More Room To Run And Play - Nj

[+BMSquared]

DEP Preserves More Miles of Rail Trails

 

(06/11) TRENTON -- Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson today announced the purchase of nine more miles of the former Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Company's right of way for use as a public recreation trail. The $283,590 purchase was made possible with voter-approved, constitutionally dedicated funding through the DEP's Green Acres Program.

 

"New Jersey residents can now enjoy nearly 65 miles of former railroad rights of way for a variety of recreational opportunities including biking, hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing,"

Commissioner Jackson said. "What's more, this acquisition advances our goal of creating a network of open spaces throughout the Garden State."

 

The acquisition includes parcels in Warren County's Allamuchy Township, White Township and Washington Township and Sussex County's Andover Township, Green Township and Andover Borough.

 

The newly acquired right of way will be managed as part of the Kittatinny Valley State Park in Andover and will link the Sussex Branch Rail Trail to the 26-mile Paulinskill Trail and portions of the railroad right of way owned by Green Township, Allamuchy Township and The Nature Conservancy. The new parkland also is an integral part of future connections to Allamuchy State Park and the Pequest Wildlife Management Area.

 

The Lehigh & Hudson River Railway was an important bridge line between New England and several of the larger railroad systems of the East. The railway was formed in 1882 through a consolidation of the Warwick Valley Railroad Company and the Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad Company, creating a 61-mile line from Belvidere, N.J., to Greycourt, N.Y.

 

Built to handle farm products, the original railroad pioneered the transport of milk to New York City and was the first to have specially designed refrigerated milk cars. Once the line had been extended west to Pennsylvania, anthracite and bituminous coal became an important source of revenue. After 1938, the railway carried a variety of other goods including perishables, grain products, iron, steel, cement, lumber and petroleum.

 

The Green Acres Program was created in 1961 to meet New Jersey's growing recreation and conservation needs. To date, Green Acres has protected more than 595,000 acres of open space and developed hundreds of public parks, bringing the statewide system of preserved open space and farmland to more than 1.3 million acres.

[+Packanack]

This is very nice news. Rail Trails are truly an enjoyable recreational feature of any community. But at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, it would be nice to see some of these Rail Trails that have been on the books for years get finished. West Essex Rail Trail-- probably has gone untouched for 10 years. The Rail Trail that was to have run from Mountain View Wayne to Riverdale NJ 6.5 miles probably has gone unattended for 8 years. And both of these were funded entities I understand. So the question then becomes one of what happened ? One of the best rail trails in this area is the Orange Heritage Trail in Monroe/Goshen NY.

Edited March 3, 2006 by Packanack

[+briansnat]

50 or 60 acres were just added to Pyramid Mtn near Lake Valhalla.

[bigpix]

50 or 60 acres were just added to Pyramid Mtn near Lake Valhalla.

 

Which translates into how many cache placements for you?

 

Rockaway Township just inked a deal for the Egbert Lake property. I think I read that it was around 75 acres or so. The place needs a lot of clean up since the buildings have been trashed over the years.

 

This is up near Green Pond.

[+briansnat]

50 or 60 acres were just added to Pyramid Mtn near Lake Valhalla.

 

Which translates into how many cache placements for you?

 

Rockaway Township just inked a deal for the Egbert Lake property. I think I read that it was around 75 acres or so. The place needs a lot of clean up since the buildings have been trashed over the years.

 

This is up near Green Pond.

 

I bet Treequest is already scoping out the property!

[+Team Rampant Lion]

Unfortunately, that land is now managed by someone who is not particularly favorable to geocaching. If you place without permission, he will get very angry. And he provides permission on an extremely limited basis.

 

I guess on the bright side, while he personally is not fond of geocaching, he has allowed a window of opportunity (albeit very small) and he does define his registration process.

[bigpix]

Unfortunately, that land is now managed by someone who is not particularly favorable to geocaching. If you place without permission, he will get very angry. And he provides permission on an extremely limited basis.

 

I guess on the bright side, while he personally is not fond of geocaching, he has allowed a window of opportunity (albeit very small) and he does define his registration process.

 

The Egbert Lake tract?

 

Isn't that Rockaway Township property now? You need to get permission to place caches in this town?

[+Team Rampant Lion]

Unfortunately, that land is now managed by someone who is not particularly favorable to geocaching. If you place without permission, he will get very angry. And he provides permission on an extremely limited basis.

 

I guess on the bright side, while he personally is not fond of geocaching, he has allowed a window of opportunity (albeit very small) and he does define his registration process.

