Hunterdon Land Trust Preserves Over 500 Acres in 2021

Content submitted by: Hunterdon Land Trust

The river views from the newly preserved Gilbert Power property are truly breathtaking; sunshine splashes across the endlessly rushing Delaware River, leafy green canopies affording shade and comfort, craggy rock formations that delight the eyes and heart.

These acres – a delightful mix of open fields and woodlands – along the Delaware River in Holland Township, New Jersey, will be enjoyed for passive recreation for generations to come, but could easily have become a housing development, if not for the determined efforts of Hunterdon Land Trust (HLT) working diligently with county and local township officials, who have all prioritized this region for protection.

View from the newly preserved Gilbert Power property.

Larry LeFevre

How devoted is HLT to protecting the Wild & Scenic region? Well, within the past year, HLT has helped preserve six properties, totaling more than 500 acres. Four properties are farms situated on, or adjacent to, vital tributaries that flow into the Delaware. The other two – Maritan in Kingwood Township and Gilbert Power – are available to everyone for passive recreation.

Several factors coalesced to benefit HLT’s preservation work including available funding, timing and good fortune. Persistence and hard work also helped immeasurably.

And for two properties preserved last year – Dixon/Fleming and Pinebrook Farm Associates – trails were opened providing everyone the opportunity to explore a stunning pastoral setting. These two preservations added 110 acres to the popular Horseshoe Bend Park.

All these efforts help ensure clean water, outdoor recreational opportunities and the protection of native plant and wildlife for everyone who cherishes the Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic area.

River Currents

This article was featured in the 2022 edition of River Currents, the annual newsletter for the National Park Service Wild & Scenic Rivers Program.