Blair Creek Preserve
Stillwater & Hardwick
526 acres
Hiking at Blair Creek
Public access is provided via a hiking trail on the preserve, accessible on West Fairview Lake Lane in Stillwater Township and on Sand Pond Road in Hardwick Township. West Fairview Lake Lane has a good size parking area for cars. Sand Pond Road's parking is limited to one or two cars.
In 2021, RVC purchased an additional 30 acres to add to Blair Creek Preserve. In 2022, an additional 10 acres were added, naming this area “Blair Creek South Preserve”. Hikers can access the short loop trail through this new acreage approximately 200 feet north, and across the street, from the Sand Pond Road parking pulloff. Look for RVC signage at the access gate.
UNIQUE FEATURES
The preserve is part of a 12,100-acre contiguous forest along Kittanny Mountain. It has significant conservation value for species requiring interior forest habitat. Large mammals such as bobcat, black bear, red fox, gray fox, and coyote can be found in this forested area. Wood turtles have been observed on the site. The site provides nesting habitat for migrating Neotropical birds including cerulean warbler, wood thrush, Northern parula, and magnolia warbler, as well as several accipiters such as Northern goshawk, sharp-shinned hawk, red-shouldered hawk, and broad-winged hawk, and owls, such as the Barred owl. The Preserve may provide feeding areas for timber rattlesnakes. Fairview Lake and Blair Creek provide habitat and resources. A wide variety of native plants – including a variety of ferns, asters, sedges, grasses, and orchids – are found on the forest floor, wetlands, and stream corridor. Vernal pools throughout the preserve provide spawning for native amphibians and reptiles.
History
The preserve was acquired by purchase from Blair Academy in 2004, using grants from the Warren County Open Space Trust Fund, the Garden State Preservation Trust, and Hardwick Township. RVC co-owns the property with the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust and The Nature Conservancy.
An additional 30 acres were purchased by RVC in 2021, using grants from Green Acres, The Nature Conservancy, and the Open Space Institute Land Trust. In 2022, 10 more acres were added to Blair Creek South with funding assistance from The Nature Conservancy and Green Acres.