![\"A](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134367554,imgsize-1817443,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-after-ultimately-giving-away-the-entire-estate-the-land-is-now-a-free-public-preserve-with-a-201-year-old-tree.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMonmouth County residents have recently received a wonderful gift, one that is going to make the coming autumn a season worth looking forward to. The 90-acre Scudder Preserve, in the Navesink section of Middletown, was officially accredited in July as a Level I Arboretum by ArbNet. Among its many treasures are a state-designated 201-year-old tulip tree, rare American chestnuts, immense white oaks and abundant wildlife, all of which the public is welcome to enjoy.The Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF), which owns and stewards the preserve, has opened it to the public for free as a community resource for conservation, environmental education and outdoor exploration. \u201cThis is easily one of the most unique properties in New Jersey, and provides an outstanding opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our involvement with nature and history,\u201d Tom Dallessio, MCF\u2019s executive director, said.Located at 85 Browns Dock Road, adjacent to Huber Woods, Scudder Preserve contains an extraordinary variety of habitats: mature forests, wetlands and ponds, the bubbling Claypit Creek stream corridor, wildlife-filled meadows, historic buildings and winding nature trails. As an accredited arboretum, the preserve joins an international network dedicated to studying and conserving trees. Connecting Habitats Across NJ has also recognised the property as a valuable core wildlife habitat, identifying essential areas needed to maintain ecological connectivity throughout the state.<\/p>\n The preserve’s story began more than 40 years ago, when landowners Richard and Elizabeth Scudder strove to protect their property from development. They donated partial conservation easements to the Monmouth Conservation Foundation land trust. By 2012, when Dick passed away, the couple had donated their entire 90 acres to New Jersey Audubon, which in turn gifted the property to MCF in 2024. D&R Greenway Land Trust and MCF now jointly hold the conservation easements, ensuring the land\u2019s long-term ecological integrity. \u201cFor more than 40 years, the Scudder family cared for the property with preservation in mind, followed by stewardship by the Audubon Society, before it found a home with MCF. Now Scudder Preserve supports abundant wildlife, established trees, and dynamic, resilient ecosystems. That\u2019s what conservation can do,\u201d Lauren Orme, MCF Communications & Engagement programs manager, said.<\/p>\n This first land ownership provides a rare opportunity for MCF to restore native plants, improve forest and meadow health, control invasive species, protect water quality and increase the property\u2019s resilience to climate change. MCF also plans to renovate the original Scudder homestead into offices and educational space. Significant funding made this work possible, including a $500,000 grant from the New Jersey Resources Coastal Climate Initiative and a $1 million anonymous donation.In just two years, it has accomplished a lot. A forest stewardship plan is already in place, and a Natural Resource Inventory has documented the property\u2019s plants and trees. Several plant identification signs have been installed, with more to come. Nature trails are being upgraded, and the Rhododendron Trail has been linked to adjacent Huber Woods.MCF is working with Rutgers to incorporate stormwater management by designing bioswales and a native-plant rain garden, which will reduce sediment and nutrient runoff into the pond. MCF also completed an invasive species assessment, with control efforts currently underway.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see so many species that you don\u2019t usually see in one place,\u201d said Keith Clayton, MCF\u2019s new stewardship manager. As part of the preserve\u2019s plant identification project, he\u2019s been tagging multiple species to showcase native trees and plants.Clayton emphasised that conservation does not mean erasing the property\u2019s history. \u201cThe Scudders loved their ornamental plants, too, and we want to show how you can incorporate natives into beautiful gardens,\u201d he explained.\u201cThat balance between history, horticulture and conservation is part of what makes Scudder Preserve special, and MCF can now help create connections for people to the land,\u201d Dallessio said.MCF already offers free conservation programs to the public at the preserve, including evening hikes, guided birdwatching and monarch butterfly tagging with the Field to Flight Foundation. Plenty more programs are on the way.If you can\u2019t make it to the preserve, MCF also brings educational conservation programs directly to the community. Last year its Conservation Van brought programs to more than 3,000 students, with approximately 75% of them in underserved schools. “MCF, working with state, Monmouth County and Middletown Township officials, hopes that Scudder Preserve will provide opportunities for people \u2013 especially children \u2013 to enjoy, learn about and help protect our natural environment,\u201d said Jack Tassini, MCF Board of Trustees president.<\/div>\n Monmouth County residents have recently received a wonderful gift, one that is going to make the coming autumn a season worth looking forward to. The 90-acre Scudder Preserve, in the Navesink section of Middletown, was officially accredited in July as a Level I Arboretum by ArbNet. Among its many treasures are a state-designated 201-year-old tulip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Monmouth County residents have recently received a wonderful gift, one that is going to make the coming autumn a season worth looking forward to. The 90-acre Scudder Preserve, in the Navesink section of Middletown, was officially accredited in July as a Level I Arboretum by ArbNet. Among its many treasures are a state-designated 201-year-old tulip […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-new-jersey-couple-spent-more-than-40-years-protecting-their-90-acre-property-from-development-afte-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A legacy of conservation<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
A living laboratory<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Restoring a historical landscape<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"