Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance
A nonprofit conservation organization working to preserve and protect the rural character of Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
| Home |
| The Mission |
| Who we are |
| How it works |
| Newsletters |
| Links |
|
Protected
Lands
|
| Contact HLTA |
Trepani
"Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Teacher!" No-there's no school nearby; but you might hear this when you are out for a walk in these woods. It is the call of the ovenbird, a neo tropical songbird, up for a summer visit. The ovenbird often walks alone through the leaf litter along the forest floor. You might see one wagging its tail and bobbing its head, or hear him (the females rarely sing) from high in the limbs above.HLTA is pleased to add this significant 85-acre woodland to the adjacent Musconetcong Gorge County Park. It is part of the ridgeline of the Musconetcong Mountain and is in both the Musconetcong River and Mullhockaway Creek watersheds. A regional hiking trail called the Highlands Trail is planned to run through the property on its route through the greenway from the Spruce Run Wildlife Management Area west to the Musconetcong Gorge County Park.
The two parcels that make up this tract run along the relatively flat
top of the Musconetcong Mountain ridge. It is interesting to note that
this mountain was bare 100 years ago, the trees cut for charcoal production
and low-grade cattle grazing. So, while this mix of large deciduous trees
is not "old growth," it has earned its ecological significance
through the habitat that it now provides and, of course, its ability to
recharge groundwater and mitigate erosion from runoff. It serves as habitat
for pileated woodpeckers and ovenbirds, which require deep woodlands to
breed and thrive. In combination with adjacent protected properties and
the Tower Hill Park next door, this land creates an area large enough
to be self-sustaining for wildlife, a node of necessary critical mass.
This transaction ensures the continuation of a large tract of unbroken
woodlands forever.
|
|
|
| Dondero Farm Dvoor Farm Nishisackawick Preserve The Milltown Road Preserve Diamond Creek Farm The Kugler Woods |
The Martin Woods Meadow Creek Schuck Trepani Lockatong Preserve Good Shepherd/Risi Acres |