D&R Canal Commission director John Hutchison will share the work on the new master plan.

Where: Fellowship Hall behind the Griggstown Reformed Church, 1065 Canal Road, Griggstown. (GPS may use Princeton, although it is nowhere near Princeton.)

Contact: Linda Barth, barthlinda123@aol.com; 908-240-0488.

More about the Canal Master Plan:

The D&R Canal Commission is making important progress on its challenging and long-awaited initiative to revise its master plan for the D&R Canal State Park and conduct an up-to-date Historic Structures Survey.

The Commission is working with the Trenton-based firm, Clarke Caton Hintz, on the comprehensive master plan update, made possible through a $550,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust. The Historic Structures Survey is the project’s centerpiece, and it is focusing on documenting the canal state park’s historic resources, determining their condition and devising strategic recommendations for preserving these canal treasures. The last historic structures survey was conducted in 1982.

The current master plan, last updated in 1989, has guided the physical development of the park and informed the implementation of the Commission’s land use regulatory program to protect the canal’s historic, environmental and water supply resources.

During the past three decades, however, central New Jersey has undergone significant environmental, economic and demographic changes. And while the master plan continues to be an important document, it no longer accurately reflects the “truth on the ground” in the 450 square miles of the Commission’s jurisdiction. An updated master plan would provide current and comprehensive data, analysis, strategies and recommendations on guiding the physical development and future growth of the canal park and maximizing the potential of its myriad resources.