From the Burlington County Times

June 3, 2008

Agencies to acquire 234 acres in Pines

By ED MOORHOUSE
Burlington County Times

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission plans to dedicate more than $311,000 to preserve 234 acres in Medford and Bass River.

The commission's Permanent Land Protection Committee will provide up to $233,333 for the Rancocas Conservancy's purchase of 73 acres in Medford. The committee also will provide up to $78,333 to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to protect 161 acres in Bass River.

The money is being allocated from the commission's Pinelands Conservation Fund, which is dedicated to permanent land protection and conservation planning and research.

The funding represents a portion of the money that grantees such as the Rancocas Conservancy and the Conservation Foundation use to acquire and permanently protect land, commission spokes-man Paul Leakan said.

Once the properties have been acquired, they are deed-restricted to prevent future development and are preserved in perpetuity, Leakan said.

Details regarding the specific locations of the properties will be released by the Pinelands Commission upon completion of a purchase contract between the landowner and the grantee, Leakan said.

In Medford, the 73 acres includes several different properties all located within the southern portion of the township. Rare plants and animals are located within these ecologically sensitive properties, according to the commission.

In total, the Pinelands Commission plans to provide more than $867,000 to preserve 450 acres in Atlantic, Burlington, Gloucester and Ocean counties this year.

Return to News Coverage