Despite immense pressure on our natural resources—from ever-increasing warehouse development to unpredictable major weather events—our actions can have a real impact on the sustainability of New Jersey’s precious land and water resources.
Without our members, acquiring tremendously valuable lands, such as two recent limestone forests in Warren County, simply wouldn’t be possible. Now preserved in perpetuity as additions to Hardwick Meadows Preserve and White Lake Natural Resource Area, these forests contains some of the state’s most spectacular and unique habitats, home to a number of rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species.
Every year we choose several projects where resources are needed most. Before our fiscal year ends on June 30, we need to raise enough money to keep the momentum going. Your donation today will help ensure these projects come to fruition next year and beyond.
Building Bobcat Alley
For the past decade, The Land Conservancy has been working to acquire key properties to help stitch together a wildlife corridor of protected lands that will connect the Highlands with the Kittatinny Ridge and the Delaware River. The goal is to connect large protected areas so that bobcats and other wildlife can move safely and flourish. We have a new contract to purchase 16 acres on the Paulins Kill adjacent to a property we closed on last month and donated to the White Meadow Lake Wildlife Management Area. Our staff has seen bobcat and river otter tracks there, as well as a variety of rare ferns including walking and maidenhair. This property will be owned by Warren County and provide the public with access to the Paulins Kill for fishing, swimming, and boating. $25,000 is needed to ensure the success of this project.
Protecting the Pequannock Watershed
The nearly pristine expanse of the Pequannock Watershed provides drinking water for Newark’s 310,000 residents and countless others in surrounding communities. The City of Newark began acquiring properties here in 1895, building a 35,000-acre watershed that nourishes our communities in more ways than one. Despite their best efforts, parcels of unpreserved land remain within Newark’s holdings, which threatens the delicate balance of the entire watershed. Newark’s watershed lands are even more valuable because they are open to the public for fishing, hunting, hiking, and other recreational activities.
The Land Conservancy has been working for 30 years to preserve the remaining privately owned lands, with nearly 1,200 acres secured so far. Recently we identified another important 43-acre property in Passaic County. Unfortunately, the county does not offer financial support to nonprofits preserving open space. For this reason we are turning to you to raise the $20,000 needed to complete this critical acquisition.
The Future of Farmland
The Land Conservancy has been helping landowners protect their farmland for 40 years—a grand total of 105 farms and 7,904 acres. We understand that in addition to the cultural and environmental benefits, agriculture is an economic engine that helps New Jersey thrive. Every day we’re working with farms large and small all over the state, from 224-acre Murlan Farm in Frelinghuysen, which was at risk of becoming another residential development, to Kimball’s 45-acre farm in White Township, where baby goats play and staple crops are grown. Right now we are working to develop contracts with five farmers to permanently preserve another 1,000 acres of beautiful, productive farmland. We need to raise $30,000 to make sure we can protect New Jersey’s supply of fresh, locally grown food for another year.
You can become part of the movement to protect the integrity of these precious natural resources through your commitment to The Land Conservancy’s mission. Please help us keep New Jersey healthy and beautiful!