Long Valley Preserve Grows by 4 Acres

Sure, it's just 4 acres. But, it's 4 acres that weren't part of the preserve before. And, more acreage is always better than less when it comes to preservation.

Press release courtesy NJConservation.org.

Long Valley preserve expands by four acres

WASHINGTON TWP. – The Drakestown Preserve in Long Valley just grew by four acres, increasing recreation opportunities and enhancing protection of the public drinking water supply.

New Jersey Conservation Foundation purchased the land near the intersection of Drakestown and Flocktown roads - which had been approved for the construction of one house - in early May.

“It’s a relatively small property, but it borders the 228-acre Drakestown Preserve, an environmentally sensitive property,” said Michele S. Byers, executive director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “We’re always looking for opportunities to expand our preserves by acquiring adjacent land, and adding these four acres helps protect drinking water and wildlife habitat.”

The newly-acquired property contains wooded “uplands” that buffer a wetlands complex within the Preserve.  These wetlands are associated with pristine headwater streams flowing into the South Branch of the Raritan River, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million New Jersey residents.

New Jersey Conservation Foundation received a grant from the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund to cover most of the acquisition cost.

“This property contains both wetland and upland forests at the headwaters of the South Branch Raritan River,” said Morris County Freeholder Ann Grossi.  “It is adjacent to a remote parcel of the South Branch Headwaters Preserve project, which was also funded with the assistance of a county open space grant.  Acquisition of this property will build upon lands that are already preserved in the region and will promote passive recreational opportunities.”

The Drakestown Preserve sits high atop Schooley’s Mountain. The original 228-acre tract was acquired in December 2010 from the estate of the late Jack Borgenicht, a businessman, mountain climber and philanthropist who amassed a substantial amount of land in the Long Valley area during his 93 years.

The Drakestown Preserve is open to the public for passive recreation such as hiking and nature observation, and can be entered from Drakestown Road or Fairview Avenue. For more information, go to www.njconservation.org/drakestownpreserve.htm.

Greenwich Twp. Farm Preserved

Greenwich Township is becoming a star of preservation in not only Warren County, but New Jersey in general!

Article originally posted on NJ.com.

Fox River Farm in Greenwich Township has been preserved, adding 65 acres to the growing list of preserved farmland in the municipality. The farm was preserved via a partnership between the Township, Warren County and the State Agriculture Development Committee, with assistance from The Land Conservancy of New Jersey. This beautiful, busy horse farm is located along Route 519 bordering Lopatcong Township.

Working closely with The Land Conservancy of New Jersey, the Township is achieving remarkable results retaining and preserving its farmland base. Since 2005, this partnership between The Land Conservancy and Greenwich Township has resulted in the preservation of six properties for open space, recreation, and farmland totaling 580 acres. In total, there are 1,000 acres of preserved farmland in Greenwich Township.

“Without the hard work of our Open Space Committee led by Dawn Marie Kondas, willing landowners, Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the State of New Jersey, and The Land Conservancy, our preservation efforts of hundreds of acres in Greenwich Township may not have ever been possible. Thank you to all,” stated Elaine Emiliani, Deputy Mayor of Greenwich Township

Almost entirely prime farmland soils, the Fox River Farm is a scenic property of rolling topography and tilled agricultural fields. Over 40 acres of this farm is harvested cropland and another 10 acres are in permanent pasture, the balance of the property is woodlands. Used primarily for horses, the farm supports an arena for riding and numerous paddocks for the horses to exercise. This was the third farm preserved in the Township using funds provided by the state and county farmland programs. Greenwich Township and Warren County each provided 19% of the total project cost, with the State of New Jersey contributing 61% of the funds necessary to close this transaction.

Located three miles east of Phillipsburg, and within the Highlands Planning Area, the Fox River Farm is surrounded by preserved open space. Within one and one-half miles of this farm there are six additional preserved farms totaling 390 acres, Fox River Farm is now the northern most farm preserved in the Township’s significant farmland belt. With the preservation of this farm, there is now over 760 acres of contiguous preserved land.

