58 Acres Added To Sourland Mountain Preserve

MONTGOMERY, NJ — A total of 58.25 acres have been added to the Sourland Mountain Preserve with the $1,980,704 purchase of land by the Somerset County Open Space Preservation Program and Montgomery Township.

The land, located at the intersection of Pleasant View Road and Route 601 in Montgomery Township, was purchased from owner W. Bryce Thompson IV on Feb. 9. Montgomery Township is pitching in 30 percent of the purchase price.

The property is primarily an open farm with areas of woodland and will be preserved as open space as part of the county’s Sourland Mountain Preserve, bringing the total preserve area to 6,170 acres.

The property will remain largely in its existing state and the current agricultural use will continue. Somerset County and Montgomery Township will work together to determine future possible passive uses on the property that are most appropriate for the health and public enjoyment of the land.

“This is another win for the environment in Montgomery,” said Freeholder Mark Caliguire, county open space liaison. “The preservation of this property and other open agricultural land along the lower flanks and foothills of the Sourland Mountain are important. In addition to creating a transition between suburban development and the pristine environment of the Sourland Mountain, they allow for the creation of habitat for many grassland bird species."

In 2012, the county purchased 256 acres from Carrier Clinic (175 acres in Montgomery and the remainder in Hillsborough), which is adjacent to the Thompson property. Montgomery Township is now working to acquire an additional 15 acres nearby on the opposite side of Route 601, as well as several other tracts of land throughout the community.

The Sourlands contain over 20,000 contiguous forested acres that protect the water supply to the headwaters of several significant streams flowing to the D&R Canal, Millstone, Raritan and Delaware rivers. The Sourlands support many rare plant and animal species and provide nesting and migratory stopover habitat for over 100 species of migratory birds.

Somerset County began the preservation of the Sourland Mountain in Hillsborough and Montgomery townships in the early 1970s. With the addition of the Thompson property, the preserve now exceeds 6,000 acres, making it the largest park in Somerset County’s 14,450-acre park system.

(Photo 1 via Somerset County Board of Freeholders: Celebrating the closing on the Thompson property are, left to right, Somerset County Freeholder and Open Space Liaison Mark Caliguire, county Principal Planner for Land Acquisition Tom Boccino, Montgomery Township Open Space Coordinator Lauren Wasilauski and Montgomery Mayor Ed Trzaska. ()

Photo 2 by Ed Trzaska: A summertime view of the Thompson property at Pleasant View Road and Route 601 in Montgomery.

Photo 3 via Somerset County Board of Freeholders: A map of the Thompson property off Pleasant View Road in Montgomery.)

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