The Brown tract was identified as one of the largest, most developable tracts in the area in Rockaway Township's Open Space Master Plan, which ranked it the number one priority for protection. The project site had received preliminary subdivision approval for a single-family residential subdivision containing 108 building lots; without this acquisition, the property would have been developed. Acquisition of the tract is important for the protection from development it affords the Beaver Brook watershed, a sub-watershed of the Rockaway River watershed.

Two additional parcels, the former Gruener and ATC Tower properties were added to Wildcat Ridge, the latter of which includes the Wildcat Rige Hawkwatch.

                                                  photo courtesty of William J. Gallagher

These purchases mark another landmark in the long-term goal of preserving the Highlands, an area in which Governor Whitman is focusing land preservation efforts. This nearly 300 acre expansion of the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area includes unbroken upland hardwood forests, trout production streams, wetlands, hiking trails, reservoirs, watershed lands and scenic vistas. With this acquisition, 30,539 acres have been preserved in the state's Highlands region during Governor Whitman's administration.