Community News

WASHINGTON TWP. (Morris County) – Celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 6, with the first public hike on the new trails at New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s Maureen Ogden Preserve at 390 Fairview Ave. in Long Valley.

The hike will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and will be led by Ingrid Vandegaer, New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s regional manager in the Highlands.

Built last year by New Jersey Conservation Foundation staff and volunteers, the preserve’s trails cross rocky Highlands forest, meadows and forested wetlands on the Schooley’s Mountain ridge. Hikers should wear appropriate footwear and bring water.

The hike is free, but advance reservations are requested. To register online, go to https://donate.njconservation.org/2015-national-trails-day-hike.  For more information, contact Bill Lynch at blynch@njconservation.org or 908-997-0716.

National Trails Day is a celebration of America’s trail systems, and is held each year on the first Saturday in June.

The 228-acre Maureen Ogden Preserve is named in honor the former state Assemblywoman, whose 50 years of public service and environmental activism also include serving as the first chair of the Garden State Preservation Trust, a trustee of New Jersey Conservation Foundation, commissioner of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, member of the Legacy Council of the NJ Highlands Coalition and chair of the Conservation Committee of New Jersey Garden Clubs.

The preserve was acquired in 2010 from the family of the late Jack Borgenicht, a businessman, philanthropist and mountain climber with a passion for amassing open space and farmland in the Long Valley area.

New Jersey Conservation Foundation is a private nonprofit that preserves land and natural resources throughout New Jersey for the benefit of all. Since 1960, New Jersey Conservation has protected 125,000 acres of open space - from the Highlands to the Pine Barrens to the Delaware Bayshore, from farms to forests to urban and suburban parks. For more information about the Foundation’s programs and preserves, go to www.njconservation.org or call 1-888-LAND-SAVE (1-888-526-3728).