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LETTER: Drew students challenge university president on potential Drew Forest sale
By Erica Cowper and Morgan Zielinski | The Madison Eagle
“We love Drew University and want it to be solvent for many years to come. We think that selling off sections of the forest may solve a short-term funding problem but will destroy the long-term health of the university.”
Dr. Sara Webb honored for Drew Forest restoration in Madison
“Dr. Sara Webb has been awarded the Morris Park Alliance's Individual Environment/Conservation Award for her work to preserve and restore the Drew University Forest Preserve.
The preserve, 53 intact acres with some of the oldest trees in Morris County, owes its biodiversity to 14 years of volunteer work and to Webb's dedication, according to the alliance.”
COMMENTARY: Migrating birds return, but are their northern homes safe?
March is here and the “snowbirds” are returning to New Jersey. These are the people who migrate south to avoid the winters at home (disclosure: I’m one of them).
Morris Township joins area towns urging preservation of Drew Forest
By Kevin Coughlin for Morristown Green
“Jim Hunt, an alumnus with Drew roots dating to 1964, said the Drew Forest is a legacy he wishes to leave for his grandchildren.
‘Every time we chip away with development at the recharge of the aquifer, in effect, we’re beginning to steal from the future,’ Hunt said.
Beseeching Morris County and the state to join the preservation effort, Mayor Mark Gyorfy also implored Drew ‘to give conservation a chance.’”
Morris Township set to back preservation of Drew Forest in Madison
By the Madison Eagle
“The Morris Township Committee is expected to pass a resolution at its next meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16, supporting the preservation of the 53-acre Drew Forest.
The township would become the fourth in a string of municipalities to do so for the forest located on the campus of Drew University, joining the likes of Madison, Chatham Township and Chatham Borough in the fight.”
Students Plead Community to Save the Forest
By Angelia Lobifaro for the Drew Acorn
Drew University students have been busy organizing urging Drew University President Thomas Schwartz to dispel the uncertainty regarding the potential sale of the Drew Forest and the university’s financial future. A student petition is circulating on campus, and Student Government has passed a resolution in support of a conservation sale to permanently protect the forest.
Drew University student government calls for transparency on potential forest sale
By Alex Parker-Magyar for Madison Eagle
“The undergraduate student government at Drew University is looking for answers from the school’s president on the potential sale and development of a portion of the Drew Forest preserve.
The elected body representing Drew’s College of Liberal Arts made several ‘demands’ of President Thomas Schwarz in a resolution dated Wednesday, Feb. 23, stating that unclear communications from the university ‘have caused confusion, and the transparency of decisions made in regards to the sale of the Drew Forest and the impacts therefore mentioned will directly affect the Drew community.’”
A lesson in grassroots advocacy
“Have you heard of the Save the Drew Forest campaign? The answer, if you live in Madison or its surrounding towns, or if you went to Drew University, is very likely yes.
Frankly, if you are a resident of Madison, it seems it would be difficult not to have heard of the campaign at this point.”
Strong Support For Drew Forest Preservation Continues
By Tyler Barth for TAPintoMadison
“Mayor Bob Conley received a letter from the Friends of the Drew Forest and various shoppers during a visit to the Farmer’s Market recently, signed by over 90 people. He showed the letter during the Feb. 14 town meeting, held virtually.
Madison has repeatedly stated its vocal support for the preservation of the 53-acre forest, which has been under threat of possible redevelopment in the past few years, as Drew University sells off land to recoup financial costs. The Forest has endured nearby industrialization and large-scale redevelopment and has remained mostly unchanged throughout the past 150 years, one of the few swaths of land in New Jersey like this.”
The Chathams back preservation of Drew Forest
By Claudia Ceva for New Jersey Hills
“Jim Connelly of Mountain Avenue said Drew Forest is a “gem of a property that needs to be secured as open space” in a written comment read by Township Clerk Greg LaConte.
Connelly said though the property is in Madison, it borders the township and any development there would have a negative impact on the area. “It would be preferential to maintain Drew Forest as the high-quality open space it is,” he said.”
Chatham Borough is latest town to support Drew Forest preservation in Madison
“Following in Madison and Chatham Township's footsteps, Chatham Borough has become the latest town to state its support for the effort to save Drew University Forest Preserve from development.
