Get Out and Celebrate National Trails Day!

FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE

ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO TAKE A HIKE!

CELEBRATE NATIONAL TRAILS DAY, JUNE 4, 2016

Friends of Princeton Open Space encourage you to take a hike on the system of trails we created  and maintain in the Greater Mountain Lakes Natural Area and along the Stony Brook in Princeton, in celebration of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 4, 2016.  National Trails Day was started by the American Hiking Society to encourage individuals and organizations around the country to celebrate their love of trails and the outdoors, and to encourage a true network of interconnected trails and trails organizations.

Convenient parking near our headquarters at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve is available in the Community Park North lot at the corner of Route 206 and Mountain Avenue.  You can also park and access the trail system from the Unitarian Church on Cherry Hill Road;  the gravel parking area we donated to the town about a mile north on Cherry Hill Road; or at Farmview Fields Park on the Great Road.  Parking and access to the Stony Brook Trail is near the athletic fields at Greenway Meadows Park or from Johnson Park School, both on Rosedale Road.

The Stony Brook Trail will take you south to a beautiful footbridge spanning the Brook, conceived by our Trustee emeritus Helmut Schwab; to the north, it connects to the old trolley line and thence to Elm Road.  The Greater Mountain Lakes trail system includes Tusculum fields, with a view of the historic house and barn, and the rocks, streams and intermittent waterfalls of John Witherspoon Woods

Trail maps for these areas, as well as a link to New Jersey Trails Association  maps, can be found at our website, www.FOPOS.org.  Wear good hiking/walking shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy, and don’t forget to check for ticks after your walk.  Enjoy the forest, meadow, streams, birds and other wildlife on your National Trails Day!

Mothers' Day Open House

Bring Mom to Mountain Lakes!

 (FOPOS) invites the community to “Bring Mom to Mountain Lakes” at The Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve on Mothers’ Day, Sunday, May 8, 2016. The Preserve is located at 57 Mountain Avenue with parking in the Community Park North lot; visitors with disabilities may park up the driveway near the house.

Mountain Lakes House will be open from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and light refreshments will be offered on the lovely stone terrace overlooking the lakes. FOPOS will also have a special treat for all moms.

There will be a family-friendly 45-minute guided walk in the Preserve at 4 p.m. for those who are interested. Trail maps will be available at Mountain Lakes House for those who want to explore the 8.5 miles of trails on their own.  Lots of birds and other wildlife to look for, as well as spring wildflowers, and a nice way to have some family time outdoors.  

There is no charge for the event, but please register for the guided walk at Eventbrite.

Sunday, May 8
3PM to 5PM
Mountain Lakes House
57 Mountain Avenue, Princeton

FOPOS Job Announcement: Office Manager

Job Description:ffice Manager. 10 hours a week in a small, congenial office of the nonprofit
organization Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS). Interest in environmental issues a plus.Candidate should be a self­starter who is willing to work with a variety of people, including theboard chair, the treasurer, volunteer board members, and the natural resources manager to
support the goals of the organization. Hours are flexible.

Financial: andidate, working closely with the treasurer, will:
● Keep books for the organization up to date
● Create financial reports as needed, particularly for board meetings
● Assist the treasurer with the yearly audit
● Fill out tax forms
● Organize payroll
● Record gifts
● Keep track of other reporting required for nonprofit organizations.

Printing & Mailing: andidate works with the printer and the mailhouse to:
● Print stationery, envelopes, membership forms, and invitations to the Annual Meeting
and other events
● Format Annual Membership Appeal and invitations to other events
● Work with the mailhouse to get materials out promptly
● Promptly generate and mail thank­you letters to donors

Organizational: andidate will:
● Keep membership/donor list up to date
● Take notes at board meetings
● Organize office materials
● Assist with events, particularly the Annual Meeting
● Assist the natural resources manager and board members with miscellaneous projects that
support the mission of the organization
● Answer the phone and respond to queries in cooperation with the natural resources
manager

The candidate must be proficient with QuickBooks and Excel. Familiarity with Microsoft Access a plus. Office is shared with Natural Resources Manager and his small, friendly dog.

