The Land Conservancy of New Jersey has acquired 24 acres of forested land along Jacksonburg Creek in Hardwick Township, a critical new piece in our Yards Creek Preserve. Slowly but surely, The Land Conservancy and our partners are connecting significant amounts of green forested habitat along the slopes of the Kittatinny Ridge in the Delaware River Watershed, creating a resilient ecosystem that will better adapt to climate change while supporting diverse populations of native plants and animals. Yards Creek Preserve now totals 346 acres.
The newly acquired property is adjacent to nonprofit land YMCA Camp Ralph Mason, and Jacksonburg Creek, a Category 1 waterway, runs along the eastern boundary. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is one lot away, just beyond the western boundary. The addition of this property will continue an important forested greenway in Hardwick Township and is a critical piece in the corridor that has come to be known as Bobcat Alley.
This acquisition—the seventh one for Yards Creek Preserve—was made possible with the help of NJDEP Green Acres as well as the Open Space Institute (OSI) and The Nature Conservancy, two organizations that have targeted the Delaware River Watershed as a critical region for protecting climate resilient land and water resources.
Why is protecting this area so important? Yards Creek Preserve is near the Appalachian Trail and adjacent to more than 76,000 acres of public land in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The preserve acts as a carbon sink using native vegetation, mature forests of oak and hickory, and healthy soils. Conservation of this ecologically sensitive land is creating a resilient ecosystem that will better adapt to climate change while supporting diverse populations of native plants and animals. The Land Conservancy’s efforts are connecting significant amounts of green forested habitat along the slopes of the Kittatinny Ridge to enable the movement of wildlife without interference by human activity.
Yards Creek Preserve was established in 2019 as an ambitious conservation project that will help protect drinking water for millions of the region’s inhabitants and curb encroaching development. TLCNJ has identified over 1,000 acres of particularly vulnerable and richly diverse land to preserve in the Delaware River Basin, one of the most important watersheds on the East Coast. Fifteen million people rely on the basin for clean drinking water—including the cities of Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and New York City.
Our Vice President of Land Preservation and Stewardship, Sandy Urgo says, “This property is one of only a few locations where wild corridor connections remain relatively uninterrupted by house lots. This land contains tremendous water resources, including a beautiful stretch of Jacksonburg Creek. Substantial biodiversity remains intact, with a very wide array of native wildflowers and far fewer invasive plant species than we normally see in that type of environment. It is critical that we continue to preserve the remaining connective land, especially the parcels that sit this high in the landscape and are so integral to Bobcat Alley and the natural greenway we have been working to secure. We are indebted to our partners at Green Acres, OSI and The Nature Conservancy for their support and financial contributions to this preservation project.”
“It is extremely gratifying to support TLCNJ’s success in securing the latest of seven properties that together form a vital, protected assemblage, safeguarding the pristine, forested headwaters of the Paulins Kill River,” said Bill Rawlyk, OSI’s Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Director. “These headwaters are a critical source of clean drinking water for communities downstream within the Delaware Watershed. This land will protect critical habitat for rare plant, animal, and aquatic species, and offer opportunities for passive public recreation.”
The property is the seventh addition to Yards Creek Preserve supported by OSI’s Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund (DRWPF). Launched in 2014 with funding from the William Penn Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative, the DRWPF has protected more than 25,000 acres of forested land to safeguard water quality in the Delaware River Watershed, a source of drinking water for approximately 15 million people — including residents of northeastern Pennsylvania as well as Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and New York City.
The Open Space Institute is a national leader in land conservation and efforts to make parks and other protected land more welcoming for all. Since 1974, OSI has partnered in the protection of more than 2.5 million at-risk and environmentally sensitive acres in the eastern U.S. and Canada. OSI’s land protection promotes clean air and water, improves access to recreation, provides wildlife habitat, strengthens communities, and combats climate change while curbing its devastating effects.
Opmerkingen