Lewis Morris Park Expansion Proposed In Mendham Township

MENDHAM, NJ — The Lewis Morris County Park has been nominated for $805,000 in county preservation grants to acquire more land.

The grant would be used to buy the Leddell Preserve, a 17,78 acre area of land located on Leddell Road, between Jockey Hollow and the New Jersey Brigade area of the national park, south of Tempe Wick Road and Leddell Pond. Buying this property will help protect the water quality of the Passaic River, which feeds into the Great Swamp watershed. The Park Commission will own and manage the property.

This is one of five open space projects that the Open Space Trust Fund Committee has recommended to the county freeholders. Suggested awards range in value from $10,000 to $805,000, and cover things like farmland and historic preservation, county parkland acquisition, trail construction, and the purchase of residential properties prone to flooding.

A final vote on the distribution of funds will be held on Nov. 19. The freeholders have typically accepted and funded the recommendations from the Open Space Trust Fund Committee. Money come from the county preservation trust fund, which is funded by a special tax.

"The committee thanks the freeholders for recognizing the need for continued public support for this program, and understanding the need for towns to be able to preserve land for active and passive recreation and environmental protection," committee chair and former Morris Township mayor Rick Watson said.

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