Please send resume and reference contacts to Wendy Mager, President
(wendyonphipps@gmail.com) and Scotia MacRae, Board member (swmacrae@yahoo.com).

Friends of Princeton Open Space Annual Meeting

HISTORIAN AND PRESERVATION CONSULTANT CLIFFORD ZINK

TO SPEAK AT FRIENDS OF PRINCETON OPEN SPACE

ANNUAL MEETING ON APRIL 17TH

-- FOPOS Naturalist to Lead Walk Through Mountain Lakes, Tusculum

Following Meeting --

PRINCETON, NJ, March 21, 2016 – Historian and preservation consultant Clifford Zink will be the featured speaker at the 2016 annual meeting of the Friends of Princeton Open Space at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17th.  His talk, “A Splendid Spot: The Development and Evolution of Princeton’s Mountain Lakes ,“ will focus on the history of the ice company at Mountain Lakes and other events that led to its listing on the state and national Registers of Historic Places.  It will include discussion of some of the fascinating discoveries during the recent dredging of the lakes and rehabilitation of the dams.

The meeting will take place at Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Avenue in Princeton.  Mr. Zink will speak after a brief business meeting at which new trustees will be elected.  Refreshments will be served.  A walk through Mountain Lakes and adjacent Tusculum led by FOPOS naturalist Adam Schellhammer will follow Mr. Zink’s talk.  

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested by April 11th; RSVP to Friends of Princeton Open Space info@FOPOS.org  or 609-921-2772.

Clifford Zink, a Princeton resident, is a preservation consultant specializing in architectural, industrial, and landscape history. He is the author of six books including histories of the Monmouth and Somerset County Park Systems.

About Friends of Princeton Open Space:    Founded in 1969 to preserve open space in the face of development pressures, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) is a non-profit organization that has helped to establish over 1,000 acres of parkland and a network of interconnecting trails that nearly circles Princeton. Through the contributions of hundreds of people in the community, FOPOS has helped to raise $4.5 million for the purchase and acquisition of easements on properties that might otherwise have been bulldozed for development.   Mountain Lakes Preserve, Greenway Meadows, Coventry Farm, the Institute for Advanced Studies Lands, the Woodfield Reservation, Tusculum, Turning Basin Park, as well as the Ricciardi and All Saints tracts, are among the properties in Princeton preserved with theassistance of FOPOS.  For additional information see: www.fopos.org

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Contact: FOPOS – 609-921-2772

SUCCESS!! 20 MORE ACRES ON THE RIDGE PRESERVED

SUCCESS!! 20 MORE ACRES ON THE RIDGE PRESERVED

                At Princeton Council’s February 8th meeting at 11 p.m., before a room filled with supporters of protecting the Princeton Ridge, Councilwoman Jo Butler added her vote to those of Council members Heather Howard, Jenny Crumiller and Lance Liverman to pass the bond issue needed to close the deal for 20 acres between Mt. Lucas Road and Route 206.  The acreage is contiguous with substantial existing preserved open space, and provides a critical east-west link on the Ridge, which is so important to wildlife habitat, water quality and flood protection as well as carbon sequestration.  

                The large Council chamber was filled with environmental and open space advocates, from young Sonja Michaluk, who came with her dad and explained about the importance of vernal pools on the site to wildlife and the impact of development on water quality (she’s been doing testing on the Ridge for three years); to folks in their sixties, seventies and eighties who recalled past critical decisions to preserve land and how much it meant to them; to members of the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee; to two former mayors.  The Director of Statewide Land Acquisition for New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Executive Director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association also came and spoke in support.  Not one person spoke against the proposed acquisition.  

                We are very grateful to all citizens and FOPOS members who came to the meeting and/or contacted Council members.  We also thank the many donors who enabled us to put $100,000 of private funds into this transaction, along with a $150,000 State Green Acres grant and a $500,000 grant from the Mercer County Open Space fund.  We thank the Council members who voted in support, and look forward to working with all Council members to address issues of how our Open Space Tax trust fund is used.

                This was a great win for Princeton!