You will not be the first to do so. Other landowners in the Primrose Brook and Upper Passaic River sub-watersheds have already taken steps to protect their land, including the Fenwick, Friggerio, Jarvis, McChesney, Nunan and Smith families. Still others in the watershed have donated land or transferred development rights to conservation groups. The list includes the Case, Cassa, Chilcott, Dana, Debevoise, deNeufville, dos Passos, Frelinghuysen, Kaslow, Koven, LaBarre/Schuch and Peet families.

The protection strategy that works for you will depend on many factors such as the size of your property, your annual income, and the value of your estate. Fortunately, a variety of conservation options are available, offering a broad degree of flexibility. Land conservation methods include outright donations, bargain sales, bequests and life estates. Descriptions and examples can be found later in this booklet.

One of the first steps in the Streamways Project has been the preparation and distribution of this publication. Next, we will initiate a dialogue with landowners, such as you, whose property borders the Upper Passaic River and Primrose Brook.

During this outreach phase, we’ll hold individual and group meetings to explain more about the project and answer questions. We will also form an advisory committee, made up of supportive citizens, to further advance the goals of the project. Once outreach and education are underway, the conservation phase of the project can begin. As soon as a landowner expresses interest in participating in the project, we will help to identify an appropriate organization to hold title to the easement or land that will eventually become part of the Primrose Brook or Upper Passaic River streamway. (If you wish, we can suggest names of attorneys and estate planners to help you work out the details of the title transfer.)

Typically, the transfer process for land donations can be completed in a few months. Land or easement purchases, on the other hand, may take one or two years, as more time is needed time to secure funding and flesh out easement language.

In the meantime, as the Streamways Project unfolds, we will continue to provide advice and counsel to local governing bodies to ensure incorporation of the streamway concept into municipal master plans and to enact stream-protection and other relevant ordinances.