Watershed group gets more land and Dodge awards

SB-MWA now has approximately 830 acres for which to care.

   The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association recently added close to 8.5 acres to the land it already manages, bringing the total acreage under its care to approximately 830 acres.
   And, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation recently gave the association awards totaling $275,000.
   The new acreage is located on Moores Mill-Mount Rose Road in Hopewell Township. The association made the purchase along with Mercer County, using Green Acres funds set aside by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for this purpose.
   The property, which borders the Watershed Association reserve on two sides, has a storage barn and includes open fields with groups of evergreens. It is the final parcel of the original Charles Dobkowski family farm, purchased in the 1930s, which at one time comprised over 200 acres on both sides of Moores Mill-Mount Rose Road. Ed Dobkowski and his cousin, Sean Mannix, have been the most recent family owners and have made the open space conservation possible.
   In commenting on the purchase, association Property Manager Bay Weber said, "This acquisition makes sense for both the community and for the association. It provides opportunities for expanding our well-regarded environmental education programs, further buffers our trails from development and gives us additional storage space for field and trail maintenance equipment. We hope our members and guests will visit the reserve and enjoy natural lands that we maintain for hiking and recreation."
***
   The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which focuses on supporting the quality of life for Jersey residents today and assuring that it will be sustainable for future generations, recently announced grants of $5,170,000 to nonprofits in the state and surrounding areas.
   For a second year, Dodge recognized the association’s dedication to these goals with awards totaling $275,000.
   "We were heartened to learn from your report on last year’s grant that the Project for Municipal Excellence made great progress helping municipalities move toward proactive land-use planning that sustains and enhances meaningful human activity and environmental protection," said a Dodge Foundation spokesman.
   The association’s Municipal Excellence program received $100,000 to continue partnering with the region’s municipalities to achieve proactive land-use planning that sustains and enhances community activity and environmental protection in each municipality. The program began in 2002, and has steadily grown to include 12 of the 26 municipalities within the watershed region are currently participating in this program.
   Explaining the rapid acceptance of a new approach for environmental groups and municipalities to work together, Lawrence Township Mayor Pam Mount has said: "We had a very positive experience producing the assessment of our master plan and ordinances with Stony Brook, and will count on their continued advice as we enhance our regulations to assure adequate protection for Lawrence Township’s environment in the future."
   "We also look forward to working with Stony Brook as we implement the state’s new rules for stormwater control, said Ms. Mount. "They fully understand the proposed rules as well as watershed concerns. If they develop the plan, I know our township will be able to implement it. Why go anywhere but to Stony Brook for this kind of assistance?"
   The association’s Watershed Institute is a clearinghouse and source of technical assistance for New Jersey watershed associations, and received $175,000. Offering tailored advice for individual organizations and providing workshops, meetings, and a wide range of guidelines and information, the Institute helps the more than 40 watershed organizations in New Jersey build their effectiveness and organizational support. $100,000 of their Dodge award will fund a grants program to enable small grassroots watershed organizations to carry out effective programs and become financially independent. In September 2004, 17 organizations received Watershed Institute Grants. Applications for 2005 awards are due in July, and more information about the program is available on the association Web site, www.thewatershed.org.
   For more information, call 737-3735, visit the association’s headquarters at 31 Titus Mill Road in Hopewell Township, or the Web site at www.thewatershed.org.