Conservancy, foundation preserve 26-acre property in Bedminster

By BHARAT AYYAR
Staff Writer

BEDMINSTER -- A 26-acre plot of land on Spook Hollow Road, formerly owned by the late Condict and Hugh Hyde, has become permanent public open space.
The property now is open to the public for recreational activities such as hiking and bird-watching. Horseback riding also is planned for the space; the plot has pre-existing equestrian trails.

The Hyde property is the latest converted parcel in what the New Jersey Conservation Foundation says is an upward trend in land preservation in the area.
The children of Condict and Hugh Hyde, the Lamington Conservancy and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation cooperated in the effort to preserve the property, which includes both forests and fields.

Sandy Perry, communications manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said the organization acted as a lead agency to help coordinate the purchase and the sources of funding.

The land lies in the New Jersey Conservation Foundation's Black River Greenway project area, which is a 180-square-mile area that includes parts of Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris counties. The foundation aims to preserve land such as the Hyde plot in order to provide public access and to protect environmentally sensitive resources.

Beth Davisson, the foundation's regional manager for the Black River Greenway project area, said an acquisition such as the Hyde lot will help build momentum for preservation in the area.

"Historically, there's a lot of preservation that's happened in this area," she said. "In the last five to 10 years, we've really seen an increase, and that's due to local township committees and their commitment to preservation, as well as a lot of nonprofit activity."

Davisson said that some of the upward trend could be attributed to new incentives.
Revisions in 2006 to federal legislation allow people to take advantage of the tax incentives involved in donating land, Davisson said. However, the benefits only will be available through the end of this year, unless they are renewed.

For the Hyde family, for example, donating the land meant an estate tax benefit.
The New Jersey Conservation Foundation's goal is to preserve new land close to where there is land being preserved, Davisson said.

"It's about building on continuous open space," she said. "In the more rural areas, what you want to be doing is adding to large plots so that you can contribute to the open feel of the area."

The Hyde family first donated a conservation easement on the land to the foundation. A conservation easement extinguishes development rights on a given piece of property and consequently reduces the market value of the property.
A lower price made it possible for Bedminster to purchase the land with help from Somerset County and the Lamington Conservancy, a Bedminster-based land preservation group.

The Hyde property sold for $1.9 million. Somerset County contributed $1 million, Bedminster contributed $685,000 through a state Planning Incentive Grant and Lamington Conservancy contributed $215,000 through a state Green Acres grant.
Brooke Goode of Gladstone, one of Condict and Hugh Hyde's children, was excited about the property's future.

"My parents absolutely loved the land and would be happy that it will be protected forever," she said. "It's really beautiful land. I can't imagine houses going there."

• Bharat Ayyar can be reached at (908) 707-3163 or bayyar@gannett.com.

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