Going the extra mile to save a family's heritage: 85-acre Carneys Point farm preserved

Many people go to great lengths to preserve their family's heritage when the time comes to decide what to do with land that has been their home for decades. But few go as far as Jim Sassi of Carneys Point in Salem County.

Jim Sassi, of Carney's Point, visits a pond on the family farm, which has been preserved.

After his parents passed away, Sassi and his family were determined to preserve the farm his parents purchased in the 1920s. But their family farm did not fall within the Salem County Agricultural Development Area (ADA)—the zone within which a property must fall in order to be eligible for most farmland preservation programs.

It took five years of persistence, but Sassi was successful in securing township, county and state approvals to expand the Salem County ADA. "My father worked so hard on that farm, we didn't want the last crop grown to be houses," said Sassi.

In December 2005, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) purchased the property, ensuring that it would be protected as agricultural land forever. The SADC will auction off the property with an agricultural easement at a future date.

"The dedication of landowners like the Sassi family is key to the success of New Jersey's Farmland Preservation Program," said Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus, who chairs the SADC. "The preservation of this farm and the expansion of the agricultural development area will help ensure that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of agriculture as Carneys Point continues to grow."

Janet Eisenhauer, NJCF Delaware Bayshore Regional Manager, worked with Sassi to help preserve the 85-acre farm.

Take a walk with Sassi on the cherished property and you soon understand why preservation was so important. The 63-year-old semi-retired chemist points out the fields his father purchased over 75 years ago, where tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, asparagus, pumpkins, eggplant and blueberries once grew. He approaches a row of pine trees, ducks through some branches and reveals a pond almost completely hidden from adjacent West Quillytown Road.

"This was my favorite fishing hole," said Sassi, thinking about days spent catching sunnies and bass. The pond is well-hidden because Sassi and his brother John planted some 2,000 trees on its banks 50 years ago, creating a well-established forest on the property.

The Sassi farm is located in the NJCF Delaware Bayshore project area, a region still characterized by working family farms, but under intense development pressure. The farm is located in the headwaters of the Salem River Watershed and preserving land in the region has become an important statewide initiative. The Delaware Bayshore spans southwest New Jersey and is bordered by the Delaware River and Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and is best known for its vast wetlands and associated wildlife.

At about the same time Carmine Sassi purchased his farm in the late 1920s, his two brothers also purchased nearby farms that are still in the family today. The family hopes to preserve the farms, totaling about 250 acres of agricultural land, in partnership with NJCF.

"It was important to our family to save the farm, but we wanted to preserve the land for the community too," said Sassi, who lives on an adjacent farm. "We wanted to have a little bit of Route 551 that people could look at and find something other than housing developments. That's something we wanted to do for our community."

For more information about NJCF's preservation work in the Delaware Bayshore, please contact Janet Eisenhauer at (856) 589-4317 or janet@njconservation.org.