Woodford Cedar Run: a refuge built around a lake and an injured owl

From summer place to refuge

According to Cedar Run's own history, the Woodfords bought a 185-acre tract in 1951, decided to stay, and by 1957 had built a home overlooking the lake and founded the refuge. Betty became known locally for her knowledge of Pinelands plants and animals. The organization's account traces its animal-rehabilitation work to a resident who brought her an injured great horned owl. Betty and Jim spent the next four decades teaching, caring for wildlife and protecting the habitat around them.

The refuge's present 171-acre protected landscape is smaller than the 185-acre parcel described at purchase. Its history says a Green Acres grant preserved the land and buildings in 1997. Those dates mark a shift from one family's stewardship toward an enduring public conservation institution; they do not mean every injured animal treated here can return to the wild. Cedar Run, History; Cedar Run, Trails & Grounds.

Jeanne Woodford’s preservation work

Jim and Betty’s daughter Jeanne helped care for early injured animals and later pursued permanent protection for the land. In a 2014 interview, she said she wrote the Green Acres application in 1997 to honor her mother’s wish that Cedar Run never be developed. Her role connects the wildlife hospital to the preservation of the habitat around it. Read the separate Jeanne Woodford story for her own account and the differing dates attached to the final land transaction. Cedar Run newsletter, fall 2014.

Read the habitat on foot

The refuge describes about three miles of marked, sandy trails through pine-oak uplands and cedar swamp. A shorter walk follows interpretive signs near the lake; longer paths reach deeper forest. From the nature center, visitors can compare these habitats, look for birds and seasonal plants, and then meet the resident animals in the outdoor wildlife housing area. Cedar Run says these ambassadors have injuries that prevent their release, which is why seeing them here is different from spotting a wild bird along the trail. Cedar Run, Trails & Grounds.

The visitor path is also a way to understand Betty Woodford's three linked interests. Protecting a cedar swamp maintains habitat; teaching people to recognize its life can change how they treat nearby land; caring for an injured animal responds to harm already done. Cedar Run continues all three through conservation, education and rehabilitation. Cedar Run, mission.

Plan the visit

Navigate to the Nature Center, 4 Sawmill Road, Medford, NJ 08055; the refuge also lists 388 Jackson Road as an alternative approach and gives turn-by-turn directions to its parking lot. Begin inside for a trail map and check-in. The current hours and pricing page lists daily public hours and admission, but check it before traveling. Dogs are not allowed on the refuge's grounds. The Wildlife Hospital at 6 Sawmill Road is a separate, non-public facility for animal drop-off; follow the hospital's instructions if bringing injured wildlife rather than treating its address as a tourist stop. Cedar Run, visitor rules.