Millstone tract to be added to Assunpink
Greens Acres in the process of acquiring 65-acre Suszka tract
The state Department of Environmental Protec-tion’s Green Acres program is in the process of acquiring another piece of land that will be added to the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.
The Suszka tract, located in Millstone next to the recently acquired Notterman parcel in Roosevelt, increases the Assunpink area by 65 acres. The Assunpink encompasses 5,600 acres of fields, hedgerows and woods located in western Monmouth and eastern Mercer counties.
Catherine Drake, project manager for the Green Acres Program, said, "The Suszka property just came to our attention as a site. We thought that it would be a nice addition to link up the Assunpink Park with the Notterman tract in Roosevelt."
According to Drake, the 65-acre parcel was a farm at one point owned by a family from northern New Jersey. "Over the course of time, family members died, and it was just sort of inherited," she explained. "The house fell into disrepair. It was like a country house and hadn’t been occupied for 30 years.
"Actually the house has already fallen, and there are no buildings on the property that we’re keeping. There is one structure left, but it doesn’t have walls, That will be demolished."
The wooded property is very pretty, Drake said, plus, "It is a property that would have been ripe for development."
Although it is a state acquisition and Millstone had nothing to do with the sale, township officials have been very supportive, Drake said.
Drake did not want to divulge the purchase price because, she said, "We haven’t gone to closing yet, but we have a contract on the property."
The property forms a link between the Notterman tract and the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.
The state closed on the Notterman purchase in late April. The $1.7 million Notterman purchase, includes 109 acres of open farmland and woodlands on Eleanor Lane and North Valley Road. The tract adjoins Empty Box Brook, which drains into the Assunpink area.
When the Suszka parcel becomes part of the Assunpink, it will be managed by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife based in Trenton and remain dedicated to natural wildlife.
Portions of the 5,600-acre wildlife area were acquired beginning in the 1960s. One of the goals of the wildlife management area is to preserve what is there and let the area evolve naturally without interference.