Turkey Brook Preserve

The spring house

Visitors exploring the preserve

The Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance has preserved two tracts of significant watershed land in Bethlehem Township. The properties, totaling 135 acres and know separately as the Turnquist and Springhouse tracts, are in close proximity to more than 300 of existing preserved land; given their proximity to preserved land, these properties have long been a high-priority property for preservation efforts.

The Turkey Brook properties were acquired by the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance in partnership with Bethlehem Township. The New Jersey Audubon Society has agreed to manage the properties as part of adjoining NJ Audubon preserve lands. The properties will be open to the public for passive recreation and enjoyment.

The properties consist of fields and woodlands adjacent to the Turkey Hill Brook, a trout production stream that runs along the properties' borders. The addition of these large tracts with adjoining preserved properties has resulted in the expansion of a large, contiguous area of preserved watershed and sensitive wildlife habitat. The properties are in the path of a large regional flyway for migratory birds, providing an excellent sanctuary for dozens of species of birds, and other wildlife.

The purchase was jointly funded by the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance and Bethlehem Township, with the land trust contributing $338,000 to the purchase, and more than $20,000 to cover technical and logistical costs associated with the transactions, while Bethlehem Township contributed $1,260,000 in a combination of grant funds and low-interest loan funding through the Environmental Infrastructure Trust Finance program. The Environmental Infrastructure Trust Finance program provides long-term loans at low interest rates to municipalities for the acquisition of properties that contribute to the protection of significant water resources.