Our mission is to protect, enhance, and promote the vital water and other natural and cultural resources of the New Jersey Highlands to sustain current and future generations. We focus on safeguarding the water resources, ecological integrity, biodiversity, and the cultural and scenic resources of the New Jersey Highlands; promoting the implementation of a strongly protective Highlands Regional Master Plan; ensuring the faithful implementation of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, along with the promulgated regulations of NJDEP and other agencies; increasing local, state, federal, and private sources of funding for land conservation and stewardship in the region, and promoting better planning, growth management, and land acquisition strategies; educating the public and decision-makers on, and serving as an information source for, New Jersey Highlands cultural and natural resource protection; and creating strong partnerships and alliances to effectively protect, preserve, and enhance the New Jersey Highlands.
The New Jersey Highlands Coalition Small Grants program awards grants to grassroots organizations working on projects that protect New Jersey Highlands resources. The grants support efforts within the New Jersey Highlands or related to its resources, with a maximum award of $5,000. Applicants must justify the funding amount requested. The program encourages projects that contribute to the coalition’s broader goals of protecting the natural and cultural heritage of the New Jersey Highlands region.