Natural Lands - The Magazine of Natural Lands Fall/Winter 2019, Issue 155 | Page 21

NAT U R AL LAND S
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Meng Preserve
101 acres
Lower Frederick Township
Key Partners: The Mennonite Foundation; Valley Forge
Audubon Society
This past summer, Valley Forge Audubon Society trans-
ferred ownership of the 101-acre Meng Preserve in Lower
Frederick Township, PA to Natural Lands. The property
was once the home of Eva R. Meng who gifted the land in
her will to Valley Forge Audubon Society in 1994. Like all
of Natural Lands’ preserves, the space is open every day,
free of charge, from dawn to dusk.
“Natural Lands has held the conservation easement
on Meng Preserve for many years, ensuring this property
would remain open space,” said Valley Forge Audubon
Society president Vince Smith. “As the owners of 44
natural areas across the region, Natural Lands has the
expertise to steward and care for Meng. We know it will
be in great hands.”
Meng Preserve is a steeply sloped, forested property
with impressive outcrops of diabase rock and vernal
pools. It is part of a larger landscape—the Stone Hill Gre-
enway—notable for its vast, unbroken forest. This wood-
ed greenway is essential habitat for wildlife, including
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several species of migratory songbirds whose numbers
are in decline such as Kentucky Warbler, Northern Parula,
American Redstart, Hooded Warbler, Scarlet Tanager,
Ovenbird, and Magnolia Warbler.
Eva Meng and her sister, Edna, were avid preservation-
ists. For many years, the property was used as “Camp Ivy”
for Girl Scout Troop #3 of Schwenksville to engage in the
natural world. The preserve includes two miles of hiking
trails, including trails named in honor of both Eva and
Edna Meng.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NJ
7
Nocon Property
41.5 acres
Downe Township
Key Partners: Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; William
Penn Foundation
The Nocon property is located in the heart of the 7,440-
acre Glades Wildlife Refuge, Natural Lands’ largest pre-
serve. The property consists of a wooded wetland typical
of the area, where sweetgum, holly, and red maple jockey
for position with pitch pines. Now under conservation
easement, the inholding’s important natural resources and
the scenic viewshed of the area are forever protected. W
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA
. FALL/W INT E R 20 1 9
Meng Preserve