Armstrong Bog

In 2010, The Trust for Public Land and partners completed the purchase of Armstrong Bog, more than 324 acres in Frankford Township, New Jersey.

Armstrong Bog is a rare calcareous fen wetland site in northern New Jersey, important for recovery of the federally threatened and state endangered bog turtle. The land also protects Papakating Creek, classified by New Jersey as a Category One stream corridor, and preserves plant habitat for the rare Fraser’s Saint John’s wort.

The property was slated for a 35-lot subdivision in 2007 when a faltering real estate market spurred new efforts by conservationists to protect the land. In 2008, TPL successfully approached the landowner with a conservation solution.

The completed purchase of the bog comprised three acquisitions and expanded the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, which TPL helped establish in 1990. TPL conveyed 116 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 157 acres to the Refuge’s Papakating Creek Preserve, and 41 acres to the Township of Frankford.