Dear Friend:
2025 has been a stellar year for FOPOS’s impact on the health of our ecosystem and for our volunteer conservation work. We’ve expanded our educational offerings with new programs, completed and adopted a new strategic plan, moved forward our major restoration projects, and made our Program Coordinator a full-time employee. It’s been a busy year!
PRESERVATION OF 90 ACRES ON HERRONTOWN ROAD
We look forward to a closing on another critical large tract on the Princeton Ridge – 90 acres on the north side of Herrontown Road, adjacent to Herrontown Woods Preserve. Friends of Princeton Open Space is contributing $390,000 of State Green Acres grant funding plus a private gift of $1 million towards the acquisition of this land, which was subject to intense development pressure before a preservation agreement was reached with the Municipality, FOPOS, and other non-profit partners. State grants to the consortium, County grants to the Municipality, our local open space tax and other private funds are all helping secure this important link in the forested tracts on Princeton’s perimeter, which provide important environmental services such as slowing stormwater runoff and habitat for threatened species.
Read on for more programming and event highlights…
FOPOS seeks a part-time program coordinator to work directly with FOPOS’s Director of Natural Resources and Stewardship to manage the organization’s year-round volunteer stewardship program and community events series. The selected candidate should be detail-oriented and able to manage emails, databases, program messaging and schedules as well as improve upon existing systems and workflow. Ideally, the program coordinator will be an enthusiastic person supportive of and tapped into land stewardship and preservation within the greater Princeton area. Web design skills, and experience in fundraising or marketing and promoting a business are a plus. This is an administrative job that offers flexibility in location, with the ideal candidate available to participate in regular in-person meetings and work sessions, as well as be present for key events located at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, NJ.
This is an ongoing position that has the potential to grow with the right candidate, and is suitable for professionals as well as recent graduates with applicable skill sets.
Over the past twelve months, Friends of Princeton Open Space has focused on ecological restoration projects and on educating the next generation of conservationists, including those from communities of color. We are happy to report that, with your support, we have chalked up major successes.
FOPOS provides Internships for young people actively pursuing a degree or career in ecology, natural resource management, environmental education, or related fields. Each summer, FOPOS welcomes a roster of budding naturalists to work with our Stewardship Team and interface with volunteer groups and our community. Read more about FOPOS's Internship program. FOPOS is also proud to offer Internships to high school students in partnership with the Outdoor Equity Alliance. Thank you to FOPOS's partners and friends for helping to make these Internships possible.
Please meet the 2023 Land Steward Interns…
Due to Transco Pipeline maintenance work, some trails in Mountain Lakes Preserve will be closed for the next few weeks. Specifically, passage across the pipeline right-of-way will be blocked until further notice. Most of the Preserve’s trails are still open for use. However, we ask hikers to be cautious of construction equipment in and around the pipeline area.
Thank you for your patience!
Join FOPOS and the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team for invasive species ID training at Mountain Lakes Preserve. Learn how to identify and properly eradicate emerging invasive species, like Linden viburnum and Oriental photinia. We’ll start the day with an indoor lecture, then take it to the trails for field ID training. RSVP is required, please email aelincompton@fopos.org.
When: Monday, June 4, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton, NJ
Friends of Princeton Open Space is a partner of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team.
The Strike Team is an organization aimed at eradicating New Jersey’s newly emerging invasive species before they can cause significant ecological damage to our forests. Friends of Princeton Open Space is contributing to this cause by working to reduce emerging invasive plants on our own preserves. We’re striving to turn Princeton’s open spaces into sources of biodiversity, to the benefit of local wildlife and neighboring ecosystems.
If you’d like to volunteer with FOPOS, to help stop the spread of invasive plants at Mountain Lakes Preserve, please contact AeLin Compton at info@fopos.org. Please also visit the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team website for more information on invasive species in the state of New Jersey. Learn how to ID invasive plants with their Target Species Fact Sheets. Also, help to stop the spread of invasive species in your own back yards by following their Do-Not-Plant List!
Friends of Princeton Open Space is working with Sustainable Princeton and other organizations in the community to create an interactive map of Princeton’s natural resources. The Princeton Green Connections Map is intended to show key green spaces and resources available for public enjoyment. Many FOPOS preserves, including Mountain Lakes, John Witherspoon Woods, and Community Park North, are featured for their hiking trails and beautiful natural landscapes.
Follow the link to explore the Princeton Green Connections Map and to suggest a site!
Emile DeVito, Ph.D., Manager of Science and Stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Princeton Open Space 2012 Annual Meeting onSunday April 29th at 3:00 PM at Mountain Lakes House. He will speak on “Using Shade to Restore the Forest Floor.”
“Our state and region are facing critical forest management issues and Dr. DeVito is a leader in helping to inform and shape public policy.” said Wendy Mager, FOPOS president. “His talk on restoring the forest floor will be of special interest to the Princeton community, where we are working actively to provide effective stewardship for our more than 1,000 acres of preserved woods and fields. ”
Mountain Lakes House is located at 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton. Following the meetings, refreshments will be served, and Dr. Devito and AeLin Compton, Natural Resources Manager for Friends of Princeton Open Space, will lead a walk in Mountain Lakes Preserve and adjacent Tusculum.
Anyone Wishing to attend is urged to RSVP by April 23 — phone (609) 921-2772.
Dr. DeVito received his doctorate in Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988 for research on bird communities and vegetation landscapes in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Rutgers University. Dr. Devito develops management plans designed to protect and enhance biological diversity for NJCF’s 20,000-plus acres of holdings. He is a trustee of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the NJ Natural Lands trust, and serves on the Endangered and Non-Game Species Advisory Committee within the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife; the New Jersey Invasive Species Council; and the Science Advisory Committee of the NY-NJ Trail Conference.
