Did You Know? What’s Planned For the Future of Our Neighbor ---- The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge?

by Jim Northrop

The panoramic landscape at the Great Swamp National
Wildlife Refuge. Credit: A. Kaufman, 2011

In 1997, Congress began requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and an environmental assessment (EA) for each federal wildlife refuge program. Each CCP/EA was to be revised at least every 15 years. The CCP is a strategic plan guiding management for each respective refuge. A draft of the CCP/EA for the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was published for public review and comment on May 14, 2014. The USFWS will accept comments and suggestions on the plan until June 27, 2014.

Click here to review the complete CCP/EA draft plan for the Refuge.

The 7,768-acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was set aside in 1960 primarily as a sanctuary for migratory birds. However, the Refuge is much more than that. It contains forested wetlands, emergent wetlands, and various successional stages of upland vegetation, provide habitats for a diversity of wildlife species.

What’s the Plan?

In fact, at this “draft” stage there are four alternative plans proposed, each with a different emphasis. The merits of each alternative plan will be outlined and discussed at two public meetings scheduled to take place in June. All members of the public are invited and encouraged to provide comments and suggestions at one of the following meetings:

June 11, 2014, 10 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Chatham Township Municipal Building
58 Meyersville Road
Chatham, New Jersey 07928
Click here for a map and directions.

June 12, 2014, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Long Hill Township Municipal Building
915 Valley Road
Gillette, New Jersey 07933
Click here for a map and directions.

Each Alternative Plan Has A Different Focus

Alternative Plan A --- Continue Current Management Priorities and Activities
(No changes required --- Plan A serves as a baseline for comparing Alternatives B, C, and D)

• Habitat Management: Maintain a diversity of habitats, including wetlands, about 500 acres of impoundments, 700 acres of grasslands and scrub-shrub, and forest.
• Visitor Services: Continue to support environmental education, interpretation and wildlife observation, hunting and photography. Maintain the annual five-day deer hunting season, 1.5 miles of boardwalk with three observation blinds, and wilderness trails. Also offer appropriate, compatible non-wildlife-dependent uses including horseback riding, jogging, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, virtual geocaching, and dog walking.

Alternative Plan B --- Enhance Biological Diversity and Public Use Opportunities

• Habitat Management: Maintain a diversity of forest, non-forested, open water, grassland, and scrub-shrub habitats. Proposed that 161 acres be added to the wilderness area. Reconfigure and maintain habitats to create fewer, larger (greater than 50 acres) continuous patches to promote wildlife use, increase connectivity, decrease fragmentation, increase maintenance efficiency, and reduce associated costs. Emphasize habitat for priority bird species and Federal trust species, including the bog turtle and Indiana bat.
• Visitor Services: Expand opportunities to reach nearby urban and suburban populations. Expand the hunt program by permitting archery for deer and opening the Refuge to turkey hunting. Improve wildlife viewing and photography opportunities by creating trails, providing more parking, and constructing observation towers. Expand Visitor Center hours. Increase the number of environmental education and interpretation programs.

Alternative Plan C --- Emphasis On Maximizing Forest Habitats

• Habitat Management: Allow natural succession or regeneration to occur to maximum extent practical, by reducing active management of impoundments, grassland/brush land and by allowing natural succession to forest. In many cases, the areas will become forested swamp. Maintain large patches of consolidated grasslands and managed brush land along Pleasant Plains Road. Continue active management in areas known to support priority refuge species. Actively work with regional partners to address climate change, habitat loss, and water and air quality impacts.
• Visitor Services: Public use opportunities would be the same as under Alternative A, except add elimination of less-used, dead-end trails in the wilderness area.

