Thanks to a private family donation, the Great Swamp Watershed Association is adding 10 acres of open space in Chatham Township to the national wildlife refuge area.
Established in 1960 as the first federal wilderness area, the 7,800-acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge crosses several municipal borders in Morris County.
The GWSA is a separate nonprofit conservation association that with this latest acquisition increases its holdings in the 35,000-acre Great Swamp watershed region to 86.5 preserved acres.
The deal was completed in January and announced on Tuesday. The newly acquired land is in Chatham Township at the end of Evergreen Road, in the Black Brook sub-watershed, one of the five sub-watersheds of the Great Swamp region.
Morristown Daily Record
A tiny, pristine swimming hole that has played a variety of significant roles in the lives of Morris County residents since before the American Revolution may finally give way to development.
The family owners of the Noe Pond Club informed members last month that the property on Southern Boulevard in Chatham Township has been sold to new owners and all operations there will end.
For members past and present, the news that the club will close after 65 years came as a shock. It was pretty devastating to find out Noe Pond was going to a developer, given the legacy, the history and the environmental aspects of the property, said Chatham Township Deputy Mayor Tracy Ness.