A recent $195,708 check from the NJ Green Acres program has enabled the Great Swamp Watershed Association to finalize its purchase of an 18-acre tract of undeveloped land on Tiger Lily Lane in Harding Township.

The land is a key parcel in an area described as having "exceptional [environmental] value, containing wetlands, mature forest, scenic vistas over meadows and marsh and a decidedly rural feel." It is crossed by Silver Brook, a tributary to Great Brook, one of the five major streams that converge in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Initial approval of the purchase was given last spring by the Garden State Trust, a panel appointed by former Governor Whitman to analyze Green Acres funding requests. Actual funding, however, was dependent on state legislation passed in September.

When the seller of the property wanted to conclude the transaction before funding was authorized, however, the Watershed Association completed the purchase with interim funding provided by the Red Oak Bank in Morristown, and with an assurance of further interim support, had it been needed, by Harding Township.

The property, formerly owned by the estate of John Case, was acquired as a "bargain sale" – for less than its appraised value. The check from the Green Acres program covered the cost of the property as well as other costs associated with the purchase.

"We’re delighted to have completed this transaction, and we’re gratified for the interim support that made it possible," said Julia M. Somers, the Association’s executive director. "Not only is this land parcel of critical environmental importance in and of itself. It is also bounded by, or close to, a significant amount of additional acreage that is being preserved for posterity – by us, by the Harding Land Trust, and by Harding Township.

"The close proximity of these preserved lands offers broader habitat protection, more comprehensive water-management practices and, potentially, more opportunities for public education," Somers continued.

The area was described as having "exceptional value" in Saving Space: The Great Swamp Watershed Greenway and Open Space Plan, a 1997 Association publication that identifies environmentally critical areas in the ten towns spanned by the watershed.

The area is further described as supporting "an abundance of wildlife and [having] high aesthetic appeal, with sweeping meadows and long stretches of forest cover. The area sits in the Silver Lake/Pine Brook Historic Rural Landscape District."

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