this project was thwarted.

Since then, the blight of large, industrial truck transfer warehouses has been spreading swiftly along the I-78 corridor in nearby Lehigh Valley, and is again threatening our area.   

In 2019, another project came to the fore: a proposed million plus square feet warehouse with daily traffic from 300 employees and numerous tractor trailers, located on the Tobias Farm, across from the Musconetcong River. This project, too, would negatively impact Bloomsbury and Franklin Township with increased traffic, increased emissions, toxic runoff into the river, and the industrialization of farmland. And so, again, we are organizing to protect our home and our way of life. 

Another similar project has been proposed by Jaindl Farms in White Township: another massive warehouse to be built on farmland adjoining the beautiful and historic Foul Rift section of the  Wild and Scenic Delaware River.

If you moved to this area for the wildlife, the farms, the balloons, the rivers, the small town life and rural peace, be aware that these treasures are in jeopardy. We ask like-minded residents to join us in raising awareness about the reality of what these and other projects would mean to our community and to help us send our message to the developers, the townships, and to the counties: projects like these are inappropriate for the Skylands’ region.

To get involved, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to join our mailing list, like us on Facebook, and watch this space! 

THANK YOU!!!

Current Projects of Interest

Development of warehouses on fertile, productive farmlands

Tobias Farm, Bloomsbury, NJ
Proposed 1.2 M sq. ft warehouse on pristine farmland across from the Musconetcong River:
The (nearly) 112 acre Tobias property is pictured to the right in red. If built, the proposed warehouse would be equivalent to more than 20 Football fields!!! (20.8333, to be exact.) Sitemap is pictured below.


Jaindl Farms, White Township, NJ
Proposed 3M-6 M sq ft. warehouse complex on hundreds of acres of established farmland adjoining the Delaware River.

Specific concerns regarding both projects include the potential for:

  • Pollution - Air/water/soil/noise/light
  • Heavy tractor trailer and increased automobile traffic on county roads
  • Longer commutes and more accidents
  • Water allocation problems/well failures
  • Plummeting property values
  • Toxins flowing into the Musconetcong and Delaware Rivers; negative impacts to water supply serving millions of downstream customers
  • Visual blight
  • Destruction of trout/wildlife habitat; negative impact on outdoor recreation