Honoring the US Navy and our Partners at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle
MCF is pleased to recognize the US Navy and our partners at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle for their support and collaboration to permanently protect lands buffering NWS Earle’s nearly 12,000 acres. This recognition was bestowed at MCF’s annual Fall for Conservation Cocktail Party, on September 21, 2024 in Colts Neck.
With over $3 million in federal funding awarded thus far through the US Department of Defense (DOD) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration REPI program since 2018, MCF and Monmouth County have been working with NWS Earle and municipalities to preserve land surrounding the base, which transects the County from the Leonardo community in Middletown through Colts Neck to Howell and contains one of the largest wooded areas in Monmouth. This honor is bestowed on the heels of our inaugural conservation projects achieved through this partnership – preserving 255 acres encompassing two properties in Howell and Colts Neck in 2023 and greatly benefiting our community.
L-R: NWS Earle Commanding Officer Capt. Kent D. “Brewski” Smith, MCF President Matthew Cohen, and MCF Executive Director William D. Kastning
Representatives from the US Navy, Monmouth County, and MCF Commemorating our Inaugural Preservation Projects
Prioritizing Resilience and Sustainability
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2011, which caused $50 million in damages at NWS Earle, the US DOD further ramped up strategic initiatives to address climate resilience at critical military bases like NWS Earle.
Here in Monmouth County, where NWS Earle provides vital ordnance (military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment) for the Atlantic Fleet, many encroachment concerns directly affect the base.
Encroachment is the term used in the DOD to describe the types of external pressures military missions and operations face that can impact success. They include sea level rise and coastal erosion, storm surge and flood vulnerability, wildfire risk, aging energy and water supply infrastructure, road and rail transportation demands, and incompatible development.
A series of land use studies coordinated by NWS Earle and Monmouth County from 2017 to 2022 identified a Military Influence Area (MIA) surrounding the base. The MIA includes lands around NWS Earle’s Mainside facility in Colts Neck and its Waterfront complex in Leonardo (including the operational waters and shipping channels in Sandy Hook Bay), as well as along Normandy Road, its 15-mile Navy-controlled rail and road corridor, which connects the Mainside to Waterfront component. The MIA is targeted for preservation to ensure NWS Earle continues to fulfill its mission.
To protect against encroachment, land in the vicinity of military bases is typically protected through conservation and/or agricultural easements purchased by project partners and granted by willing landowners. Locally, the project partners are the US Navy, NWS Earle, Monmouth County, MCF (Monmouth County’s only land trust), and relevant municipalities where the land being protected is situated.
The easement language permanently limits development potential and restricts the lands to conservation and agricultural uses. Where relevant, ecological restoration can be conducted or obtained through the protection of the land. Easements can be very costly (if you consider the alternative cost of developing highly prized land in the Garden State), and we are fortunate to have funding assistance through our public and private partners.
MCF honored the US Navy and our partners at NWS Earle at the 2024 Fall for Conservation Cocktail Party, the proceeds of which benefited MCF’s charitable work to preserve open space across Monmouth County.
NWS Earle’s nearly 12,000 acres contain one of the largest wooded areas in Monmouth. Since World War II, this installation has continually served our US Navy with critical military supplies. Today, the US Navy is addressing how to deliver on its charge while also staying resilient to wide-ranging mission and economic impacts because of climate change and development pressure.
Beyond the partnership involving MCF, the US Navy and NWS Earle are working with other DOD agencies and state, county, and academic partners on several resiliency efforts. These projects include beach nourishment, living shoreline establishment, wildfire mitigation, stormwater capacity enhancement, and pursuing a designation under the Sentinel Landscape Initiative. These efforts will benefit NWS Earle, other nearby installations, and the local communities into the future.
NWS Earle’s main base (Mainside) encompasses 10,160 acres 15 miles west of the Bayshore and borders the townships of Colts Neck, Howell, and Wall, and the Borough of Tinton Falls. The majority of Mainside is within Colts Neck Township.
NWS Earle’s Waterfront pier complex extends 2.5 miles into Raritan Bay and is recognized as the line of demarcation between Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay. Comprised of a two-mile trestle which connects to three piers, it is one of the longest finger piers in the world. Photo by Jeffrey C. Doepp, Courtesy of US Navy.
NWS Earle is supported by 110 miles of railroad track (a main artery of which runs along Normandy Road), five locomotives, and over 300 pieces of rolling stock.