Alternative D --- Focus On Expansion Of Priority Public Uses

• Habitat Management: Would be the same as under Alternative A, except:
• emphasis on managing for habitats open to the public.
• maintain open water habitat within impoundments.
• aggressively expand partnership for conservation initiatives.
• Visitor Services: Allow fishing in select areas of the Refuge. Expand hunting as described under Alternative B. Provide a greater variety of wildlife-dependent public use opportunities. (For example, open the Refuge to fishing and expand opportunities for biking, canoeing and kayaking.) Increase outreach and publicity to promote the Refuge. Expand infrastructure, including new trails, observation towers, parking lots, and new signage. Collaborate with adjacent landowners to create or link additional trails. Open most management roads to pedestrian traffic.

After analysis of the public input and suggestions received at the two public meetings, one of the alternative plans, or a combination of pieces from several, will be compiled as the final CCP. For the near future, the final CCP will define the management priorities and activities implemented thereafter at the Refuge.

Submitting Written Comments

The Great Swamp Watershed Association encourages all of its members to read the draft CCP/EA for the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and submit written comments to the USFWS. Please use the following contact information when submitting your materials by post or fax:

Bill Perry
Refuge Planner
Northeast Regional Office
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA  01035
tel. (413) 253-8688
fax. (413) 253-8468

 To submit your comments electronically, please send an email with Great Swamp NWR in the subject line to northeastplanning@fws.gov.

----
Editor's note: Per a request from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, two corrections were made to the original article on 6/9/2014. The sentence "Proposed that 168 acres be added to the wilderness area," under the Alternative B section was changed to read, "Proposed that 161 acres be added to the wilderness area." The heading "Would be the same as under Alternative B, except..." under the Alternative D section was changed to read, "Would be the same as under Alternative A, except..."

Did You Know? Tree Are Always On The Job Filtering Earth's But Where Are Their Cheerleaders?!

by Jim Northrop, GSWA Volunteer

The Ashokan Reservoir in New York's Ulster County
is one of two reservoirs in the Catskill Water Supply
System delivering drinking water to New York City. Situated
approximately 73 miles north of the city, the Ashokan
supplies about 40% of NYC's daily drinking water needs.
Credit: flickr.com//photos/carbonnyc (D. Goehring)

Treating water pollution may be one of the most critical services that trees offer to the world. In "The Man Who Planted Trees," a 2012 book written by Jim Robbins, the author looks at the relationship between New York City and the forests just to the north of the city in the Catskill Mountains. These rolling woodlands form a catchment and filter area for the water that New Yorkers drink. In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the city to build a new water treatment plant at a cost of $8 billion. Their concern was that microscopic intestinal parasites, and some other waterborne pathogens, would find their way into the New York City water supply.

However, city officials decided that the cheaper and better option was to protect the existing two-thousand-square-mile forested watershed that naturally filters water flowing into the city. That plan only cost about $1.5 billion, and the money was spent on such things as buying buffers of natural landscape around reservoirs to act as filters, and negotiating agreements with upstate cities and towns to limit development in watershed areas. While using woodlands to clean the water made economic sense on its own, maintaining tracts of native forest provided many additional ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, recreation, and carbon dioxide absorption.

Deforestation anywhere can cause many problems for our water supply. Where freshwater once fell as rain (and was filtered by the forest and slowly released) there are now farm fields, lawns, and parking lots that pour polluted sediment into our streams and rivers. In fact, research shows that river basins with the greatest amount of farmland produce the most pollution-laden sediment, while river valleys with the most forest coverage produce the least. Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertilizers and poultry waste increase the proliferation of bacteria that, in turn, consume the oxygen dissolved in the water.

Deforestation along rivers and streams means that there are no woodlands to hold back the water, and so a faster flow is given to more water. Faster-flowing streams reduce the number and array of ecosystem services a waterway can provide. Broad streams with wooded banks flow more slowly than those without streamside forests, allowing more time for contaminants to settle out and be taken up by nearby trees and neutralized by microbes.