The Chatham Borough Council unanimously passed a resolution to this effect at a meeting on Monday, Feb. 14, six days after the Township Committee did the same.”
Chatham Township Committee Unanimously Passes Resolution in Support of Preserving 53-Acre Drew Forest; Media Upgrades Coming
By Ed Barmakian for TAPintoChatham
The Chatham Township Committee unanimously passed a resolution in support of preserving the 53-acre Drew Forest at its regular meeting on Tuesday night.
The forest located on the property of Drew University is a "wildlife corridor that connects Giralda Farms" in Chatham Township to the Loantaka Brook Reservation.
Old-Growth Forest Network Founder, Ecologist, and Author Joan Maloof Calls for Preservation of the Drew Forest
Dr. Joan Maloof added her voice to the chorus of calls for the preservation of the Drew University Forest Preserve at a virtual meeting of the Borough Council on Monday, Jan. 24.
Scores of people, mostly Madison residents and Drew alumni, have called for the forest’s preservation at council meetings and online over the past year, but Maloof is among the highest-profile advocates to speak out.
Claire Whitcomb Presents Environmental Potentials To Madison Council
66% of Madison’s carbon footprint comes from the built environment, said Whitcomb, and any new construction will have to meet present energy efficiency standards. Any brand-new buildings will have to meet green infrastructure, green stormwater practices, additional landscaping measures and, most pressingly, impervious coverage.
2022 Mayor’s Annual Message
“Over the years Drew has had a major role in the evolution of Madison, part of what makes us the best place to live in New Jersey. Known as the University in the Forest, we will work with them to ensure that they continue to provide quality college education, serve as an economic engine not just for Madison, but for Morris County all while remaining the University in the Forest, the forest that helps recharge our aquifer, clean our air, and provides a refuge not only for wildlife but also for us as we look to escape the crazy world around us.”
Drew Forest advocates carol for conservation at Madison meeting
by Alex Parker-Magyar for Madison Eagle
“Residents frequently stump for local causes before the Borough Council but it doesn’t often come in the form of a holiday serenade.
Three members of the Friends of the Drew Forest bucked that trend at a council meeting Monday, when they sang the praises of the threatened forest preserve to the tune of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas.’”
To grandmother’s house we go | Opinion
By Claire Whitcomb for NJ.com
“…A forest isn’t just a bunch of trees that you can swap out like last year’s wardrobe. It’s an ecosystem.
It crumbles when you slice and dice it, its environmental benefits can’t begin to be replicated by planting juvenile trees here and there in parks or on suburban lawns. Scientists learn more every year about what goes on beneath the forest floor and it is clear that trees talk to each other and share nutrients through vast fungal networks.”
Madison boosts open space tax, OK’s new uses for Giralda Farms campus
The Borough Council adopted two ordinances Monday night, one seeking to preserve and the other to adapt.
The council first voted to restore the local open space tax from 1.8 cents per $100 to 2 cents per $100. The decision could benefit any number of open space, preservation, and recreation projects in the future, but in the immediate term, it aims to help save the Drew University Forest Preserve from the developer’s bulldozer.
Build elsewhere. Save Drew Forest. | Opinion
By Addison Del Mastro, Drew Alumni, for NJ.com
“I write professionally about places I live and visit, but I’ve never written about my college town of Madison, where I attended Drew University. But recently a college acquaintance posted a Change.org petition on social media, titled Save the Drew Forest Preserve, which as of this writing has over 10,000 signatures. Drew, an institution long-struggling financially, is reportedly considering selling some of the preserve for development.”
Madison Council And Residents Alike Encourage Open Space Tax Change, Defend Drew Forest
By Tyler Barth for TAPintoMadison
“Due to recent financial instability, the Drew University has been selling off various properties. For example, the land on which the Alumni House - a university mainstay for almost 140 years - stood has been sold off to a developer who plans to build a mosque, a proposal which turned many heads when first made public.
The University has not made an explicit statement regarding plans to sell the 53-acre Drew Forest, however for the past several months residents, council members and alumni alike have spoken at town council meetings, and last night’s meeting was one of the most prolific on that front.”