The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is delighted to announce the preservation of 20 acres in Montville—a significant property positioned over the Towaco Valley Aquifer, Montville’s primary source of drinking water for the community that serves approximately 6,750 individual properties in Montville. The property is also located in the Critical Water Resources Restricted District.
We worked diligently with the town to prepare a successful Morris County Grant to acquire this important piece of land. A much-needed natural haven in the midst of residential developments, this property will become part of a 143-acre greenway that contains a critical wildlife habitat, hospitable to barred owls and northern goshawk, and a mature tulip tree forest.
Specifically, Highlands Council mapping identifies the majority of the property as critical wildlife habitat, with a high forest integrity score. The dominant forest overstory species is tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), which grows up to 90 feet and has beautiful flowers that are yellowish-green and orange. In addition, the Landscape Project Version 3.3 identified this property as a habitat for barred owl, a threatened species in New Jersey, as well as endangered northern goshawk and bobcat.