Letter to the Editor, from Alison Miller of FOWWOS - Friends Of West Windsor Open Space

West Windsor boasts of being half preserved open space and half developed land with some potential open space. That's a lot of open space! (Even though most of it is Mercer County Park.) On Halloween in 1995 the group that was to become FOWWOS held its first meeting to discuss a mutual feeling that Mercer County Park and Community Park were not enough to preserve our heritage as a rural township. In 1996 FOWWOS was incorporated. Our goals were to acquire open space and educate the public about it. 
As you drive or walk or bike on our roads or paths you will see many tracts of land that are not developed. Are they all "open space?" Are many of them slated for development or purchase by the township? Who is planning for their future?
The township and FOWWOS have worked together over the years since 1996 to develop an Open Space Acquisition List, letting the Department of Environmental Protection know we are interested in purchasing the land on the list if we have a willing buyer, and also allowing us to ask for DEP Green Acres Planning Incentive Grants to help with payment. The township has received grants from Green Acres as well as grants from the Mercer County Open Space Fund and the Mercer County Farmland Preservation Fund, and, of course, FOWWOS. Over the years we've had some spectacular success, such as the more than 500 contiguous acres in the area between Old Trenton Road, Village Road East, South Lane, and Windsor Road; and some conspicuous failures, like the land that was developed to build the senior community, The Elements, on Old Trenton Road.
The open space that the township has acquired through Green Acres or the Mercer County Open Space fund must be accessible to the public and used for recreation, active or passive. It can also be farmed until the township has other plans for it. So you will see Preserves, such as the Zaitz Preserve off Southfield Road, and the Rogers Preserve, off Clarksville Road, all heavily wooded with paths not meant for bikes or pets. You will see parks, such as Zaitz Park, with soccer fields, and Community Park, with a pool, dog park, skate park, and numerous other athletic facilities, and you will see farms. Some are owned by the farmers, but most are owned by West Windsor and rented to farmers in town. Some of the West Windsor farms, including the ones owned by farmers, are constrained by Mercer County's Farmland Preservation Program, where they help preserve the county's farming history by buying development rights to properties with prime soils for farming. Others are being farmed because the township is keeping them available for the recreation needs of the future.

FOWWOS wants to make sure that our open space properties are treated with respect. We want development on them to be sustainable. We want to nurture, even showcase native plants. For nore information, Visit FOWWOS at http://www.fowwos.net or email us at joinFOWWOS@gmail.com