D&R Greenway

D&R Greenway Land Trust is central New Jersey's non-profit land preservation organization, founded in 1989 through the collaboration and vision of four organizations: the Stony Brook - Millstone Watershed Association, Friends of Princeton Open Space, Regional Planning Partnership, and the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission.

They were originally named the Delaware & Raritan Greenway, but they changed their name in 2004 to better reflect their preservation work as a Land Trust, and because their work expanded beyond the focus on the Delaware & Raritan Canal.

I actually heard about them because of a poetry event they offered recently called "Living Among Giants, Seeing the Forest for the Trees." It's one of a number of public programs they offer at at the Johnson Education Center.

They cover a lot of ground. Their operating region consists of over 1,500 square miles, encompassing portions of the Delaware, Raritan and Millstone River watersheds and the Delaware & Raritan Canal. This includes Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Burlington and Monmouth counties.

Recently, they have also worked at preserving preservation of farmlands in Salem County in the area of Mannington Meadows.

Since 1989, D&R Greenway Land Trust has preserved 223 properties. The total acreage preserved as of February 1, 2010 is 14,320.69 acres valued at $316,177,653.