 

The Egbert Lake tract?

 

Isn't that Rockaway Township property now? You need to get permission to place caches in this town?

 

I was referring to the top post.

 

"The newly acquired right of way will be managed as part of the Kittatinny Valley State Park in Andover and will link the Sussex Branch Rail Trail to the 26-mile Paulinskill Trail and portions of the railroad right of way owned by Green Township, Allamuchy Township and The Nature Conservancy. The new parkland also is an integral part of future connections to Allamuchy State Park and the Pequest Wildlife Management Area"

[+briansnat]

Not NJ, but close enough and another success story. More habitat, fewer McMansions:

 

State buys ridge land for park

March 14, 2006, 9:56 AM EST

 

GARDINER, N.Y. (AP) _ New York will expand the Minnewaska State Park Preserve

with the $17 million purchase of a prominent piece of land along the Shawangunk

Ridge, conservationists said Tuesday.

 

The 2,500-acre parcel in Ulster County was sold to The Trust for Public Land on

Friday and immediately resold to New York state for the same price, according to

trust spokeswoman Susan Clark. The sale was considered a coup for

environmentalists since it came just years after plans to develop the ridge land

were unveiled.

 

"If we hadn't protected this, it would certainly have been developed ... and

would have been lost to the people of New York," Clark said.

 

State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro was to make the official announcement

of the land purchase at a news conference being held at Minnewaska State Park

late Tuesday morning.

 

Minnewaska is nestled in a ridge that extends about 50 miles from near the

Hudson River southwest into New Jersey. The ridge's sheer cliffs make it a favorite spot for rock climbers.

 

A plan to clear space on the ridge for 349 homes and a golf course sparked local

of opposition several years ago. But Awosting Reserve LLC general partner John

Atwater Bradley clashed with the company chosen to develop the site,

Chaffin/Light Associates, and fired the firm.

 

Chaffin/Light sued Bradley and won, resulting in a Delaware judge ordering the

land be put up for sale.

[+Straatmaker 5]

GARDINER, N.Y. (AP) _ New York will expand the Minnewaska State Park Preserve

with the $17 million purchase of a prominent piece of land along the Shawangunk

Ridge, conservationists said Tuesday.

 

That's a very nice area! I'm glad they where able to preserve it.

Edited March 17, 2006 by Straatmaker 5

[+briansnat]

Coalition preserves 52 acres in Ringwood

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE

Star-Ledger Staff

 

A 52-acre Ringwood tract, with a stream flowing directly into the Wanaque reservoir, has been preserved by a new coalition of nonprofit, private and government groups, it was announced yesterday.

 

The parcel, located in the North Jersey Highlands preservation area in northern Passaic County, was purchased for $499,000 from Michael Raykov. It was part of a larger tract he had earmarked for development, said David Epstein, executive director of the Montville- based Morris Land Conservancy, which negotiated the deal.

 

"This was a tract that was not suitable for development at all, that could have had a direct and negative impact on water quality," said Epstein.

 

The primary objective of the new preservation partnership is to preserve the quality of drinking water at the Wanaque and Monk sville reservoirs and to develop a management plan to ensure permanent preservation and safe pub lic use of these lands, according to its members. Included are the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, United Water New Jersey, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the Morris Land Conservancy.

 

Passaic County and the town of Ringwood also participated in the partnership's first purchase, contributing funds to preserve the property on Margaret King Avenue that will be added to Passaic Coun ty's Tranquility Ridge County Park.

 

"The acquisition of this 52-acre parcel of critical watershed land represents an important step toward assuring a sustainable source of safe, clean drinking water for ourselves and for future generations," said Ringwood Mayor Joanne Atlas.

 

In the deal, Passaic County contributed $250,000, the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission paid $100,000, United Water paid $100,000 and Ringwood chipped in $49,000, officials said.

 

"The state and Green Acres are looking at saving much larger tracts, so we are focusing on small properties, those 50- or 75-acre lands that also are important. That's our initial focus," said Ep stein.

 

The Wanaque/Monksville reservoir system is the state's single largest source of drinking water. But much of the watershed that flows into the reservoirs is in private ownership, subject to development for industrial, commercial and residential uses.

 

While the state's new Highlands rules will limit development in the region, it will not completely stop construction, stressed officials of the new partnership. Development of any significant portion of these properties could have a dramatic, long-term effect on the water quality, quantity and treatment ex penses of water in the Wanaque/ Monksville reservoir system, they said.