The Highlands Council released a draft of its master plan to protect the Garden State?s drinking water, but some farmers are not happy about it.

The Highlands Council had to come up with a plan that would preserve New Jersey?s drinking water. Part of the plan includes putting certain restrictions on farmland. The council?s draft dictates varying degrees of development and land sale restrictions in the highlands. Farmers who live in the areas with the most restrictions are worried about lost property value and their ability to pass their farms onto their children.

The Highlands Council understands not everyone will like the master plan. Council members say they will try to weigh everyone?s situation while keeping the focus on protecting drinking water. According to the council, more than five million people get their drinking water from the highlands region.