“Greenwich Township has approached land preservation in a very thoughtful, intelligent and systematic way. They are creating a lasting legacy of protected farmland and open space that will serve the township very well in its future,” explained Sandy Urgo, Land Preservation Director for The Land Conservancy of New Jersey.

Five More Flood Prone Homes to Return to Open Space

They should never have been built there in the first place. Glad to see something good done about it.

Story originally on DailyRecord.com

PEQUANNOCK — Five homes located in the floodplain of the Pompton River have been purchased and will be demolished with the land returned to its natural condition.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey and the township announced the purchase Friday that was made in partnership with Morris County and the state of New Jersey’s Green Acres program, according to a prepared statement from the Conservancy.

These acquisitions will aid the community’s efforts to remove residents and their personal property from harm’s way during the onslaught of heavy rains and storms, the statement read.

“This has been an exciting year both with the massive flooding and the continuing buyout of homes for the Riverwalk,” said Frank Spizzirri, chair of the township’s Open Space Advisory Committee. “Phase 5 of the Riverwalk projects is almost concluded with contracts on 6 homes, of which 5 have been purchased and the last one in the wings and ready to set a closing date.”

The purchase and preservation of the five homes was coordinated by the Conservancy working with the township’s governing body and Open Space Advisory Committee.

Homes around the banks of the Pompton River have long suffered from flooding. The Pompton Riverwalk program provides space for flood storage, while creating new public recreation opportunities in the community, the statement read.

These five recently acquired properties bring the total to 21 lots that have been acquired under the Riverwalk initiative during the first five phases of the Riverwalk project. Once purchased, the properties have subsequently been cleared to provide flood storage and parkland, the release said.

During the most recent flooding, the water level reached 2 feet above the second floor of two of these five houses and all five of the structures were severely damaged. Each property is less than a third of an acre and averaged approximately $253,000 to purchase and preserve.

Two-thirds of the funding was provided by the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund and the balance was provided through the New Jersey Green Acres program. The township covered all of the due diligence costs of the transaction and will immediately begin the process of demolishing the structures and clearing the property for open space, the statement read.

“The successful transition of these areas from flood-ravaged residences to preserved parkland has been remarkable,” said Greg Collins, land preservation specialist with the Land Conservancy. “It makes great sense to see a dilapidated structure that was a headache for the homeowner and a burden on taxpayers converted into a park serving as a buffer against future flooding.”

Since its initial grant request for this project, the township has used $2,511,050 in grant funding from Morris County for the Riverwalk project and has matched this with funds provided through Green Acres totaling $2,330,150. Since 1999, the Land Conservancy of New Jersey has helped Pequannock preserve 27 properties, including the 21 properties which comprise the highly successful Pompton Riverwalk project.

256 Acres Preserved Around Carrier Clinic, Somerset County

I used to live near here, and love when I hear about their continued efforts to preserve land. Route 601, where Carrier Clinic is located, is loaded with open space. It's a beautiful road, unlike parts of nearby Route 206, which has been bitch-slapped by short-sighted, "profits are all that matter" developers before.

This post comes courtesy Patch.com.

County to Preserve Land Around Carrier Clinic

Somerset County will preserve 256 acres of wooded open space surrounding Carrier Clinic in the Belle Mead section of the township.

The county came to the planning board on Thursday evening to ask for a minor subdivision of the parcel that lies in both Hillsborough and Montgomery.

According to William Robertson, deputy Somerset County counsel, Carrier Clinic owns 367 acres, 99 of which are in Hillsborough. The county will be acquiring 256 acres.

Of the 99 acres in Hillsborough, Carrier Clinic will retain nearly 18 acres to be used for a solar installation. That project has already been approved by the Board of Adjustment.

