August 29, 2003

NEWSRELEASE

For more information, please contact, Stephen Mountain , Township Administrator at 543-4555.

For release at your earliest convenience

TOURS OF INDIA BROOK PARK (FORMERLY SEEING EYE)

SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2003

            MENDHAM TOWNSHIP (Aug. 27, 2003) – Residents, hikers, nature lovers and the merely curious are invited to tour India Brook Park and Natural Area (formerly the Seeing Eye property) on Ironia Road from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 13, 2003.

            The 103-acre tract, located one-quarter mile south of South Road and 2.2 miles north of the Ironia Rd./Route 24/510 intersection, was purchased under the open space preservation program by Mendham Township in 2001. It connects with Buttermilk Falls Natural Area, which is contiguous with India Brook Natural Area. Together, the three properties provide the township with 368 acres of trails, woodlands, trout streams, ponds, wetlands, historic sites and other interesting features.

            Naturalists, historians and members of the Mendham Township Open Space Trust Committee will be on hand during the tour hours to provide information and background about the property and to direct hikers to trails. Guided tours are scheduled for 10, 10:30 and 11 a.m. , rain or shine. Participants are advised to wear comfortable shoes.

The Open Space Trust Committee will have a display and free brochures available, detailing the progress of open space preservation in the community. In addition, visitors will hear how the facility was used by the Seeing Eye organization, which occupied it from 1948 to 2002.