Bulls Island Preserve,
(Schuck Property)

In October 2002, Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance (HLTA) partnered with the New Jersey Green Acres Program, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the federal Department of Transportation to preserve 228 acres of fields and woodlands owned by Richard Schuck and Betha Schuck Davis near the Delaware River in Delaware Township.

The land borders Route 29, New Jersey's first scenic by-way and provides a protective buffer to the Delaware & Raritan Canal and the Delaware River, two important waterways providing drinking water to millions of residents in New Jersey.

The newly acquired property is located along Quarry Road, and stretches up into the hills from Route 29 across from Bull's Island State Park. It includes thickly forested woodlands of north red oak, black birch, sugar maple and pine. The property also contains the abandoned Raven Rock quarry, which now acts as a reservoir, as well as open fields and natural wooded wetlands located along Federal Twist Road and Route 29.

The Schuck parcel is in close proximity to several other preserved properties and adds to an important concentration of protected lands. To the north in Kingwood Township are Kugler Woods (220 acres) and Martin Woods (25 acres), two properties that HLTA manages and preserved in partnership with Green Acres. Nearby are the county's Wescott Preserve, the Peters' estate (preserved by New Jersey Conservation Foundation) and the Stone Rows Farm (preserved by the farmland preservation program).

In preserving their land, Richard and Bertha have set an example for other large property owners in Hunterdon County and hope to encourage more people to look into the possibilities of preserving land. "There are many alternatives?if people can resist searching for the highest bidder it will work out better for all in the future," Mr. Schuck noted.