Women - Hunterdon County, New Jersey

HERMIA M. LECHNER
Often referred to as the “Grande Dame” of
conservation, Hermia Lechner was born in Howell
Township, NJ, and grew to be a pioneering
environmental activist.
Hermia earned a bachelor's degree in education
from Trenton State College and taught in Red Bank
High School from 1926 until 1936, when she and her
husband, the late Robert G. Lechner, moved to
Clinton Township.
From 1936 to 1959 she and her husband
administered the Echo Hill summer camps, which
promoted conservation and preservation of natural
resources. They donated their 74 acres of camp land
to the Hunterdon County Parks Commission in 1974,
retaining the right to live in their home.
Hermia taught environmental education in every school district in the watershed for
the South Branch Watershed Association during 1960-1970, and by 1970 she was
working with more than 2600 children each year.
She joined the Clinton Township Committee in 1971 and served as mayor from
1976 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1990, and during this time formed the Clinton Township
Historic Committee. Hermia left the township governing body when appointed to
administer the state Green Acres program by Gov. Thomas Kean.
A member of the Clinton Township Planning Board from 1987 to 1994, she was
responsible for adopting the Clinton Township limestone ordinance, the stormwater
management ordinance, and a soil erosion sediment control ordinance. Hermia was
also active in developing the Clinton Township Natural Resource Inventory, working
specifically on the groundwater and surface water sections.
Hermia founded the South Branch Watershed Association in 1959, and donated
money and a lifetime of volunteer service and commitment to preserving and protecting
the water resources. Through the Association, Hermia was instrumental in establishing
the Hunterdon County Parks Commission, lobbying and testifying for environmental
legislation, and promoting environmentally sound development through various
programs. She also helped establish other watershed associations, local land trusts,
and more than 15 environmental commissions.
On a statewide level, between 1981-1988, Hermia worked as the administrator of
the Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program. She was
recognized as establishing a direction and plan for the department. Her understanding
of the water resources and watersheds changed Green Acres focus of protecting
recreational sites to also protecting and providing open space. Hermia developed
position papers on the environment for different governors.
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