



The torch has been passed from one land preservation group to another, with the Muckshaw Ponds Preserve — a 534-acre nature preserve and farm in Andover Township and Fredon — handed over from The Nature Conservancy to the Ridge and Valley Conservancy.

A not-for-profit land trust from Blairstown in operation for over 25 years, Ridge and Valley will continue to protect 201 of those with limestone-rich, interconnected ponds that are home to rare and endangered plant species. According to the preserve’s website about the Muckshaw Ponds, the soil in the area is alkaline and the groundwater mineral-rich, as a result of the bedrock from the surrounding ridges that has dissolved over millions of years. As a result, cavities have formed in the limestone, creating sunken streams, sinkholes and caves.

Bob Canace, president of Ridge and Valley Conservancy, said Thursday The Nature Conservancy has been transitioning from land acquisition efforts to focusing on more science-related projects; and is in the process of divesting its properties to local partners like Ridge and Valley.

Additionally, Canace said, The Nature Conservancy provided $250,000 in stewardship funds to Ridge and Valley to be applied to the property, including new signage and preserve maps for visitors of the trail system, which The Nature Conservancy created on the property after acquiring it in 1988. The trail winds above the sinkhole ponds for a view of the preserved area, that Ridge and Valley is in the process of revamping.

“At the height of the development boom in 1988, acres and acres of New Jersey’s forests and farmland were being gobbled up and turned into subdivisions, and it was in that year that we initiated the protection of Muckshaw,” said Eric Olsen, New Jersey director of land and water at The Nature Conservancy. ”Having permanently protected the important species, habitats and farmland from the threat of development, we identified Ridge and Valley Conservancy, a land trust partner with a proven track record, to manage the property for future generations.”

In addition to the pond preserves, 333 farmland acres that the Nature Conservancy transferred to Ridge and Valley in March, will be named Muckshaw Farm. It is on that property the Foodshed Alliance, another non-profit group with a mission to create a self-sustaining, rural economy through the production of local foods, will run the Sustainable Agriculture Enterprise or “SAgE” program.

According to information about SAgE provided on the Foodshed Alliance’s website, the program will offer farmers the opportunity to sublet land through long-term leases on the property, along with shared infrastructure and equipment. The Foodshed Alliance will provide the platform for these farmers as a collective to market their crops to area restaurants and institutions; and will offer classes to the farmers, such as food safety, to further open the doors of opportunities to them. A future farm store on the property’s site, which enters from Route 206 adjacent to the Freelance Bistro and Newton Golf Center’s driving range, will be an opportunity for the farms to offer their items to the public. Food donated by farmers to the Foodshed Alliance’s LocalShare program, eventually make its way to food pantries in the area.

Canace said students from Sussex County Community College’s agricultural program will be among the farms subleasing space through the Foodshed Alliance.

SAgE is currently accepting applications for its programs, with more information available at: www.foodshedalliance.org/sage/.

The farmland, according to information from Ridge and Valley, is further preserved through an easement that belongs to the state.

“As The Nature Conservancy consolidates its land holdings in our region, we are happy to take up the reins at this very special property,” said Ridge and Valley Conservancy Executive Director Susi Tilley. “We are also excited to work with local partners like the Foodshed Alliance who share our commitment to the land and the community to make the project happen.”

Eric Derby, SAgE Program Manager from the Foodshed Alliance, said the program has received praise from New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture, Doug Fisher, who is looking forward to a tour, once social distancing measures due to the coronavirus are lifted.

In addition to Sussex County Community College, Derby said Munsee Three Sisters Medicine Farm - a Native American-Ramapough Indian owned farm; and Dark Earth Farms, with two brothers that will be using regenerative farming practices, are the latest to sign on for the SAgE program.

For more information about the Muckshaw Ponds Preserve, visit: www.ridgeandvalleyconservancy.org/muckshawpondspreserve.

Jennifer Jean Miller can also be reached by phone at: 973-383-1230; on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JMillerNJH and on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JMillerNJH.