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NJCF celebrates preservation of former Hunterdon County fish farm

FAR HILLS, Oct. 17, 2007 - One of Hunterdon County’s more unusual farms, a 51-acre parcel in Franklin Township on which carp were raised for sale to Asian markets, has been preserved as open space by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) and its funding partners.

The acquisition was celebrated Tuesday, Oct. 16, at a reception attended by more than 50 neighbors, NJCF members, and state, county and local officials. Among the speakers were State Sen. Leonard Lance, Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow, Deputy Commissioner Jay Watson of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Hunterdon County Freeholder Ron Sworen and Franklin Township Open Space Committee Chairman John DeMarrais.

NJCF bought the property from retired fish farmer Thomas Huey during the summer, adding it to thousands of preserved acres in the scenic Wickecheoke Creek Preserve. Located off Joe Ent Road, the property features eight spring-fed ponds and two finger tributaries of the Wickecheoke.

Celebrating the preservation of the former Huey farm were, from left, Eve Huey Rosario, Thomas Huey, State Senator Leonard Lance, NJCF Executive Director Michele Byers, Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow, Jay Watson, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Hunterdon County Freeholder Ron Sworen and Gloria Huey.

“This is a wonderful farm to preserve, because it’s at the headwaters of the Wickecheoke Creek,” explained Marie Newell, NJCF project manager. “It also abuts two preserved parcels and is across the road from seven more, for a total of over 600 acres.”

Sworen praised the cooperative effort that made the purchase possible. “It means a lot that we can do these kinds of things, that we can preserve this,” said Sworen, adding that he hopes Hunterdon will preserve more in the coming months. “We have the opportunity, the land is never going to be any cheaper, so the time to do it is now.”

Noting that the property is at the headwaters of the Wickecheoke, Karrow said the preservation will result in cleaner water downstream where the creek flows into the Delaware River. “I’m really proud of what the Conservation Foundation has done in saving land,” she said. “Thank you for really getting the big picture of preservation.”

NJCF plans to manage the property for passive recreation, including hiking, bird-watching, fishing, picnicking and nature study. A network of marked trails has already been cut through the property’s fields and woods.

For 35 years, the land was used for aquaculture by Huey, the first farmer in America to raise white amur, also known as grass carp. Several newspapers, including the New York Times, published stories on Huey’s farm in the early 1970s, when he first began importing carp fingerlings from his native China to raise in the hills of Hunterdon.

After successfully harvesting up to 20,000 fish per year to sell to wholesalers in New York’s Chinatown, Huey decided to sell his farm because he wanted to retire and none of his four adult children were interested in carrying on the family business.

“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” said Huey, 72, a resident of Montgomery Township, just outside Princeton. “I hate to sell it, but my kids don’t want to do that kind of work.”

Huey said he was pleased when NJCF representatives approached him about preserving the land as open space. NJCF staff was able to arrange for a funding partnership between NJCF, Franklin Township and Hunterdon County.

Under that arrangement, NJCF contributed $245,188 it had obtained through a state Green Acres grant, Hunterdon County added $163,603 from its open space trust fund, and Franklin Township provided $245,000 from its own open space trust fund, plus $163,459 from a Green Acres grant.

Eve Huey Rosario, daughter of Thomas and Gloria Huey, said she has wonderful memories of spending childhood summers making weekly trips to net fish on the property. “Sometimes it was hard, mostly it was fun, and it was what we did – as a family,” she recalled.

Selling the property “was not an easy decision,” Roasrio added, “but it’s a decision that my parents peacefully accept, knowing that this land will be preserved and shared with others in perpetuity. We hope it will be appreciated and enjoyed by all.”

Watson said he was impressed by the large amount of open space and farmland that had been preserved in the Wickecheoke Creek corridor near the former Huey farm. “This has just been a remarkable project and this greenway has been very fruitful,” he said. “Open space improves our lives and we know New Jersey residents want more of it.”

DeMarrais, an avid birder for over 50 years, said he welcomes the new preserve as a place to observe swimming and wading birds. He said he drove past the property many times over the years but never pulled in the driveway for a closer look. “I just did that for the first time – it was wonderful,” he said. Among the avian species found on the property, he added, are great blue heron, double crested cormorant, pintail duck, green wing teal and hooded merganser.

Franklin Township Mayor Steven Tarshis, who did not attend the reception, said he is pleased to see the Huey property added to the township’s open spaces. “The Township Committee and the residents of Franklin Township are enthusiastically committed to the preservation of open space,” he said. “Whenever the possibility presents itself, and if the economics of the transaction make sense, we will always try to preserve land within our community.

Huey said he and his wife, Gloria, started their aquaculture business by raising carp in a pond behind their home. When they discovered that Chinese carp could live in New Jersey’s climate, they bought the Franklin Township property and set to work digging the ponds. The fish thrived, as did the Hueys’ business.

The Huey farm purchase enhances NJCF’s Wickecheoke Creek Preserve. The Wickecheoke starts on the Croton Plateau and flows through Franklin, Raritan, Kingwood and Delaware Townships before joining the Delaware River at the Prallsville Mill in Stockton. For more than 20 years, NJCF has been working to preserve the Wickecheoke Creek and its watershed. The Wickecheoke Creek Preserve is a greenway linking important historic sites such as the Prallsville Mill, the Green Sergeants Covered Bridge and the Locktown Church; it features trails through some of Hunterdon County’s most picturesque countryside.