CHESTER, NJ-The Highlands Council, a state-appointed body, has released its final draft of a regional master plan for the nearly 860,000-acre Highlands Region of northwestern New Jersey. The region provides much of the state's drinking water, and the plan emphasizes water conservation while classifying almost three-quarters of the land as "environmentally sensitive."

"The people of the Highlands Region have spoken, and we have listened," says John Weingart, chairman of the Highlands Council, who notes that the plan includes everything from regional plan programs, to a series of technical reports on water availability, clustering, transportation and more. "We used input from our constituents to make a more comprehensive plan that responds on the regional and local levels."

The plan was mandated by the state's earlier Highlands Act aimed at protecting environmentally sensitive areas of the region while determining areas suitable for development or redevelopment. A draft plan was issued a year ago, and in an ensuing 160-day comment period, the Highlands Council received more than 3,600 comments from about 1,000 commentators, according to Weingart.