From the Gloucester County Times

Jan. 9, 2008

100-acre forest to be preserved in South Harrison

SOUTH HARRISON TWP. A 100-acre forest here will be preserved under an acquisition involving several state and environmental organizations and a business settling a natural resource damage claim.

The forest, known as the Daniels property for its longtime owners, is located along Harrisonville-Ferrell Road. The site was acquired for $800,000.

The tract consists predominantly of mixed hardwood forest and forested wetlands dominated by red maple, sweet gum and black gum. Numerous vernal pools provide a breeding habitat for a variety of amphibians. An unnamed tributary of Oldmans Creek runs through the southern edge of the property.

"This is one of the largest tracts of unbroken forest in southern Gloucester County," state Department of Environmental Commissioner Lisa Jackson said Tuesday. "Conservation of this property benefits the region tremendously by protecting ground water supplies, preserving wildlife habitat, and providing a regional hub in a statewide network of protected parcels of open space."

The DEP provided $400,000 through its Green Acres program. Another $400,000 will come from a natural resource damage settlement the DEP reached with Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, a chemical trailer-truck washing operation in Logan Township that is now undergoing cleanup as a federal Superfund site.

The non-profit South Jersey Land and Water Trust acquired the land with the state money and is turning it over to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The foundation will manage the land as a regional hub in its Garden State Greenway project, a statewide network of interconnected parks, trails, natural areas, farmland and historic places.

Suzanne McCarthy, land and water trust president, suggested "this forest is truly one of the natural-resource treasures of the Oldmans Creek watershed."
Bruce and Jane Daniels will retain life rights to a house and eight-acre pasture and will continue to live on the property.

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