Conservation groups expand greenway in Deptford

January 7, 2007

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust preserved 11 properties in Deptford totaling four acres along First, Washington and McNaughton Avenues last month. The $414,000 acquisition expands the now 36-acre urban greenway provided by the Old Pine Farm Preserve along Big Timber Creek in the Blackwood Terrace section of the township.

It is the last acquisition made by a pollution settlement fund the foundation established in 1992 when an oil company was cited for polluting the environment.

"Deptford and Gloucester County are better places to live today because of the natural lands and natural resources we have been able to protect by using this special fund," Michele S. Byers, executive director of the foundation, said in a news release. "Our goal is to extend the greenway from the headwaters of Big Timber Creek to a portion of the Delaware River."

The fund was established after Coastal Eagle Point Refinery was cited in 1989 for violating federal and state water pollution-control laws at its West Deptford facility. A legal challenge brought by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group and Friends of the Earth resulted in a settlement establishing the fund, which was transferred to the foundation to help protect natural lands near Big Timber Creek. Interest payments and reimbursements on lands the foundation sold to the state for permanent protection have allowed the money to be used repeatedly over the years.

The recent acquisition was funded equally by grants from the foundation and the State Green Acres Program. The property is owned by the Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust, which manages the preserve with guidance from the foundation.

Return to News Coverage