01/6/06 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Morris, state fund deal for 77-acre camp
$1.3 million sale adds property to Rockaway Township's open space, purchase includes Egnert's Lake

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD

ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A former summer camp and lake were purchased for $1.3 million and will be preserved for public recreation, officials announced on Thursday.

The 77-acre property, including Egbert's Lake, is in the Marcella section of the township, near Green Pond and Longview roads.

The purchase was announced by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. Funding was provided by the township, Morris County, the state Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program, and a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable foundation.

The township and the state now own the land.

"It is very gratifying to see this property protected. I have been working on this personally for over 10 years and am pleased that so many individuals and groups have come together to make this possible,"said Mayor Louis Sceusi.

"The property and the lake will be a great addition to the township. We can return to community activities like those that were held there 50 years ago."

Egbert's Lake was a summer resort and camp centered on the 15-acre lake in the 1940s and '50s. Over time, the cabins had become unusable and the property was targeted by a developer for construction of 15 homes. Rockaway Township asked the Trust for Public Land to negotiate a deal with the landowner and protect the land as public open space.

"Development of this property was imminent, but instead, we have created a new park,"said Terrence Nolan, director of TPL's state Field Office.

An easement along an abandoned rail bed on the west side of the lake will be transferred to the Morris County Park Commission as an extension of its West Morris Greenway trail system, connecting the property to Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.

"Working in partnership with The Trust for Public Land and Rockaway Township, the Morris County Park Commission continues to fulfill its goal of making a contiguous linear greenway from Jefferson Township to Chester Township,"said Dave Helmer, executive director of the Morris County Park Commission.

The land purchase is TPL's fourth in Rockaway Township. Through the partnership, the group has added more than 900 acres to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in the last five years.

The land sits in the New Jersey Highlands, a 1,000-square-mile area in the northwestern part of the state. Sixty-four percent of New Jersey residents --about 5.4 million people --receive their water from the Highlands.

"Morris County is pleased to be a funding partner in the collaborative effort to preserve this property," said Freeholder Director Jack Schrier.

"Our participation is further evidence of the county's commitment to land preservation, not only throughout the county but importantly in the Highlands Preservation area as well."