Betty Wold Johnson was truly the ‘angel’ of the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, which Friends of Princeton Open Space manages on behalf of the town and its citizens and where we have our headquarters. In the late 1980’s, the 75-acre parcel in the heart of Princeton was acquired by architect Robert J. Hillier’s firm, with a view toward creating a 25-lot exclusive enclave around Mountain Lake.
Friends of Princeton Open Space, which knew the property, had a very different vision. Mr. Hillier agreed to sell the land for conservation, but he had paid a high price for it. Mrs. Johnson caused a major gift to be made through the Willard Trotter Case Johnson Charitable Trust that made preservation of this unique property possible, and it is now known as the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in honor of her late son. FOPOS and the town raised the rest of the funds and eventually, FOPOS became the holder of the conservation easements that protect the property.
Some years later, Mrs. Johnson again came to the rescue. The dams on Mountain Lake, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were not up to current DEP safety standards. The cost to drain the lake and bring the dams up to the standards was in the millions; even more if the town were to take the opportunity to dredge the lake. A major gift arranged by Mrs. Johnson paid for the entire project, again to the great benefit of the town and its citizens. The dams were restored beautifully and in accordance with safety and historic preservation standards. With the dredging of the lakes water quality was improved significantly; annual major summer algae blooms in the upper lake became a thing of the past.
Mrs. Johnson was very interested in the problem of invasive species – the focus of FOPOS’s current forest restoration project – and in encouraging the use of native species. When the town upgraded the signage and appearance of the parking lot on Mountain Avenue for the Preserve, Mrs. Johnson underwrote the landscaping of the area and the replacement of non-native plants with native ones. In that way, the entrance to the Nature Preserve became a testament to the need to use native plants in order to support the birds, insects and other animals that make visiting the park so enjoyable.
Although Mrs. Johnson moved out of Princeton in her later years, she remained a truly community-minded individual and never forgot the town in her generous charitable giving.
For more information about Friends of Princeton Open Space, please visit fopos.org.
Thank you, Betty Wold Johnson