On October 3, Rancocas Conservancy partnered with our friends from Outdoor Club of South Jersey for a hike along the North Branch Rancocas on scenic private property in New Lisbon. Twelve hikers enjoyed fall foliage and white cedar swamps led by Dr. Mark Thomas.
Save this date! Rancocas Conservancy will return to the beautiful Bradford Estate at 1910 Marne Highway in Hainesport on the South Branch Rancocas for our Annual Dinner. Those who attended last year will remember a wonderful evening of great food, fellowship and a fascinating speaker. This year we will host Dr. Mark Demitroff of Stockton University, who will share his study of the wetlands geology of the Rancocas watershed and the adjoining pinelands. $65 reservations are now being taken online by clicking on the Donate button in the upper right of this page. Checks will be accepted at the door, however we would prefer not to take cash.
Rancocas Conservancy returns to Burlington County Farm Fair, July 16-20. Look for us in the History ‘Tent.
By Mark S. Thomas, MD, Founder and Vice President
Mission Statement: The purpose of the Rancocas Conservancy is to preserve, protect, and enhance the ecological and cultural integrity of the Rancocas Creek watershed and its tributaries.
The Rancocas Conservancy was born on a warm, sunny spring day in early May, 1989. I had moved to Pemberton Borough the previous July, when I began my residency in Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly. I had become enamored of the Rancocas Creek, its intimate, human scale and leafy-green corridors. The sound of Spring peepers lured me into the valley that April. The vibrant leaves of skunk cabbage had begun to unfurl in the warming mud along the creek.
This particular day I wandered past the canoe rental in the borough and past the two dams, over which flowed tannin-brown waters. Following the creek-side path that matched the curve of the stream, I came to a subtle hillside rising to the south, where a grove of American beech, with their smooth gray skin and straight stature, filled the slope. Their nascent green leaves were were opening in elongated curls of light-filled translucency. Into this lush scene, directly in front of me, a wood thrush swooped in and perched above me, some fifteen feet away. It sang for ten minutes in the flute-like melody that has captivated me since childhood. The completeness and wondrous quality of the experience triggered an immediate, and permanent, inspiration to protect this place.
Over the next two years, I accumulated the names of individuals who might have an interest in exploring the opportunities to preserve land along the Rancocas Creek and its branches. The search took me to municipalities, county and state agencies, where I searched for individuals who might protect the natural beauty and resources of the Rancocas Creek watershed. The Burlington County Office of Resource Conservation proved to be the most helpful contact in directing me to individuals and organizations responsive to conservation efforts in the Rancocas. We held our first meeting at Smithville Park on June 19, 1989. We received our non-profit status as the Rancocas Watershed Conservation Foundation on September 12, 1991.
We began our very successful “Rancocas Journal” in Fall, 1994. In 1995 we were awarded grants from the Green Acres Department of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to acquire natural lands in the Rancocas Creek watershed. In 1998, we unveiled our first preserve, the Michael Stavola- Pemberton Beech Woods, the same location where the wood thrush sang to me years before. On these 46 acres, where 34 houses were to have been built, a beech woods, whose landscape provided a unique grove of beechwoods succession in a relatively undisturbed setting, was preserved in perpetuity. Subsequently the preserve has been enlarged to 61 acres, comprising most of the remaining open space in Pemberton Borough.
Over the intervening years, largely through volunteer effort, we have protected approximately 2,500 acres of land in the Rancocas Creek watershed, including upland headwaters, large intact acreage of swamp and wetlands, and corridors along the branches of the Rancocas Creek.
Presently, a newly re-invigorated board works diligently to curate our 12 preserves and has identified three stunning examples of Rancocas lands for possible protection. We strongly encourage you to help us in our efforts.
As the Rancocas Conservancy has as its project area the watershed of the Rancocas Creek, education and advocacy have gone hand-in-hand with land acquisition. Our presence at environmental fairs, presentations at allied non-profit meetings and municipal activities, and our assistance in local preservation efforts keeps us, and the watershed, in the public mind of Burlington County residents.
Good will, invitation to serve and volunteer, and education at every turn, characterizes the public presence of the Rancocas Conservancy. Please see our website, RancocasConservancy.org regularly, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram. However, getting out onto our preserves, through strolling, nature study or volunteering, is the best way to appreciate the treasured resources we curate.
Preserves
Pemberton Borough
Stavola - Pemberton Beech Woods, Budd-Reynolds historic site
Pemberton Township
Mirror Lake Preserve
North Branch Preserve
Greenwood Preserve
Greenwood Easement
Bucks Cove Run Preserve
Medford Township
Cowan Preserve
Dixontown Preserve
Wurst Preserve
Tabernacle Township
Pipers Corners Preserve
Southampton Township
Friendship Creek Preserve
Evesham
Cold Spring Preserve.
