annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
2024 Annual Membership Letter

Since 1969, your generous support has fueled our success. Read Friends of Princeton Open Space’s annual membership letter to see how your contributions are driving vital conservation efforts, from habitat restoration to mentoring young environmental leaders. Help us make even greater strides in 2025.

2024 Annual Membership Letter
FOPOS
FOPOS Seeks Program Coordinator

FOPOS seeks a part-time program coordinator to work directly with FOPOS’s Director of Natural Resources and Stewardship to manage the organization’s year-round volunteer stewardship program and community events series. The selected candidate should be detail-oriented and able to manage emails, databases, program messaging and schedules as well as improve upon existing systems and workflow. Ideally, the program coordinator will be an enthusiastic person supportive of and tapped into land stewardship and preservation within the greater Princeton area. Web design skills, and experience in fundraising or marketing and promoting a business are a plus. This is an administrative job that offers flexibility in location, with the ideal candidate available to participate in regular in-person meetings and work sessions, as well as be present for key events located at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, NJ.

This is an ongoing position that has the potential to grow with the right candidate, and is suitable for professionals as well as recent graduates with applicable skill sets.

FOPOS Seeks Program Coordinator
annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
Recruit A Friend To Be A Friend

Over the past twelve months, Friends of Princeton Open Space has focused on ecological restoration projects and on educating the next generation of conservationists, including those from communities of color. We are happy to report that, with your support, we have chalked up major successes.

Recruit A Friend To Be A Friend
photo contest
FOPOS
Princeton, We Have A Winner!

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s photo contest. While it’s never easy to choose, we think these top three are pretty outstanding.

Princeton, We Have A Winner!
annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
A Message from Wendy Mager, FOPOS President

The past twelve months have been filled with new projects and new achievements for Friends of Princeton Open Space that advance our mission to preserve and care for open space, educate the public on environmental issues, and advocate for sound governmental decisions. Here’s some of what we’ve accomplished with your support.

A Message from Wendy Mager, FOPOS President

D'Ambrisi Ribbon Cutting

FOPOS HELPS ADD IMPORTANT LAND TO PRINCETON BATTLEFIELD

                On September 16, 2015 President Wendy Mager and several board members joined Mayor Liz Lempert, County Executive Brian Hughes, State Park Service Director Mark Texel, State Senator Kip Bateman and many others to celebrate the addition of the D’Ambrisi tract to Princeton Battlefield State Park.  Kip Cherry, Vice President of the Princeton Battlefield Society, organized the event and was instrumental in working with the D’Ambrisi family to preserve their land.  Mrs. D’Ambrisi and two of her sons looked on proudly as they were commended for their decision, and the Mayor referred to all of the citizens who helped make this happen as modern-day heroes,  who compliment the heroes who fought on this land during the American Revolution.

                FOPOS contributed $200,000 toward the acquisition, consisting of a grant from the County’s open space program and $100,000 of funding from the DEP’s Green Acres program.

                As part of the acquisition process, the D’Ambrisihouse was removed and the dam for the on-site pond was repaired by the municipality.  A tributary of Stony Brook flows through this and adjacent lots, all of which were once part of the landscape of the Drumthwacket estate designed for Moses Taylor Pyne after the Revolution.  The site contains many lovely, mature trees, and a new trail provides access from the area of the colonnade in Battlefield Park.

                The 4.6-acre D’Ambrisi property provides a critical link from Battlefield Park to Stockton Street (Route 206 South), and was the site of critical events in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.  That event  was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, the first battle won against professional British soldiers.  After the battle, 21 British and 15 American soldiers were buried in one grave in this area due to the frozen ground and the need for American troops to hasten away from the approach of General Cornwallis and his 8,000 soldiers.  The Battlefield Society has received a federal grant to study the site, and has already performed ground penetrating radar studies.

                The vision for the future is to connect the D’Ambrisi property with many other  preserved lands on both sides of Battlefield Park, by continuing a bike path from the eastern side of the Park over to Stockton Street and along Stockton Street to Edgerstoune Road.

CELEBRATION OF NEW FOOTBRIDGES!

CELEBRATION OF NEW FOOTBRIDGES TO BE HELD AT BILLY JOHNSON MOUNTAIN LAKES NATURE PRESERVE

On Sunday, October 18th at 1:30, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) and the Municipality of Princeton will celebrate the completion of two new footbridges at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. The bridges will make the beautiful natural setting more accessible for walkers.  

Members of the public are invited. Refreshments will be served at Mountain Lakes House after a ribbon-cutting at the footbridges.  

The bridges afford lovely views of tributaries of the Stony Brook, and are now part of a trail system of over eight-and-one-half miles in the greater Mountain Lakes Recreation Area.  They cross two small streams that were obstacles to hikers in the southwest section of the Preserve.  FOPOS collaborated with the municipal Engineering Department to obtain needed permits and organize the construction.  Princeton contracted for the laying of the bridge foundations and erection of the steel supports, while FOPOS members donated their time and labor to build the wooden superstructure.  