The US DOD REPI Program provides up to one-half of the easement purchase price for eligible properties (in our case, passed through MCF and Monmouth County), and the program requires at least a 50% match from other funding sources, like state, county or municipal preservation programs funded by open space trusts (tax dollars), or philanthropy. To date, MCF and the County have received over $3 million through the US Navy via the REPI program, matched by contributions from Monmouth County, MCF through private donations, and Howell and Colts Neck Townships. We have requested an additional $5 million for future preservation projects through the REPI program.
Partners from the US Navy, Monmouth County, and MCF presented at the 2024 New Jersey Coastal & Climate Resilience Conference.
L-R: Panelists: MCF’s Karen Keene, Monmouth County Division of Planning’s Harriet Honigfeld, Bridget Neary, and Amber Mallm, and NWS Earle’s Nicholas Ginther
“The REPI program provides substantial federal funding for land preservation and broadens eligibility beyond MCF’s two main funding sources from the State for permanently protecting land in Monmouth County. We are grateful to work with our partners at NWS Earle, Monmouth County, individual municipalities, and private landowners to forever secure additional green space for public benefit.”
- Matt Cohen, President of MCF
Inaugural Projects Benefit All Monmouth County Residents
This year at our signature Fall for Conservation Cocktail Party, MCF is pleased to recognize the US Navy and our partners at NWS Earle for their support and collaboration to permanently protect lands buffering the naval base. This honor is bestowed on the heels of our inaugural conservation projects achieved through this partnership – preserving 255 acres encompassing two properties in 2023 – with aspirations for many more to come. The two parcels – 20 acres of mostly mature hardwood forest in Howell (our pilot project) and 235 acres comprising a thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm in Colts Neck – were permanently preserved through the REPI program, bringing mutual benefits to the US Navy and the greater Monmouth community. This initiative was made possible by funding support and collaboration of the US DOD, US Navy and NWS Earle, Monmouth County, MCF, and Howell and Colts Neck Townships.
-Capt. Kent D. Smith, NWS Earle Commanding Officer
Capt. Kent D. Smith, NWS Earle Commanding Officer
REPI Pilot Project: 20 Acres Preserved in 2023 in Howell Township
The 20 acres in Howell are mostly woodland, including a portion with Century Forest (at least 100 years old). The property contains a valuable ecosystem of plants and wildlife, which provides many positive environmental impacts. While 20 acres may seem small, the mature forest within this land helps provide habitat for wildlife and promotes greater carbon capture to support climate resilience. It would take nearly a century to replace, making this property important for preservation.
Photo by Jena Cosimo
Photo by Fred Yahn, Eagle Drone Solutions
Photo by Fred Yahn, Eagle Drone Solutions
Photo by Jena Cosimo
New Jersey is not only the most densely populated state but also claims the most horses per square mile in the country. The equine industry provides an estimated $1.1 billion in economic impact and supports our agricultural roots and open space preservation efforts. Notably, Overbrook Farm was the birthplace of Irish War Cry, a multiple stakes-winning thoroughbred that was a contender in the Kentucky Derby in 2017 and finished second in the Belmont Stakes. Irish War Cry was bred by Isabelle de Tomaso, the daughter of Amory Haskell, founder of the Monmouth Park Racetrack and the man for whom New Jersey’s most famous and prestigious thoroughbred race – the Haskell Invitational – is named. The combined equestrian, agricultural, and ecological attributes of Overbrook Farm and its significant acreage validated the need for this important land to remain a preserved property, safe from development forever.
L-R: MCF President Matt Cohen; MCF Ex-Officio Trustee Andrew Spears, Director of Monmouth County Park System; NWS Earle Retired Captain Edward L. Callahan, Former Commanding Officer of NWS Earle; MCF Trustee At-Large Valerie Montecalvo, and MCF Director of Development and Communications Karen Keene
L-R: MCF Trustee Emeritus Ronald Gumbaz, Former Trustee Jerry Buffalino, NWS Earle Community Plans and Liaison Officer Nicholas Ginther, MCF Trustees David Hoder and W. Benson Chiles
"MCF is thrilled to be a recipient of REPI program funding and grateful to our public and private partners for helping to bring these projects to fruition. Partnerships like this one demonstrate the effect we can have together to ensure we are protecting the natural habitats, farmland, and open spaces that make Monmouth County so special."
— William D. Kastning, MCF’s Executive Director
MORE TO COME
MCF is grateful for the partnership with the US Navy and NWS Earle. The REPI program brings together critical support at federal to local levels that preserves land and supports climate resilience. We so appreciate our collaborators at Monmouth County and municipalities like Colts Neck and Howell Townships.
L-R Front: MCF Executive Director William D. Kastning shakes hands with NWS Earle Commanding Officer Capt. Kent D. Smith. Back: NWS Earle Community Plans and Liaison Officer Nicholas Ginther