Tom Bocino, of the Somerset County Engineering Department, said the open space will become part of the county’s Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Bocino said the space will be used for passive recreation and the only possible construction in the future would be a trail system.

“We do not propose any improvements,” he said.

He said that a vacant house in the northwestern part of the property would be demolished. Bocino also said a part of the property is also farmed and that will continue until the county completes an assessment.

One of the largest private, not-for-profit behavioral healthcare facilities in New Jersey, Carrier Clinic, specializes in psychiatric and substance abuse addiction treatment on the inpatient and residential levels.

Without discussion, the board unanimously approved the subdivision.

Robertson said the county will also be seeking approval from Montgomery.

Almost 200 Acres Preserved in Morris County

This one is a two-fer. I was already planning on posting the 129-acre announcements, but this article, from the Daily Record, also notes a piece of preserved land on the Mendham-Chester border. Whoo hoo!

Two large swaths of land were preserved this week in deals that will add nearly 200 acres to public lands. Both deals — 129 acres bordering Rockaway and Boonton townships, and 46-acres bordering Chester and Mendham townships — were brokered by the Trust for Public Land and announced Wednesday.

More than 129 acres south of Decker Road in Rockaway and Boonton townships were preserved and will be managed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The purchase extends the Johanson tract, a 62-acre property managed by the nonprofit land group that is adjacent to Wildcat Ridge Management Area.

About $1.2 million of the $1.74 million purchase price came from the Morris County open space trust fund.

The property supports critical water resources, including a tributary of the Stony Brook, a Rockaway River watershed stream and Dixon’s Pond, according to a prepared statement that said the pond will not be open to the public, but future trails will offer hikers lake views.

Michele S. Byers, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, called it a “Highlands gem.”

“It contains valuable wetlands, as well as rocky outcrops with wonderful views of the water,” Byers said. “We are pleased to work with The Trust for Public Land, Morris County, and the state to permanently protect this beautiful wooded property and expand the area’s network of preserved lands.”

In Chester and Mendham townships, the 46-acre Shale Valley property consists of mature upland woodlands and wetlands that connect the Morris County-owned Mount Paul County Park and the Mendham Township-owned Burnett Brook Natural Area.

Funding for the $1,697,500 purchase was provided by a $1,188,250 grant from the Morris County Preservation Trust Fund.

The property was transferred to the Schiff Natural Lands Trust, which owns the nearby 423-acre Schiff Nature Preserve. The organization intends to conduct a large-scale ecological restoration on a portion of the property that was mined for shale. It is envisioned that the restoration would convert 9 acres of the former mining area into a functioning, emergent wetland and upland habitat.

“Preserving and restoring this critical link in the Schiff to Mount Paul Greenway is a key goal identified in our new strategic plan, as well as a natural extension of our community-based conservation efforts in this area over the last decade,” said Marissa Hartzler, executive director of the Schiff Natural Lands Trust.

An acre whore's favorite words: preserves more land.

This post comes courtesy Courier-Post Online.com

Burlington County preserves more land

MOUNT HOLLY — The county that leads in farmland preservation in New Jersey now has preserved more than 25,000 acres of farmland with its latest purchases.

Burlington County added eight more farms to its preservation list last week and also sold five preserved farms to owners who must keep the land in agriculture.

The county approved payment of $4 million for 701 acres on eight farms, including three in Pemberton Township and several within the Pinelands.

Approval for the settlements came at a recent meeting of the county board of freeholders.

Mary Pat Robbie, director of the county department of resource conservation, said this boosts the total number of acres beyond 25,000 throughout the county– largest county in square miles in the state.

“What we are seeing with preserved farms and those we have sold at auction is that farmers are continuing to invest in land and agriculture,” she said.

She said farmers are using some of their preservation payments from the county to reinvest in more agricultural land.

“That is exactly what we want to see,” she said.

