The land lies in the "environmentally-sensitive" Princeton Ridge area, according to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation
PRINCETON - Pipelines and land development have often popped up in place of once empty forest in Princeton - but one couple is determined not to let that happen on their former land.
A photo of the 10-acre woods in Princeton donated by Barbara and Michael Blumenthal to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation in Nov. 2015. (Photo | New Jersey Conservation Foundation) Barbara and Michael Blumenthal, who once owned 15 acres on Ridgeview Road - part of the Princeton Ridge area - donated 10 of those acres last month to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
With it comes migratory bird species including ovenbirds, woodthrush and turkeys as well as barred owls and wood turtles, which are threatened species in New Jersey, according to a press release from the foundation.
Barbara Blumenthal, who said she bought the land with her husband nearly 20 years ago, has seen much of the same unique wildlife in those woods.
"The last thing that we wanted was for somebody to come and try to put a house in the middle of the woods," she said, remembering how just recently she walked through the woods and saw showy orchis - a somewhat unusual plant for the area.
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The couple decided a few years ago to sell their property but Blumenthal said she was concerned that a buyer might allow development in the woods she, her husband and their neighbors have held sacred for years.
She said many of her neighbors in that community frequently walk through the woods and have developed trails there, which she believes the foundation will work to maintain.
"This property contains beautiful wildlife habitat, and we really appreciate the Blumenthals' action to ensure it is preserved and protected," Michele Byers, executive director for the foundation said in the release.
It's not just for the beauty of the forest that the Blumenthals decided to donate their land; the Princeton Ridge area is known as environmentally-sensitive land in Princeton.
"There's a reason why the New Jersey Conservation Foundation made (Princeton Ridge) a priority statewide," Blumenthal said, adding that the habitat is similar to that of the Sourland Mountain Nature Preserve.
Other preserved sections of Princeton Ridge include a 4.3 acre Klepper property, a 14-acre Riccardi property and the All-Saints property, the release said.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
