Behind the negotiations to save from development the Evesham woodland south of Black Run Preserve.

When Robyn Jeney makes one of her regular hikes into the 1,300-acre Black Run Preserve in Evesham she is struck by the solitude provided by such an expanse of undeveloped woodland. 

"I always find it remarkable that when I go to Black Run Preserve the parking lot is so full and within five minutes of hiking I see nobody," the Haddon Township resident said.

If Jeney's efforts are successful — and she is optimistic — the 1,300 Black Run acres will turn into a total of 2,135 acres for even more of an "immersive nature experience." A collaboration of several organizations is working to buy the 835-acre Samost family property next to the Preserve, saving the land from development into the future and, like the Preserve, turning it over to Evesham Township as permanently protected open space.

Jeney, South Jersey regional manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, represents the Foundation in its negotiations with the Samost family to buy the land.

"It's a very significant project," Jeney said. "Opportunities like this don't come up every day."

The landowners have been great to work with, she told 70and73.com in an interview on Thursday. For the last five years, Linda Samost has been interested in conserving the land and has been meeting with the Foundation, she said. A deal began to crystallize this summer, Jeney said.

But the deal is not done, she stressed.

Jeney and the Samosts still are talking about the purchase price, which Jeney would not estimate or provide a range for because of the ongoing negotiations.

Normally, land deals such as this are done out of the public eye and disclosed only after the contract is signed.

However, social media has been abuzz with angst over a proposal by the owners to secure Pinelands Commission, and ultimately Evesham Township approval to build 270 homes next to Kettle Run Road and south of the Black Run Preserve on part of the land.

The Foundation, a 65-year-old nonprofit that has preserved more than 140,000 acres in New Jersey, is one of several partners trying to permanently protect the oak-pine woods and wetlands.

The Pinelands Commission, a state agency charged with closely monitoring land use in the Pine Barrens, disclosed on Wednesday that in a closed session on October 31 it had approved a $3 million grant to the Foundation to help pay for the acreage. Other money could come from Foundation fundraising or other sources.

Then the Burlington County Commissioners on Wednesday evening announced they had voted to adopt a resolution to share in the cost of the acquisition. Up to $5 million of the county's open space funds may be used toward the purchase price, according to the resolution.

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"I'm very optimistic that we are going to agree on a purchase price," Jeney said.

If the land is preserved, Jeney said the Foundation would like to see the continued involvement of the volunteer Friends of the Black Run Preserve extended to the full 2,135 acres. The nonprofit Friends works with the Township to maintain the massive Preserve. They clean trails, cut brush and serve as protectors of the land.

Any trails in the former Samost property would need to be approved by the Pinelands Commission, Jeney explained. The two properties do differ, with old cranberry bogs in the Preserve and ponds on the Samost land. 

One not-so-apparent benefit of the land acquisition could relieve a long-standing issue at Black Run: a shortage of parking.

Jeney said there is a section in the uplands of the Samost property where a new parking lot could be in compliance with Pinelands regulations.