Places We Protect

Minisink Valley Preserve

New Jersey

Minisink Valley Preserve is home to red-headed woodpeckers.
Red-headed woodpecker Minisink Valley Preserve is home to red-headed woodpeckers. © Shutterstock

This densely-forested preserve protects streams of near-pristine water quality.

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Overview

Description

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site

In 2007, the Conservancy identified the Minsink area as a particularly important place to protect in order to provide over time a protected lands corridor from High Point State Park and the many other protected lands on the Kittatinny Ridge to the Delaware River. The Kittatinny Ridge is important for migrating raptors and songbirds. The Clove Brook watershed is also home to large wetland meadows.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing

The first 75-acre purchase was a parcel that had been slated for a strip mall. The second 110-acre purchase contained a gravel mine on an upstream tributary that was affecting water quality downstream in Clove Brook. The Conservancy is currently working to reforest the former gravel mine and reduce erosion and sedimentation downstream. In addition to developing a parking lot and trail system, the Conservancy also plans to open the preserve to deer hunting in the near future.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Hours

Dawn to dusk

Size

183 acres

Explore our work in this region

Why You Should Visit

Just a mile from the New York-New Jersey border and Interstate 84, the Minisink Preserve is home to the high-quality Clove Brook, which drains into the Neversink River in New York. Hemlock ravines and hillside forests connect the preserve to High Point State Park. The preserve includes a former 10-acre gravel mine that the Conservancy is currently restoring. Red-headed woodpeckers, black bear, and bobcats make their home here. There is currently no public access, but plans are underway to develop a parking lot and trail system.