Fall Newsletter: $1M in Open Space Funding & the Future of South Branch Preserve

TLCNJ Wins $1M in Morris County Open Space Funding

Morris County just released their 2025 Open Space funding recommendations, and TLCNJ has been tapped to receive $1.04M to preserve 123 acres in Rockaway’s Wildcat Ridge. We helped establish Wildcat Ridge in 1999, and we’re still hard at work there! The acquisition will expand the existing network of protected lands, providing additional wildlife habitat and reinforcing long-term conservation efforts in the region’s mountainous terrain.

Tingley Road and Pocono Fields, the other two spots the county recommended for funding, were both highlighted in Open Space Plans that TLCNJ's planning team recently completed for Mendham and Denville. It is wonderful to see all these properties move towards permanent preservation! Click here to read more.

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We've Preserved 30,000 Acres!

For 44 years, The Land Conservancy of New Jersey has been building wildlife corridors in the Delaware River watershed, restoring habitat in and around the West Brook, uplifting indigenous land stewards at Split Rock Mountain, and building community at South Branch Preserve. We’ve come a long way since our first land acquisition in 1997! As we celebrate preserving 30,000 acres, we can see how these individual wins add up to something truly remarkable. We’re grateful to be part of a movement that understands taking care of the environment is essential for all of our survival. Thank you to our supporters for making this possible!

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The Future of South Branch Preserve

This fall, we unveiled some exciting plans for the future of South Branch Preserve: a new master plan focused on balancing increased public access to recreational opportunities with the critical need to preserve drinking water quality.

Since 2009, TLCNJ has been working to acquire and preserve 1,000 undeveloped acres of the headwaters of the South Branch of the Raritan River, the source of clean drinking water for more than 1.5 million NJ residents. The South Branch Community Garden is located there, and it’s where City Green farms organic vegetables for families all over North Jersey. Our education program, the Outdoor Ambassadors, uses the wetlands here as a hands-on classroom, and everyone in the community can enjoy the trails and picnic area and wander through fields full of native wildflowers.

This master plan builds on our legacy of stewardship and restoration with an improved outdoor education area including a pavilion, accessible trails, shade kites, and a barrier-free trail. Click here to read more about the South Branch master plan.