New Jersey

Conservation Area Name:

  • Great Limestone Valley

Total Acreage:

  • 256,329 acres (401 square miles; 104,000 hectares)

PortfolioSummary:

  • Portfolio Sites - 32
  • Matrix Blocks - 2 (portions of Swartswood and Kittatinny blocks)
  • Targets - 12
  • Target occurrences - 38

Ecoregion Name:

  • Lower New England/Northern Piedmont

Accepted Targets:

  • Bog Turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergi1) - G3S2
  • Dwarf Wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon ) - G1G2S1
  • Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borea/is ) - G3S2S3
  • Schweitzer's Buckmoth (Hemileuca sp . 2) - G1QS1
  • Basil Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum clinopodioides ) - G2S1
  • Blackberry (Rubus orarius ) - G3?QS2
  • False Hop Sedge (Carex lupuliformis ) - G3G4S1
  • Calcareous Fen - G3S1 Calcareous Seepage Swamp - G4S2S3
  • Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forest - G3G4S2
  • Inland Calcareous Pondshore - G1G2S1S2 Terrestrial Cave Community - G4S3

County/State:  

  • Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey
     

Municipalities:  

  •  WarrenCounty - Allamuchy Township,  Belvidere Township, Blairstown Township,  Frelinghuysen Township,  Hardwick Township, Hope Township,  Independence Township,  Knowlton Township,  Liberty Township, White Township
  • SussexCounty - Andover Boro, Andover Township, Branchville Bora, Green Township,  Frankford Township,  Franklin Baro, Fredon Township, Hamburg Boro, Hampton Township,  Hardyston Township, Lafayette Township, Montague Township,  Newton Town, OgdensburgBaro, Sandyston Township, Sparta Township , Stillwater Township, Sussex Bora, Vernon Township, Wantage Township

 Planning Team:

  • Paul Brangs, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Louise Galasso, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Albert Joerger, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Holly Muller, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Angela Shoemake, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Michael Van Clef, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
  • Keri VanSchaften, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey

 

Executive Summary

Conservation Value

The Great Limestone Valley Conservation Area encompasses 256,000 acres in Warren and Sussex Counties, New Jersey. This unique area is characterized by northeast-southwest oriented ridge formations, rock outcroppings, pinnacles, sinkholes, and caves found over veins of limestone-rich bedrock. The area is extremely important due to accepted occurrences of twelve Lower New England/NorthernPiedmont primary ecoregional targets (bog turtle, dwarf wedgemussel, Northern metalmark, Schweitzer'sbuckmoth, basil mountain-mint, a rare blackberry species, false hop sedge, calcareous fen community, dry-mesic calcareous forest community, inland calcareous pondshore community, terrestrial cave community) at 32 portfolio sites. The overall Site Biodiversity Health Rank is "Good".

The Great Limestone Valley is home to 162 breeding bird species , 72 fish species, 49 species of amphibians/reptiles,  83 butterflies, 76 dragonfly/damselflyspecies, 292 woody plants, 33 plant communities, and 33 mammals including black bear, red fox, gray fox, bobcat, and coyote.  A large number of state listed species (30 vertebrate animals, 17 invertebrate animals, 171 plant species, and 11 communities) are also found within the Great Limestone Valley.  There are a total of 736 occurrences of rare species and communities.  At least one occurrence of rare species/communities can be found in sixty percent of the 360-acre grids used by the New Jersey Natural Heritage Program.

The Challenge

The most critical threat to the Great Limestone Valley is primary home development.  Important stresses created by this threat include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, excessive groundwater withdrawal, and creation of toxins and nutrient loading. A second critical threat is invasive species, which may lead to severe degradation of conservation targets. Other threats include forestry practices, crop production practices, poaching, and recreational vehicles .

Although this site is largely rural and agricultural, it is experiencing a rapid conversion of farmland into residential development. The demand for housing in this area is primarily from young families looking for affordable housing. This development pressure is expected to persist as long as the rise in land values continues to outpace the economic benefits of farming in New Jersey.

The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, along with various stakeholders, has made progress by protecting 1,780 acres of priority habitat through the creation of seven preserves within the Great Limestone Valley.  An additional 44,808 acres has been permanently protected through a variety of arrangements, including 18,102 acres in farmland preservation, 5,003 as National Wildlife Refuge, 19,049 acres in State Park, Forest and Wildlife Management areas, 594 acres in municipal parks, 1,517 acres in other non-profit preserves and 543 acres in conservation easements.  However, only 18 percent of the Great Limestone Valley Conservation Area has been permanently protected from future development. Given the pressures of suburban sprawl, it will be essential to act swiftly over the next 10 years to continue to increase the boundaries of the Conservancy's preserves, support farmlandpreservation whilepromoting environmentally compatible farming practices and work with all levels of government to ensure the long-term viability of this significant area.

The Solution

The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey will combat these threats through a combination of acquisitions of priority habitat and conservation easements, building partnerships and funding opportunities, stewardship for invasive species control and continuing education and outreach. Over the next 10 years, changes in land use will be monitored to determine the impact of the conservation strategies at the landscape level.  Individual targets will be monitored to measure their viability, as well as abatement of their critical threats.  It is highly likely to achieve conservation success in the Great Limestone Valley Conservation Area through continued conservation planning and implementation