The landmark deal also will protect the Ramanessin Brook, an important source of fresh water that flows into the Swimming River Reservoir, which provides drinking water for more than half a million Monmouth County residents. The agreement today is another leap forward in reaching our goal to save half of the precious open space and farmland which remain in New Jersey. I am committed to making sure that New Jersey remains a national leader in open space preservation and will continue to encourage local and state governments to create an interconnected system of open space by employing a variety of techniques for land and farm preservation in concert with sound land use and infrastructure planning and cooperative partnerships. Shinn hailed the public-private conservation efforts spurred by the state's Green Acres Program, stressing the need for dedicated partners and willing private sellers such as The Chase Manhattan Bank to work together to preserve high quality open space. We want to thank The Chase Manhattan Bank for its cooperation.
Partnerships are the key to preservation.
Cooperative partnerships like this are the centerpiece of the state's plan to preserve 1 million acres of open space and farmland. We need to keep these partnerships alive to help keep our Garden State green. The sale of this property is a win-win for all parties. By selling this land at a price below market value, we are in effect making a donation to the State of New Jersey and the Holmdel community for the preservation of this land. The negotiated agreement permanently protects 226.8 acres of open space.