Officers and Board
Rick Brown President
Mark S. Thomas Vice-President, founder
Christine Hill Secretary
Joseph Wechselberger Treasurer
Barbara Rich Co-founder
Joe Augustyn
Jack Cresson
Stephen Elliot
Jason Howell
Richard Hunt
Rick Hunt
Curt Nissley
Gary Patterson
Jay Springer
Steve Tambini
On May 28, Rancocas Conservancy and Outdoor Club of South Jersey had a rare opportunity to visit private property along the North Branch Rancocas and Greenwood Branch in New Lisbon. Perfect weather and blooming mountain laurel added to the pleasure of vice-president and founder Dr. Mark Thomas’s presentation. Trustees Christine Hill and Gary Patterson also contributed.
The fabled Outdoor Club of South Jersey trail crew, custodians of the 52 mile Batona Trail, felt like trying something different. Led by Conservancy president Rick Brown, along with trail crew heads Ro and Diane Mason, a group of fourteen cutters and trimmers tackled the yellow and white trails at North Branch Preserve in Pemberton Township on May 7. We are thankful for their help and hope to see them again.
On May 3, Dr. Mark Thomas, founder and vice president, gave a talk to the Medford Historical Society on the Rancocas Conservancy, the Rancocas watershed and its integration into the Medford landscape, which straddles the Southwest Branch. He offered an intriguing vision for a Greenway of the village’s natural, historic and cultural assets, which would benefit the health and well-being of the community.
Spring sends Rancocas Conservancy out into the community to talk to folks about the watershed. We’ve already been to Lines on the Pines and Black Run’s Poker Run. Coming up are Burlington County Earth Fair on April 21 at Smithville Park and Pinelands Preservation Alliance Native Plant Sale on Friday and Saturday April 26 and 27. See you soon.
Rancocas Conservancy will again participate in the Burlington County Earth Fair on Sunday, April 21 from 11am to 4pm. Stop by our table in the Sustainable Living Tent to say hi and grab some goodies.
Join us to remediate a fire damaged trail, 830 am on Kettle Run Road, next to Black Run. Register here- https://pinelandsalliance.salsalabs.org/rancocasconservancyapril20trailmaintday
A new date will be scheduled soon.
Rancocas Conservancy has scheduled an open hike of about two miles at North Branch Preserve on Pemberton Bypass for Thursday, April 4 {rain date April 5} at 10am. Because of the small parking lot, there will be a limit of 13 cars. Please RSVP to contact@rancocasconservancy.org.
Thirteen members of the Outdoor Club of South Jersey enjoyed a tour of our first preserve, Stavola Beechwoods. Founder and current vice-president Dr. Mark Thomas led a four mile hike through the preserve, along the North Branch of Rancocas Creek, down the Pemberton Rail Trail and in the historic village of Pemberton Boro, sharing a wealth of knowledge about the area’s ecological and historic importance.
In our first appearance at Lines on the Pines, the annual get together of Pinelands lovers at Stockton University on Sunday, March10, Rancocas Conservancy met and spoke to well over 100 individuals about the Rancocas watershed, land protection and more.
Rancocas Conservancy Trustees recently met to develop.the 2024-2025 strategic plan. Look for exciting new events and membership opportunities to come in land preservation, trail stewardship, communication, outreach and more.
On February 1, sixteen members of the Outdoor Club of South Jersey visited Wurst Preserve on Tansborough Crowfoot Road in Medford Township, on a six mile hike that also included Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge and Girl Scout Camp Kettle Run. Due to recent rains, the trail at George’s Pond was beautiful but a little soggy. Still the intrepid hikers managed to bushwack successfully all the way around.
Rancocas Conservancy will join the free indoor annual gathering of artists, authors, artisans and associations whose passion is the Pines on Sunday, March 10 from 11am to 4pm at Stockton University Campus Center. We will have information and giveaways for the whole family. And don’t forget the Pinelands Short Course the previous day, same place.
Steve Elliott is a resident of Evesham. He works at the Water Use Specialist for Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions.
A resident of Beach Haven, Richard W. Hunt, Esq. is Of Counsel to ParkerMcCay Law Firm, specializing in municipal law.
Curt Nissley from Berlin, currently serves as a building inspector and is an avid outdoorsman.
Joseph P. Wechselberger, originally from Tabernacle and now Browns Mills, is a retired financial professional and longtime Conservancy member.
Congratulations, gentlemen!
From left- Curt Nissley, Steve Elliott, Richard W. Hunt, Joseph P. Wechselberger
Every year we ask our members and supporters to make a contribution to the preservation of land along the Rancocas and its tributaries. That time is now! Please give what you can either online at https://www.rancocasconservancy.org/take-action or by check to PO Box 2188, Vincentown, NJ 08088. Thank you for your continued generosity.
Over 50 supporters of Rancocas Conservancy enjoyed good company, good food and a good presentation at the Annual Dinner on Tuesday, October 14. The Bradford Estate rolled out the red carpet for us and historian Paul Schopp entertained and enlightened us with his talk on the history of transportation on the Rancocas. The trustees are pictured below.
