Politics & Government
County Gets 3K More Open-Space Acres In Lacey
The space comes as a donation. It is adjacent to the recently acquired Forked River Mountain tract.
LACEY, NJ — Ocean County received a 3,100-acre open space donation adjacent to the Forked River Mountain tract. The County will now have over 11,000 acres of open space in the area.
Ocean County previously acquired 7,923 acres of open space in Lacey and Waretown for $15,450,000. It was the county's largest open-space purchase since it began the program in 1997.
The Nature Conservancy made the recent donation. The charity — headquartered in Virginia — has protected more than 119,000,000 acres of land and thousands of miles in rivers worldwide.
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The 3,101-acre donation is located off Lacey Road. The property consists of wooded uplands and 509 acres of wetlands. The donation comes with an endowment of $112,613 for property maintenance.
“I want to extend the deepest appreciation from the Board of Freeholders to The Nature Conservancy,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director Virginia E. Haines — liaison to the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund program.
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The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved purchase of the ForkeD River Mountain Tract at its Sept. 19, 2018 meeting. The County closed on the property in February. Read more: Ocean County Purchases 8K Open-Space Acres In Lacey, Waretown
Pictured above: Ocean County Freeholder Director Virginia E. Haines, liaison to the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust, reviews the map with Mark Villinger, Ocean County Planning Department supervising planner, showing the 3,101 acre parcel donated to Ocean County’s Natural Lands Program by The Nature Conservancy and its proximity to the almost 8,000 acre Forked River Mountain Tract purchased under the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund program earlier this year resulting in more than 11,000 acres of land preserved forever as open space.
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