by Karen Keene

Since being awarded just over $2 million in federal funding through the Department of Defense (DOD) in 2018 and 2019, MCF and Monmouth County have been working to permanently protect additional land that buffers Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle’s nearly 12,000 acres from the Leonardo community in Middletown to Howell – containing one of the largest wooded areas in the County. Together we are collaborating with the US Navy through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program to prevent incompatible development, preserve farmland and wetlands, protect wildlife, and add to existing parks, which will allow NWS Earle to maintain operations security and decrease potential risk to the public.

The REPI Program funds Congress-authorized cost-sharing partnerships among the Military Services, private conservation groups (like MCF), and state and local governments to acquire property. This is typically achieved in the form of conservation easements from willing landowners and, where relevant, restoration is conducted on the land. MCF has identified several eligible parcels of land for protection and is actively negotiating with interested property holders to protect their land through an easement, a legal document that will restrict further development and uphold conservation values found on the property. Simultaneously, we are working to fundraise as the REPI award requires a 1:1 match from other funding sources.

As REPI projects come to fruition, they form areas of protected or restored land and build resistance to climate change impacts and hazards such as flooding, wildfires, and droughts. We expect our first easement to be finalized in early 2023 in Howell with additional sites in the pipeline in Colts Neck. We are hopeful that the REPI Program will be a steady source of funding for us and our partners to preserve significant acreage along NWS Earle’s borders.