PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RANCOCAS CONSERVANCY PRESERVES OVER 200 ACRES IN TABERNACLE TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY

Vincentown, NJ September 12, 2007: Rancocas Conservancy announced today that it has preserved over 200 acres in Tabernacle Township in partnership with New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The Conservancy purchased the newly named "Friendship Creek Preserve" from Tabernacle Township with grants from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Green Acres Program, Conservation Resources Inc., the NJDEP Office of Natural Resource Restoration, and private donors. The property is located off of Irick's Causeway and contains the headwaters of Friendship Creek, a tributary to the South Branch of the Rancocas Creek.

"This is a spectacular property that represents the diversity of habitats in the Pine Barrens," said Chris Jage, a Trustee of Rancocas Conservancy. "It has upland pitch pine forests, Atlantic white cedar forest, and deciduous wooded wetlands. The Conservancy looks forward to developing public access to this property so that everyone can enjoy this special piece of New Jersey."

The Conservancy will be creating a management plan which will guide development of public access and establish habitat management goals. Due to the complexity of this particular acquisition, the Conservancy relied heavily on the staff and expertise of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. As a result of this partnership, the Preserve will be jointly owned and managed by The Rancocas Conservancy and New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

The Conservancy paid $338,000 for the property by using a $188,000 grant from the Green Acres Program, and $150,000 from the Office of Natural Resource Restoration from a Natural Resource Damage Settlement, with these settlement funds being administered by Conservation Resources Inc. The remainder of the purchase price came from private donations. Conservation Resources Inc. also provided the Conservancy $5,000 through its Small Grants Program to help cover closing costs.

"We were very happy to have provided funding to help preserve this Pine Barrens property," said Michael Catania, President of Conservation Resources Inc. "The $150,000 Conservation Resources Inc. administered was part of a Natural Resource Damage (NRD) Settlement. We were also fortunate enough to be able to provide Rancocas Conservancy with a $5,000 grant from our Small Grants Program. Oftentimes it is difficult for small Land Trusts such as Rancocas Conservancy to fund closing costs for preservation projects like Friendship Creek. Our Small Grants program is designed to help with this."

The NRD settlement was concerned with previous groundwater contamination on a property located a short distance away, also in Tabernacle Township. The Friendship Creek Preserve project provided the perfect nexus between the natural resource damage that had occurred and permanent preservation of pristine natural resources.

John Flynn, Administrator of the NJDEP Green Acres Program added, "The NJDEP Green Acres Program was happy to work with non-profit partners as well as the Office of Natural Resource Restoration to preserve this property."

"Complex partnerships like the one at Friendship Creek Preserve are how land preservation gets done in New Jersey," said Michele Byers, Executive Director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. "We are always happy to offer technical assistance to other land trusts throughout the state to help preserve important properties like this one.

"This project illustrates the importance of passage of Question #3 on the ballot this November. Passage of Question # 3 would provide stopgap funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust, which is currently out of money, and enable continued preservation of our precious open spaces like Friendship Creek," added Byers.

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