To the Editor:

On behalf of the Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS), I would like to thank all those who helped to celebrate our 50th anniversary on Sunday, October 20. Since its founding, FOPOS has quietly and steadily led the way for significant conservation of open space in Princeton by contributing over $4.5 million in public and private grants, as well as private contributions, to preserve about 1,000 acres of land. The open space properties preserved with FOPOS’s help include: the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, Turning Basin Park, Woodfield Reservation, lands of the Institute for Advanced Study, Greenway Meadows Park, Tusculum, Coventry Farm, the Ricciardi property, and the All Saints’ property.

I particularly want to thank the many volunteers who were honored at the event for their hours of work on trail maintenance and environmental stewardship at Mountain Lakes and other properties. Thank you to our trustees for their selfless dedication throughout the years to advancing the mission of FOPOS, which is to preserve and steward land, support environmental education, and advocate for sound environmental policies. We deeply appreciate the many non-profit and government partners who have helped us in this work. And thank you to the many friends — old and new — who helped to make our 50th anniversary celebration such a fun and lively evening.

Wendy Mager
President, Friends of Princeton Open Space