Ocean County To Add Huge Tract Of Land In Berkeley To Open Space Inventory

Another large swatch of land in Berkeley will be preserved forever, thanks to the Ocean County Board of Freeholders and the county Natural Lands Trust Commission.

The 775-acre tract - known as the New Jersey Pulverizing Property - is located on Hickory Lane and extends north to Beachwood.

Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said the tract is one of the largest to be added to the natural lands preservation.

“The landscape of the site varies greatly with parts that haven’t been touched, lakes and an area where the Barnegat Branch Rail Trail can work its way through,” he said.

The property is next to the Ocean County Utilities Authority Central Treatment Plant on Hickory Lane, an area which has seen substantial residential growth over recent years.

“To say we’re ecstatic… would be an understatement,” Berkeley Township Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. told board members at a recent public hearing on the purchase.

Amato said the property could have been used for significant residential development, if it were developed.

“I commend the Board for moving forward with this purchase,” Amato said.

The property is a former sand mining site and has not been used for years.

“There is no mining going on at the site,” Bartlett said. “The previously disturbed areas of the property have become varied habitats which also include grassland and pinelands vegetation. This is a serene and peaceful site.”

The county is buying the site with funds from the Natural Lands Trust Fund for $11,225,000.

The Ocean County Utilities Authority has an interest in about 60 acres bordering its central treatment plant in Bayville. The authority would fund its acquisition separately, Bartlett said.

The property owner would retain about 45 acres for the dry concrete bagging operations which continues within buildings and silos, he said.

“This property meets the criteria for our natural lands program,” Bartlett said. “We are preserving hundreds of acres that are rich in natural vegetation and wildlife.”

The acquisition will also provide the “missing” trail piece of the Barnegat Branch Trail, which will allow the county to continue the trail north to Toms River, Freeholder James F. Lacey said.

So far, the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund has preserved 16,604 acres of open space in Ocean County and 3,339 acres of farmland.

Photo credit: Steve Baeli