South Branch Preserve Gets 18 More Acres, Mount Olive

Now, here is something to be thankful for!

This originally appeared in The Daily Record

MOUNT OLIVE — The Land Conservancy of New Jersey closed on two properties totaling 18 acres to be added to the South Branch Preserve.

“The Preserve is an important water management resource in Morris County, providing drinking water for 1.5 million New Jersey residents,” said Glenn Schweizer, executive director of the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority.

These are the first two of four projects the Morris County Utilities Authority and New Jersey Water Supply Authority are working on in conjunction with the Land Conservancy, according to a prepared statement from the Conservancy.

These are the fifth and sixth properties to be added to the Preserve since its establishment in 2010, according to the statement, which said that the long-term vision is to increase the South Branch Preserve to 1,000 acres to serve as a showcase for watershed

“We hope this project will inspire our state, county and local agencies to continue to fund these important preservation initiatives to ensure our water resources remain secure and plentiful,” said David Epstein, president of the Land Conservancy.

The South Branch Preserve contains rich forests, agricultural fields, and wetlands. It flows into the main stem of the Raritan River, the largest river basin located entirely within the state of New Jersey and one of its most critical water supply sources, the statement said.

The Land Conservancy and its partners have added five properties to the Preserve, which now totals 390 acres and includes three-quarters of a mile of the river flowing through the Preserve, the statement said.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is a member supported nonprofit land trust whose mission is to preserve land and water resources, conserve open space, and inspire and empower individuals and communities to protect our natural land and environment. They have worked with 89 municipalities in 13 counties to preserve a total of 19,500 acres in 330 projects, helping towns secure $224 million in county, state, and federal grants.

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.”