Two Separate Washington Twp (Morris Cty) Farmland Purchases!

From December. Here's one, and, here's another!

Jack Borgenicht, an eccentric millionaire, was known in Morris County for his philanthropic and preservation efforts.

The late local legend helped spur the success of Morris County’s fledgling preservation program 15 years ago. Now state, county and local officials think it’s a fitting tribute to purchase and preserve 228 acres of his Long Valley estate.

Five years after his death at 93, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and its partners, including the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund, bought the property for $2.8 million. Over the years, Borgenicht amassed three Rolls-Royces, four wives, 10 children, thousands of acres and a garment-industry fortune. He also helped start the area’s first brew pub.

"By preserving Jack’s property, Morris County and its financing partners are also preserving the legacy of a remarkable man," Freeholder Jack Schrier said.

The conservation foundation, a private nonprofit organization, owns an 80 percent stake in the property and will be responsible for its management. The New Jersey Water Supply Authority owns 20 percent.
The county open-space trust contributed $1.7 million toward the purchase, the water supply authority $560,000, the Washington Township Land Trust $400,000 and the conservation foundation $80,000.
"We’re so glad that New Jersey Conservation Foundation bought it," Fran Borgenicht, Jack’s widow, said in a statement.

***

Add Trinity Farm to the growing list of properties that have been preserved in Morris County.
The county’s Agriculture Development Board announced Friday that it had purchased the 23-acre parcel for $303,790, paid for by the county’s preservation trust fund.

Trinity Farm, on North Four Bridges Road in Washington Township, is an equine operation that trains and rehabilitates horses.

“It’s going to be able to sustain itself,” said Bill Roehrich, township committeeman and liaison to the development board. “That’s what made it immediately attractive.”

The Hickey family, who own and operate the farm, plan to expand their operation and include horse breeding as well, said Jennifer McCulloch, assistant director of the development board.
“We always like it when we see the landowner is the farmer,” she said.

The farm also has more than 12 acres dedicated to hay production and permanent pastures. Trinity is just east of the Borgenicht property, which was preserved earlier this month.

The Hickey family has owned the property since 2001. They retain ownership and may choose to sell, provided there is a deed restriction ensuring the land will not undergo non-farm development. Any type of agriculture development is permitted.

Trinity Farm is the 113th farm to be permanently preserved in Morris County, bringing the total area for preserved farmland in the county to 7,156 acres or 11.8 square miles, according to figures on the development board’s website. More than half of that total is in Washington Township.

“Keeping open space is one of the great things about our town,” Roehrich said. “People like that way of life.”

134 acres once slated for development to be preserved in Mount Olive (6/14/10)

This is a second story for the preserved land reported on last week in the previous Confessions of an Acre Whore entry.


Located in western Morris County, this 31.1 square-mile township had a population of 25,934 as of 2007, as recorded on Wikipedia. This was a 7.2-percent increase of the 24,193 population reported in 2000. The township had its largest reported increase in population, 173 percent, in its 1970 census, when the township recorded a population of 10,394. The earliest recorded census figures for Mount Olive, in 1930, recorded a township population of 1,235.

By Minhaj Hassan

Story originally appeared on DailyRecord.com.

MOUNT OLIVE — Conservation groups have successfully negotiated a deal to preserve more than 100 acres of land that had been approved by the township for a residential development.

The Trust for Public Land purchased a 134-acre parcel in the Highlands region that was slated for the development of 16 single-family homes. The approvals were before the Highlands Act went into effect.

TPL will pay $2.65 million compiled from several groups to purchase the land and the Land Conservancy of New Jersey will own and manage the land as a watershed. The land contains streams that feed into the headwaters of the South Branch of the Raritan River, which provides drinking water to some 1 million Garden State residents.

"Conservation of drinking water sources is paramount to keeping New Jersey's citizens healthy," said Anthony Cucchi, TPL's director for New Jersey. "This land in the South Branch Raritan River headwaters was nearly lost to development, and we are grateful to our partners for working diligently together to meet this conservation challenge and protect and restore this important Highlands resource."

Some of the stream channels were disturbed when a road was installed and stream crossings were installed to make way for the previously approved housing project. However, efforts will be made to have the area return to the way it was prior to the construction. They include stream restoration, removing the crossing and detention basins and soil stabilization on the site.

Mayor David Scapicchio praised the land preservation deal.

"The construction project had damaged neighboring properties," he said. "The Trust for Public Land took the initiative in making the project happen, and The Land Conservancy of New Jersey will be a good steward in returning the property to a natural state. The public will get the benefit of enjoying the property," he said.

