The Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) announced receiving two grants totaling $101,250 from the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Bunbury Grant program and from the Open Space Institute and Land Trust Alliance’s Land and Climate Program.
FoHVOS, established in 1989, is an accredited non-profit land trust committed to preserving the unique character of Hopewell Valley. Both grants will support the expansion of the nonprofit’s community partnerships in the conservation of privately owned land, in addition to its continuing stewardship of FoHVOS owned and managed lands.
“We are extremely proud to own or manage nearly 3,000 acres of natural lands in the Hopewell Valley for the benefit of nature and the public,” said FoHVOS president Judith Karp. “But we also recognize that’s a small percentage of our valley and of the larger region, so it is important to help residents and corporations become better stewards of their lands, too.”
While the FoHVOS preserves are in the Hopewell Valley, stewardship efforts will be aimed at a wider region including all of Mercer County and neighboring communities such as Montgomery to the east, Lambertville to the west, and the Amwells to the north.
The two new grants will support research, planning, and strategy work to expand the FoHVOS Community Conservation Program, which enlists private landowners in promoting native plants, reducing stormwater runoff, and increasing biodiversity on their properties. Currently, the organization has nearly 300 homeowners participating in the Community Conservation Plan, encompassing nearly 4,000 acres of land.
“FoHVOS and its Invasive Species Strike Team are recognized as statewide leaders in land stewardship, which gives us an opportunity to deepen our impact in this critical area,” said FoHVOS executive director Jenn Rogers, who joined the organization in early 2024. “We believe that expert land stewardship is essential for enhancing biodiversity and preserving human health. By expanding our partnerships with government agencies and private companies, we can further our mission to protect and restore natural lands.”
Most recently FoHVOS announced the preservation of a 28-acre tract of forest in the Mount Rose Ridge. The property, located off of Cleveland Road, expands upon the 387-acre Mount Rose Preserve, creating a total of 415 acres of contiguous permanently preserved open space in Hopewell Valley. The heart of the Mount Rose Preserve was purchased by New Jersey Conservation Foundation, FoHVOS, Hopewell Township, and Mercer County in 2015. Preservation partners have continued to grow and expand upon this impressive public preserve since then.
The Giardino tract is 100 percent wooded; including forested wetlands and upland forest on a diabase ridge. This intact forest provides essential breeding habitat for songbirds, including Veery and Northern Parula, wetland forest vital to salamanders and frogs, and a safe harbor for rare plant species such as Wild Comfrey.
This preserve is also identified as Core Habitat by NJDEP’s CHANJ program. The CHANJ project, Connecting Habitats Across New Jersey, aims to conserve native wildlife populations by creating a statewide landscape of connected preserved lands; allowing for healthy reproduction and creating genetically strong wildlife populations. Core Habitats represent the most important large and intact natural areas within the state, making them a priority for preservation.
“With over 40 percent of Hopewell Township preserved as open space, farmland, or recreation land, the Township Committee is committed to grow this number even further,” Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters Manning said. “We are thankful to work with preservation partners like FoHVOS to make this happen. The addition of these 28 acres to the FoHVOS preserves is a huge benefit to the people and the environment of the Township. We are excited about this property and look forward to continuing to work with FoHVOS for many years to come.”
FoHVOS applied for and received funding from NJDEP Green Acres, Mercer County Open Space Trust Fund, and Hopewell Township to make this acquisition possible.
County Executive Dan Benson also celebrated this newest acquisition. “I’m very pleased that Mercer County could support FoHVOS and Hopewell Township in this expansion of the Mount Rose Preserve. Protecting sensitive ecosystems is key to the health of our natural environment, and we’re always looking for new opportunities to add to the more-than 40,000 acres of preserved open space in Mercer County,” he said.
Land preservation requires willing and interested landowners. The Giardino family are as much a partner in this preservation as FoHVOS staff and trustees, volunteers, and funding partners. “I am proud to have initiated this acquisition for FoHVOS and thank the Giardino family for making it happen,” said Daniel Pace, FoHVOS trustee and chair of land preservation.
In the future, this land will be accessible for hiking, birdwatching, and passive enjoyment, by way of a foot trail that will connect to a proposed section of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. Jenn Rogers, FoHVOS executive director, noted that, “In addition to being a preserve with excellent conservation quality, it too, will become a public asset for our community. My hope is that we will be able to create a permanently protected land connection from Mount Rose Preserve to Princeton’s Emerald Necklace in the future.”
To learn more about FoHVOS, visit www.fohvos.org.
