Journal News Torne Protected

The news that Ramapo has reached tentative agreement to buy up to 144 acres of the Torne Valley for about $1.5 million is the icing on the cake in protecting open space in the western region of the township.

This will protect the area near Hill- burn, Sloatsburg, Suffern and the hamlet of Ramapo from over development and allow the town to create more recreational facilities for its residents.

'We're going to buy a mountain," Ramapo supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence says. Our goal is to bring recreation and preservation to the Tome Valley."

The deal was agreed to in principle with The Ramapo Land Co., which owns two parcels on the mountain along with hundreds of other nearby acres.

There would be two purchases - one of about 94 acres on the top of the mountain, at a price of about $800,000 and the other for about 50 acres, including the well fields and property across the Ramapo River, for about $700,000

The supervisor notes that the kinds to pay for the land deals will likely be borrowed through the Environmental Facilities Corp., a state program designed to lend money at half the normal interest rates of municipal bonds, to help protect natural resources. That is a most sensible use of such taxpayer funds.

As Betty Hedges, president of the oldest Rockland environmental group, the Rockland County Conservation Association, notes, "It's fine insurance for the future. The well field portion is really important."

Absolutely. The Ramapo River supplies water for many thousands of Rocklanders and Bergen County, NJ., residents.

It has been shut down often in the recent droughts, and the supply is threatened by massive building in Orange County and in New Jersey.

Building in the Tome would have further affected the supply.

Kudos to all involved, including the Conservation Association, environmentalists such as Geoff Welch, Supervisor SL Lawrence, many individuals, and, of course, Jack Rosenberg, the Suffern village trustee, who led a petition drive earlier this year that collected more than 1,000 signatures asking federal state and county elected officials to seek money from Washington, D.C., and Albany to purchase Torne Valley.

Power companies have worked hard and against vocal opposition to turn the area into a home for power plants, but gave up in the last 15 months because of a slowing economy, residents' opposition and the environmental hurdles, including ruining the habitat of the timber rattlesnake.

Welch, who has fought to protect the Torne Valley for more than 20 years, says he's been waiting for a protective public purchase like this for a long time. "It was used by Native Americans and was probably a Revolutionary War lookout. It had a beacon fire when the Revolutionary War was over."

He and others say they support Ramapo's efforts to establish a recreation center across from the well fields in the old Tome Valley Sand and Gravel site.

Though details haven't been completed, officials say there would be a riverfront park, new ball fields, racquet and squash courts and a community center.

Good work, people.

The Torne Protected

Ramapo deal will assure open space, recreation area