Freeholder Jack Schrier, whose governing body contributed $1.6 million in open space trust funds toward the purchase, said the deal is further of proof the county's commitment to open space.

"Here is further demonstration of Morris County's two decades of preservation leadership, as we continue to help protect more critical water supply lands for the benefit of our residents," he said in a statement. "It all contributes to our high quality of life, so important to the Freeholders.

Minhaj Hassan: 973-428-6628; mhassan@gannett.com.

Mount Olive tract preserved as watershed resource (6/9/10)

I especially like that the housing project was already started and was stopped. I've seen parcels -- in Upper Freehold, Colts Neck -- that had been carved out, maybe a road paved, with no other progress for quite a while. This gives hope that these projects can be stopped, even if they've already been started.

Original Dan Goldburg story appears on NJ.com.

MOUNT OLIVE -- A strategically important property near the headwaters of the South Branch Watershed in Mount Olive that had been slated for development will instead be preserved, the Trust for Public Land and the New Jersey Land Conservancy announced.

That’s good news for many township residents and environmentalists who were concerned about how a residential development would affect the surrounding neighborhood and the Raritan River, which supplies drinking water to more than 1 million New Jersey residents in Morris, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties.

The $2.65 million purchase of the 134-acre tract, which sits on the border of Mount Olive and Washington Township in the Highlands region, was coordinated by The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization.

“Conservation of drinking water sources is paramount to keeping New Jersey’s citizens healthy,” said Anthony Cucchi, New Jersey state director for The Trust for Public Land, in a press release.

A portion of the property had been approved in 2004 for 16 single-family homes. As part of the development, a road was installed as were several stream crossings, detention basins and footings for an arch bridge.

The developers, Anthony and Golnaz Mortezai of Chester Township, were fined by the Department of Environmental Protection in 2006 after state officials said the destruction of wetland transition areas on the site led to severe soil erosion that caused streams running through the property to fill with silt.

The foundations for the 16 homes had been laid, said Terrence Nolan, spokesman for the Trust for Public Land, but the souring economy spoiled the development.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey, which will manage the land as a watershed resource, plans to remove the detention basins, restore stream channels to their natural state and has been given $100,000 from the former owner of the property and the Trust for Public Land to begin remediation.

“The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is excited to have the opportunity to restore the disturbed streams and stop the erosion that has plagued this beautiful property so that it can once again provide clean drinking water,” said David Epstein, conservancy president.

The Morris County Preservation Trust Fund gave $1.65 million toward the project.
“Here is further demonstration of Morris County’s two decades of preservation leadership, as we continue to help protect more critical water supply lands for the benefit of our residents,” said Jack Schrier, freeholder and liaison to the county’s Preservation Trust Fund programs.

The Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority contributed $500,000 and $460,000 came from two New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program grants.

“It’s a good piece to add to our open space inventory,” said David Scapicchio, Mount Olive mayor. “(We get) another piece of open space that the town can use but didn’t pay for.”

Land Conservancy launches new interactive map (04/23/10)

Originally appeared: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100423/GETPUBLISHED/4230324/-1/newsfront/Land-Conservancy-launches-new-interactive-map

www.tlc-nj.org

In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Land Conservancy of New Jersey launched their newly created interactive map on their website: www.tlc-nj.org. The map identifies each of the properties we have helped to permanently protect, from Stokes State Forest in northern Sussex County to the Musconetcong Valley in southern Warren County. Take a tour of the breathtaking lands that the Conservancy has helped to preserve over the past 13 years!

We have preserved land to sustain our water supplies, ensure the availability of locally grown produce, and to offer opportunities for hiking, sports, and fishing! Easy to use click on a pin and see the property preserved by The Land Conservancy of New Jersey!

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is a non profit member supported organization dedicated to preserving and protecting New Jerseys vital natural lands and water resources. The organization has been working for the past 29 years to inspire and empower individuals and communities to take action to save the land that is so important to our state. The Conservancy has preserved over 16,500 acres of land and helped towns receive $192 million in grants to purchase and protect land throughout New Jersey. The Conservancy has worked with more than 76 municipalities in 13 counties, impacting over half of New Jerseys counties and benefiting millions of residents throughout the state. The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is the first land trust organization in the state of New Jersey and one of only 93 nationwide to receive accreditation from The Land Trust Accreditation Commission. For more information, to volunteer or make a donation, call (973) 541-1010, or visit our website at www.tlc-nj.org.