Diamond Creek Farm

Rob Eberhardt, Joyce Koch and Martin Rapp of HLTA review map.

Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance (HLTA) worked with landowner Helen Ringus, to permanently preserve 90 acres in West Amwell Township.

The preservation was facilitated by HLTA in partnership with the New Jersey Green Acres Program, Hunterdon County Open Space Program, and West Amwell Township.

As part of the transaction, Ms. Ringus preserved her original 80-acre farm, and ten more acres of neighboring woodland. She will continue to own the farm, now protected by a conservation easement monitored by HLTA.

An additional ten acres have been set aside for residential use and outbuildings where Ms. Ringus is building a horseback riding facility.

The preserved land includes open fields and pastures with expansive views across the Sourland Mountains. In the woodland areas, two intermittent headwater streams filled with moss-covered stones meander among northern red oak, shagbark hickory, and tulip trees. The fields and patches of woods are habitat for songbirds, turkeys, owls, and hawks and other wildlife.

Protecting her land is important to Ms. Ringus, ?"I want to live here. I want my kids to have the farm and I want to preserve the rural character of Hunterdon County.?

Funding for the protection of Diamond Creek Farm was provided through HLTA?s first matching grant from the New Jersey Green Acres Program, which provided one half of the certified market value. The landowner made a donation, which provided her an income tax deduction, and partners contributed the balance of the purchase price to permanently protect the land.