Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space is surveying Hopewell residents through Feb. 29 on what to do with the 320-acre Mount Rose Preserve on Carter Road.
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP -- Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space is surveying Hopewell residents through Feb. 29 on what to do with the 320-acre Mount Rose Preserve on Carter Road.
"This (preservation took) a lot of people," Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Stewardship Director Michael Van Clef said. "A lot of groups were involved in the preservation. It only seems fair that they would have a say."
Most of the land - 240 acres - was permanently preserved in 2013 after a five-year battle with Equus Capital Partners of Yardley, Pa. who originally purchased the land to build a 800,000-square-foot commercial and housing project. Later, Mercer County officials purchased 80 additional acres.
The preserve was secured by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Hopewell Valley Citizens Group after settling the court battle for $7.5 million. Major funding came from Mercer County, Hopewell Township, the New Jersey Green Acres program and private contributions.
The Mount Rose Preserve was officially named in August after a nearby historic village and rocky summit. The land also fills a key link in the 22-mile Lawrence-Hopewell Trail.
After recently conducting an ecological assessment of the land, Van Clef said he put together a survey for the community to partake in to see what people wanted to see the preserve used for and if it is then plausible.
"First we'll see what people are interested in doing then we'll see if we can accommodate their interests," Van Clef said.
Some of the questions on the survey ask people if they like such things as hiking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, camping and horseback riding.
"There's a huge demand for horseback riding," Van Clef said. "Typically horseback riding is not allowed on most preserves because it's more difficult to maintain trails due to what horses drop behind them. It's less pleasant if you're on foot behind the horse."
He said if there is a great enough demand, Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space would consider accommodating the activity.
Other questions on the survey alluded to residents' top concerns with the land such as preventing vandalism and littering, preventing off-road vehicle use and making the preserve handicap accessible.
Van Clef said from what he observed during his ecological assessment of the land, there are many rare species of plants and a large population of Beechwood and White Oak trees in the forest that should be preserved.
He said a main concern right now is just spreading the word to residents that the preserve is there.
"If you drove by, you wouldn't even know it's there," Van Clef said. "It's sort of a unique place. There was a lot of effort in getting this land reserved. We certainly need to do signage. Let people know it's there."
The survey can be accessed on the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space website and will close Feb. 29.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.