2-22-2023 2:17pm

NJ DEP Launches Online Survey to Expand Outdoor Recreation and Open Spaces for Overburdened Communities

The survey is part of the Outside, Together! initiative which aims to enhance climate resilience, equity, and environmental justice.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has launched an online survey
to help identify how best to expand outdoor recreation and open space opportunities in New Jersey, with a focus on the needs of overburdened communities. The announcement was made by Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette, who revealed that the survey is part of the Outside, Together! initiative, aimed at creating a five-year plan to enhance high-quality open spaces and recreational opportunities in the state.

The survey will help the DEP to develop an action plan and funding priorities that will promote equity and environmental justice, climate resilience, and sustainability, as well as investments in ecotourism. The DEP has designed the survey to engage with overburdened communities, experienced outdoor users, and anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors in New Jersey.

The Trust for Public Land will administer the survey on behalf of the DEP, and survey responses will be accepted from February 22 to March 22. The survey will be available in English, Spanish, and other languages that are commonly spoken by New Jersey residents upon request, and it takes about 10 minutes to complete.

The survey will ask participants about the importance of outdoor recreation and open space, their local needs, park features and amenities that are most important, obstacles to outdoor recreation, funding prioritization, climate resilience features to include in parks, and demographic questions.

The DEP has also formed a 24-member Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, chaired by Elizabeth Dragon, DEP Assistant Commissioner for Community Investment and Economic Revitalization, to review the survey questions and develop the initiative's principles. The committee will discuss outreach efforts, and the data from the survey's findings will help inform new funding policies and acquisition prioritization used by DEP programs such as Green Acres, NJ Fish and Wildlife, and Parks, Forests & Historic Sites.

The Outside, Together! initiative is deeply rooted in public and stakeholder engagement and is part of New Jersey's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan update. The plan aims to set open space, parkland, outdoor equity, and funding priorities to best serve the recreation and conservation needs of all New Jersey residents. The survey is one part of the process to advance a five-year plan, which will be finalized by December 2023 for submission to the National Park Service.

The survey will be promoted through Governor Murphy's statewide update email, the Nextdoor social media application, DEP's social media channels, DEP listservs, the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee members, and the New Jersey State Public Library newsletter, and is expected to reach millions of New Jersey residents.

The DEP is committed to partnering with local governments and nonprofit organizations to expand the amount of and access to open space and recreation land. In addition to the survey, The Trust for Public Land will host multiple focus groups to hear from overburdened and historically underrepresented communities.

The objectives of the Outside, Together! initiative include identifying opportunities for expanding public access to recreation areas and facilities, educating the public about the importance, needs, benefits, and availability of open space and outdoor recreation opportunities statewide, and enhancing the focus on the economic benefits of preservation, including those associated with climate resilience and sustainability, ecotourism, and biodiversity.

The initiative also aims to identify necessary policy, regulatory, and legislative actions to advance open space and outdoor recreation goals, fully engage the public and key partners to ensure an informed approach to outdoor recreation and conservation, encourage collaborative partnerships and programs to enhance open space and outdoor recreation at multiple levels of government, and satisfy the National Park Service requirements so New Jersey continues to qualify for Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund opportunities.