The costs of the footbridges were met by a combination of a $50,000 grant to FOPOS  from a private foundation; the time of members of the Engineering Department; and the time of FOPOS volunteers.  FOPOS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting open space in Princeton, and holds the conservation easements on the Mountain Lakes Preserve and Mountain Lakes House.  FOPOS  has also “adopted” the adjacent Mountain Lakes North and John Witherspoon Woods tracts through the municipal  adopt-a-park program, and maintains the trails there as well as in Mountain Lakes Preserve and Community Park North.

Friends of Princeton Open Space Annual Meeting 2015

 

  • Talk by Shana S. Weber, Director, Office of Sustainability at Princeton University.

  • Walk through Mountain Lakes' Tusculum, lead by Adam Schellhammer, FOPOS' naturalist.

PRINCETON, NJ, March 23, 2015 — Shana S. Weber, Director, Office of Sustainability at Princeton University, will be the featured speaker at the 2015 annual meeting of the Friends of Princeton Open Space at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 19th. Her talk, “Sustainability Uncovered: The Gritty Underbelly of Meaningful Environmental Endeavors at Princeton University,” will focus on the unprecedented levels of sustainability and environmental stewardship integrated into the University’s current strategic planning and visioning process.

The meeting will take place at Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Avenue in Princeton. Dr. Weber will speak after a brief business meeting at which new trustees will be elected. Refreshments will be served. A walk through Mountain Lakes and adjacent Tusculum led by FOPOS naturalist Adam Schellhammer will follow Dr. Weber’s talk.

The meeting is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested by April 15th; RSVP to Friends of Princeton Open Space, 609-921-2772.

Dr. Weber has coordinated Princeton University’s efforts in implementing cross-disciplinary and repeatable campus-based sustainable demonstration systems since 2006. Prior to joining Princeton University she was a founding director and faculty member for the Santa Clara University Environmental Studies Institute and a producer for a nationally-syndicated environmental radio talk show. Dr. Weber received a B.S. in Zoology from the Ohio State University and an MSES and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Her past research areas include the intersection of climate change impacts and land use history, and population biology of culturally-significant wetland vegetation.

About Friends of Princeton Open Space Founded in 1969 to preserve open space in the face of development pressures, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) is a non-profit organization that has helped to establish over 1,000 acres of parkland and a network of interconnecting trails that nearly circles Princeton. Through the contributions of hundreds of people in the community, FOPOS has helped to raise $4.5 million for the purchase and acquisition of easements on properties that might otherwise have been bulldozed for development. Mountain Lakes Preserve, Greenway Meadows, Coventry Farm, the Institute for Advanced Studies Lands, the Woodfield Reservation, Tusculum, Turning Basin Park, as well as the Ricciardi and All Saints tracts, are among the properties in Princeton preserved with the assistance of FOPOS.

Contact: Kathy Cook (609) 921-2772

Hike the Princeton Institute Woods, May 4th

Ecology of Princeton Institute Woods

Adults are invited to join Dr. Henry Horn, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, for this popular hike, offering an enlightening look at forest dynamics in Princeton Institute Woods. Discover the life and death in the forest while examining a myriad of adaptations in various species, all occupying distinct niches throughout the forest. This hike is appropriate for adults only. Registration is required – please email mpolefka@thewatershed.org or call 609-737-7592 for more information and to sign up. Fee is $5 per person, payable that day. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Sunday, May 4, 2014, 2:00-5:00PM
Where: Princeton Institute Woods, Olden Lane, Princeton

Have you seen these species in the Princeton Ridge?

Your help is needed to protect high value wetlands and wildlife habitat surrounding the Williams natural gas pipeline expansion project. Please be alert and report any sightings of these species in the Princeton Ridge to info@fopos.org. Include photos whenever possible.

Click here for a map of the Princeton Ridge Conservation Area.

Wood Turtle – Threatened

Wood turtles are found in and around rivers and streams that occur within forests or meadows. During March, they emerge from hibernation and bask along stream banks. Wood turtles mate in the water during April and move to dry land by mid-May.

Red-shouldered Hawk – Endangered

Red-shouldered hawks are year-round residents of New Jersey, found in forested wetlands. In late March and early April, males can be seen flying in circles around their nesting territories, calling repeatedly with feathers fanned out, as part of a courtship display.

Red Headed Woodpecker – Threatened

Red-headed woodpeckers are year-round residents of NJ. They are found in forested areas that contain dead or dying trees and sparse undergrowth. Red-headed woodpeckers can be seen hunting insects in flight or on the ground, in addition to the typical woodpecker method of hammering through trees.

Barred Owl – Threatened

The barred owl is a year-round resident of NJ’s mature forested wetlands. They are most vocal during their courtship from February to mid-April, with peak vocal activity occurring in March. They may call at night or during the day. The barred owl’s call is most commonly represented as “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all”.