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Decker Tract in PRC’s sights

By Deborah Walsh

Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Suburban Trends

The Passaic River Coalition is moving closer to acquiring the Decker tract, which it deems an ecologically important piece of land.

The coalition has secured a $207,500 Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund grant from Passaic County for the acquisition of the 9-acre parcel off of Union Avenue. It is waiting to hear if it will be successful in securing a Green Acres grant for the purchase.

Ella Filippone, executive director of the coalition, said the coalition is not interested in purchasing developable land. Filippone said the owner, Steven Decker, is a willing seller. Filippone said the Decker tract is an extremely interesting parcel marked by wetlands and streams and is partially located in the Highlands [Preservation Area]. Filippone indicated that the coalition funded the successful acquisition of the approximately 40-acre Higgins Paragallo tract on Federal Hill, which is located across Union Avenue from the Decker tract. Together, these parcels can serve as an ecological corridor, she said.

“When my staff went up there they observed a forested ecological area. A lot of times when you visit a site you’re lucky to see one critter. They saw various endangered species including a rare frog not found anywhere else in New Jersey. This is an important niche to preserve,” she said.

Filippone said this parcel would become part of the Wyanokie corridor, which will stretch up to Sterling Forest in New York. The coalition is looking for other parcels to add to this corridor, she said.

Jonathan Dunleavy, a former borough councilman, who now chairs the borough’s Recreation and Open Space Fund, recalls the coalition purchasing the Higgins Paragallo tract about six or seven years ago. The borough contributed approximately $50,000 toward the soft costs associated with the acquisition. Dunleavy said the coalition also backed the purchase of the Bicoastal property off Union Avenue by Kearfott Lake for more than $1 million. The purchase of the Decker tract combined with the Higgins Paragallo and Bicoastal tracts goes a long way to connecting a greenbelt, he said.

Dunleavy said the Morse Lakes community would most likely endorse the preservation of the Decker tract because it would enhance the buffer bordering Morse Lakes property. Dunleavy recalled that Decker, now of California, at one time planned on putting a residential development on the tract, but the proposal did not come to fruition.