{"data":{"id":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-13-1b-15.146","jurisdiction":"us-nj","citation":"N.J. Stat. § 13:1B-15.146","heading":"Findings, declarations","body":"The Legislature finds and declares that this State has a rich natural heritage which is in danger of disappearing as the State continues to experience economic and industrial growth; that a program to conduct an inventory of rare plants, animals, and natural communities throughout New Jersey was established in 1984 through a cooperative agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization; that this program is providing up-to-date information on rare species and natural communities to planners, developers, and conservation agencies for use in resource management, environmental impact assessment, and both public and private land protection efforts; that this program enables the State to share information, in a national network, with the more than 40 other states with comparable programs; that the continued success and usefulness of the program is dependent upon continuously updating and refining the information in the inventory; that, by design, The Nature Conservancy intended to end their participation in the program after fiscal year 1987 but has temporarily extended their participation pending the establishment of a formal program; the Legislature therefore determines that in order to preserve the State's natural diversity the Natural Heritage Program needs to be formally recognized and established.\nL. 1988, c. 127, s. 1.","path":["TITLE 13 CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT--PARKS AND RESERVATIONS"],"source_url":"https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip","current_through":"P.L.2025, c.405, and J.R.22","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T17:54:13Z","sha256":"4a0bf850b260667f3926e74a0a89a7da8dab03d8aad6fc4cd0f021109f716b4a","source_id":"us-nj","stale":true,"prev":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-13-1b-15.145","next":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-13-1b-15.147"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}