The county pays the potential development value to preserve farms using one of two methods — purchasing a property easement banning all non-agricultural development or buying a farm outright and then either using it for open space or preservation programs, or selling it at auction.

The eight newly bought farms are Ditullio in Mansfield; Black Dog, Bush and Stevenson, all in Pemberton Township; Kucowksi in North Hanover; Alloway Family LP in Shamong; and Haines in Tabernacle.

Last week the county also approved a February auction sale that netted $2.9 million for five farms totaling 731 acres and drew a crowd of 150 people.

Three of those farms are in Springfield. The others are in Hainesport and Shamong. Four are crop farms and Aristone, a horse farm in Shamong, is the first farm ever preserved in that municipality.

Freeholder-Director Bruce Garganio said income from this auction will be used to preserve other farms within the county.

The county finances its purchases with a dedicated property tax of four cents for every $100 of assessed private land in the county.

This tax for farmland, open space and historic preservation was approved by voters and raises millions of tax dollars every year.

Most purchases involve a state matching grant and, in some cases, a lesser match from a municipality.

“By transferring this farmland back into private ownership, the county is helping to ensure the long-term viability of the agricultural industry within it while minimizing the county’s management expense and taxpayer cost,” Garganio said.

Gloucester County farmer Peter Gasko of Monroe paid the most for the auctioned farms— $745,000 for the Ziegler/Walder farm on Juliustown Road in Springfield.

Crop farmer Christopher Probasco of Chesterfield, who already farms many acres in Burlington County, bought the 126-acre BF&W Farm that he already was leasing from the county.

Probasco said he likes to buy farms that need work but have good soil like this one because it can be purchased for less than the cost of a manicured farm.

“We also farm right next to it, so for efficiency reasons it also makes sense and we’ll install some hedgerows and some drainage,” he said.

In bid to protect Barnegat Bay, state buys 385 acres of Pinelands

Always good to see more acreage preserved along the Barnegat Bay!

Originally appeared on New Jersey Newsroom.

249 acres in Eagleswood and 136 acres in Stafford

The state Green Acres Program has purchased 385 acres of forests in the Barnegat Bay watershed, and Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said Monday the agency is on pace to preserve some 3,000 acres in the watershed by the end of the year.

The Green Acres State Land Acquisition Program purchased the land, encompassing two separate properties, for $607,052 from International Recycling Systems. The acquisitions are intended to preserve high-quality Pinelands habitat that will help protect water quality in the headwaters of Cedar Run, Westecunk Creek and Mill Creek, all tributaries of Barnegat Bay.

The properties - 249 acres in Eagleswood and 136 acres in Stafford - will be added to the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area, managed by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Both properties consist of pine and oak forests that provide suitable habitat for species such as the state-endangered Pine Barrens tree frog, the state-threatened northern pine snake and the pine warbler.

At more than 11,500 acres, Stafford Forge is one of New Jersey's largest wildlife management areas. The area is popular with hikers, canoeists, bird watchers, hunters and nature lovers.

Since launching an effort to restore the ecologically stressed bay in December 2010, the state Department of Environmental Protection has set its sights on preserving 50,000 acres in the watershed. Martin said protected land helps filter and control stormwater that can carry harmful nutrients into the bay.

“The Christie administration remains steadfast in its commitment to improving water quality in Barnegat Bay, an ecologically and economically vital asset to the state," Martin said. "The preservation of land is a critical component of Governor Christie's 10-point comprehensive restoration plan for the bay."

The Christie administration has committed nearly $3 million to the preservation of more than 2,000 acres in the watershed so far, including projects that have added 180 acres to the DEP's Forestry Resource Education Center in Jackson, expanded Double Trouble State Park by 306 acres, and assisted Ocean County in preserving 836 acres of Pinelands in Ocean Township.

In addition, the Green Acres Program has reached agreement on a project that will permanently protect a 436-acre Boy Scout camp in Ocean County.