Marble Hill Natural Resource Area and/or Merrill Creek Reservoir MUA
River Road, Lopatcong and Harmony Townships, Warren County
eventually to reach 700-800 acres

Located along Marble Hill Road and River Road (just north of Phillipsburg in Lopatcong).

Route 80 west to Exit 3.  Take Rt. 22 north; turn right on Route 519; drive past Harkers Hollow Golf Course on the right and turn left onto Route 621 (Brainards Road); in less than 100 yards turn left onto Marble Hill Road.  Drive down to the public usage signs that say "Warren County Natural Resource Area."  Some of the signs say "Merril Creek Reservoir MUA."  You can park along the road here at different pull-offs, but there is no obvious path into the woods.  You can continue down Marble Hill Road and turn right or left to see more of the public land.  Here are the cliffs and some interesting plants can be found here.  There are many signs saying "Merrill Creek Reservoir MUA."

History:

On the property there is a building that was used by the water company to supply Phillipsburg. It houses a massive Allis-Chalmers steam engine, built in 1913.

July 1999 -- 96 acres purchased for $140,000 from Consumers New Jersey Water Co. The project was financed by the county's dedicated open-space tax, which currently is 2 cents on every $100 of property.

Habitats:

woods, farm fields, a ridge that overlooks southern Warren County

Trails:

Unimproved hiking trails, overlook/viewing points.

The planned cross-state Highlands Trail starts/ends here. The Highlands Trail will connect the Delaware and Hudson Rivers and extend 150 miles from the Delaware to the Hudson River at Storm King Mountain in New York. The trail goes about 100 miles from Storm King to Sterling Forest, N.Y. & NJ, and as far as Morris County. The southwest end of the trail will have two branches, one in Warren and one through Hunterdon County. In Warren County the trail will link with Merrill Creek Reservoir in Harmony and the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Mansfield.

Source: Garden State EnviroNet Environews:
Art Charlton, Staff Writer for the Star-Ledger. 10/07/99.Addition to resource area is a natural selection." http://www.nj.com/njcommunities/ledger/

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = date plant found in bloom (4/24/04)

Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder maple)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple) *
Acer rubrum (red maple) *
Betula lenta (black birch)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) *
Fraxinus americana (American ash) *
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Prunus sp. (cherry tree) *
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Ulmus americana (American elm)


Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) *
Hydrangea arborescens (American hydrangea)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) *
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)

Vines:
Echinocystis lobata (wild cucumber)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Anthriscus sylvestris (wild chervil)  lots & lots of it  * soon
Aquilegea canadensis (columbine) *
Arabis laevigata (smooth rockcress) *
Arabis lyrata (lyre-leaved rockcress) *
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asarum canadense (wild ginger) *
Cardamine parviflora (dry land bittercress) *
Chelidonium majus (celandine) *
Cirsium sp. (thistle)
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Glechoma hederacea (gill-over-the-ground) *
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily)
Heuchera sp. (alum root)
Hybanthus concolor (green violet)
Hydrophyllum virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)
Hydrophyllum macrophyllum? (large-leaved waterleaf)?
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Podophyllum peltatum (may apple)
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth true Solomon's seal)
Polygonatum caniculatum? (large Solomon's seal)?
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaf crowfoot) *
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Saxifraga virginiensis (early saxifrage) *
Solidago flexicaulis (zig-zag goldenrod)
Stellaria media (common chickweed) *
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Urtica sp. (stinging nettle)
Veronica persica (bird's eye speedwell) *
Viola pubescens (yellow forest violet) *
Viola sororia (common blue violet)  *
Viola sororia ssp. (confederate violet) *
 

Ferns:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Cystopteris sp. (fragile fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal wood fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)