A drone view of the Black Run Preserve and the land being preserved by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The drone was near Simsbury Drive and Longwood Road in Voorhees at the Evesham border.
The New Jersey Conservation Foundation announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to buy 835 acres that it will turn over to Evesham Township to protect from development and add to the neighboring 1,300-acre Black Run Preserve.
"We are thrilled that our property will soon be added to the Black Run Preserve through our agreement with NJ Conservation,” owner Linda Samost said in a statement. "We are eager to move forward with the project so that the community can experience and appreciate the natural beauty of this land for years to come."
The sale price totals $15 million, which is about $2.4 million less than the land's full value, according to the Conservation Foundation announcement of the binding contract of sale. The Conservation Foundation plans a fundraising campaign to secure the remaining funding.
A view of the forest property being preserved.
News of Samost's family company, Kettle Run Investments LP, developing residences on the land prompted a call by the public to preserve the pristine forest land adjacent to the Black Run Preserve.
But now, rather than being cleared for new homes, the wooded land will be protected and will allow the Black Run Preserve acreage to grow by 64%.
"Preserving the Black Run Headwaters Property means water quality, critical plant and animal habitat, and the overall ecological integrity of the area will be protected for generations to come. This effort is a testament to the conservation values of the property owners, who have been a pleasure to work with," Robyn Jeney, NJ Conservation's South Jersey regional manager, said in a statement.
She said the nonprofit Conservation Foundation is grateful to the Pinelands Commission, Burlington County and the state Green Acres Program for help with the funding to make it "within reach" to purchase and permanently preserve.
"The property has been a long-time conservation priority, due to its high ecological value based on research by Pinelands Commission scientists and other experts over the last several decades," the Conservation Foundation said in the announcement. "Since the property contains the headwaters of Black Run, an important freshwater tributary that feeds into the Rancocas Creek, permanently protecting this land will also help protect the rest of the watershed downstream."
Previous 70and73.com coverage of this issue:
- Behind the negotiations to save from development the Evesham woodland south of Black Run Preserve.
- Drone view of land near Black Run Preserve
- How collaboration is saving 835 wooded, pristine acres near Black Run Preserve from future development.
- Residents plead at hearing: Keep future development out of the land around Evesham's Black Run Preserve.
- Should acres of forest be cut for 270 homes next to the Black Run Preserve in South Jersey?
- Deforestation: Voorhees developer wants to build on wooded land next to Evesham's Black Run Preserve.
The blue outlines show lots covering acreage that Devel LLC of Voorhees wanted to develop next to the Black Run Preserve. Now it will be protected from development.
