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Skylands
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Arctic Meadows Preserve |
Download our fact sheet
(.pdf, 469 KB)
High Mountain Park Preserve
© Dwight Hiscano
Spanning the state’s northern and central counties, the Skylands is marked by sweeping vistas, dense limestone forests, and working farms. A rich assemblage of plant and animal species and unique natural communities, the most varied in the state, are found here. For example, the region boasts the Earth’s most viable population of Torrey’s mountain mint (Pycnanthemum torrei) and is also a premier stronghold for the federally threatened bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii). Black bears, bobcat (Lynx rufus), and neotropical migratory birds also find habitat in the Skylands, some of the most intact remaining forest in the Northeast.
The Progress: Lasting Results
In the Skylands, we’ve safeguarded nearly 5,740 acres at 13 nature preserves. These special places include the 485-acre Blair Creek Preserve which comprises dense matrix forests and fields; High Mountain Park Preserve, 1,393 acres of natural lands in suburban New Jersey and home to the Earth’s most viable population of Torrey’s mountain mint; Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve, more than 796 acres of limestone forests and fields; and Mashipacong Bogs Preserve, a 1,000-acre expanse of forest. This gift from Doris Duke’s estate is home to one of the few remaining boreal bogs in New Jersey.
The Partnerships: How We Work
The Conservancy protects places where plants, animals, and natural communities can survive for generations to come. We use science to identify and preserve ecoregions—large geographic areas of land and water defined by climate, vegetation, geology, and other natural patterns. Conservation by Design, a systematic, science-based strategy helps us identify and preserve the most critical areas for long-term protection of the plants, animals, and natural communities in the Skylands. We use creative conservation strategies that achieve lasting results by finding common ground in local communities. We believe in balancing human and ecological needs. We acquire land, work with conservation minded-landowners, and forge partnerships with public and private groups to protect natural areas for future generations.
Using our science-based conservation as well as our creative partnerships and strategies, we’re addressing threats to the Skylands’ natural heritage—inappropriate sprawl, invasive species, and forest degradation. We use science to preserve forest health through the control of invasive plants and white tail deer. Our research on bog turtles, bobcat, and rare moth and butterflies helps to monitor the health of these and other plants, animals, and natural communities. Our creative partnerships with The Ridge and Valley Conservancy, the Morris Land Conservancy, state and local agencies, the agricultural community, local landowners, and corporations have also helped preserve the natural heritage of this special place.