Re-forestation can help reverse these kinds of problems. In fact, trees could be used to remedy a lot of modern-day water pollution problems, including some of the worst kinds of human-created chemical waste, such as dioxin, ammonia, dry cleaning solvent, oil and gas spills, PCBs and other industrial waste. The trees take up waterborne toxic waste and then neutralize, metabolize, and/or vaporize it.

Hybrid poplar trees (Genus:
Populous) like those shown being
farmed in this photograph are often used
for phytoremediation. Phytoremediation
addresses environmental issues
through the use of plants capable
of mitigating pollution without
the need to excavate contaminated
material. Credit: National Renewable
Energy Laboratory.

Poplar and willow trees seem to be the most effective choices for scrubbing the runoff that washes into rivers and streams when rain falls across urban and rural landscapes. We have a problem in our cities and suburbs where pavement, driveways, and other impervious surfaces collect oil, lawn chemicals, pet waste, and industrial waste that subsequently washes into waterways during every rainfall event. Stormwater and sewage leaking from aged and broken sewer lines also carry viruses, bacteria, and protozoa capable of contaminating and killing shellfish, fish, and other aquatic life.

Because this runoff water comes from wide-ranging sources, it is difficult to capture and treat in a sewage plant. We cannot catch all of that stormwater and treat it conventionally ---- it would be too expensive. Perhaps the best way to get our streams and rivers cleaned up is to "tree-farm" our way out of the problem. Strategically placed in drainage areas where tainted water collects, willow and poplar trees could work their root zone magic and make very effective water filters.

There are many advocates in favor of "clear cutting" trees to make way for new houses and sports fields, but where are the advocates for our trees? Where are those who stand up in favor of keeping our trees, especially in situations where they really are needed? In the future, perhaps we should better understand and support the important role that trees play along our streams and rivers.

Home & Garden Tour Celebrates Beautiful, Unique Homes Around NJ’s Great Swamp

Home & Garden Tour Celebrates Beautiful, Unique Homes Around NJ’s Great Swamp.

Credit: istockphoto.com.dpproductions

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is pleased to announce its inaugural Home & Garden Tour on Wednesday, May 28.

This new tour features an assortment of eight classically beautiful homes, impressive gardens, and interesting eco-friendly features located in and around the 55-square-mile Great Swamp Watershed region. New Jersey municipalities represented include the Town of Morristown, Madison Borough, Chatham Township, Long Hill Township, Bernards Township, Harding Township, and Morris Township.

"The organizing committee has identified some truly wonderful homes and properties for this tour," said local realtor and GSWA Trustee Lois Olmstead. "I think everyone who participates will be inspired by the variety on offer."

All participants will begin the tour by checking in with GSWA between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the Madison Public Library, 39 Keep Street, Madison, NJ. Tour maps and instructions will be made available at this location only. All tour homes will close promptly at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased in advance for $50/person by visiting GSWA online at GreatSwamp.org or by calling (973) 538-3500 x22. Tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the event for the full price of $60/person. Proceeds will benefit all of GSWA’s local environmental education, stewardship, and advocacy programming.

“It’s been a real pleasure working with all of the generous homeowners participating in our inaugural Home and Garden Tour,” said GSWA Executive Director Sally Rubin. “They are all genuinely nice people who want to share their ideas and create an exceptional tour experience for everyone.”

With spring in full swing, this tour offers the perfect opportunity for would-be gardeners and decorators to find new inspiration and ideas for their own homes.

Want to help? Click here to download and print a Home & Garden Tour flyer to share with your friends, family, and neighbors.

Municipal Cooperation, Information Sharing Focus of New Municipal Alliance

 Great Swamp Upper Passaic Municipal Alliance helps local governments work together on environment, planning, zoning, and other common interests.

On Wednesday, April 16, the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) convened the first meeting of a new municipal advisory group known as the Great Swamp Upper Passaic Municipal Alliance (GSUPMA).  The Alliance provides a voluntary, no-cost way for municipalities located along the upper reaches of the Passaic River and around New Jersey’s Great Swamp to coordinate efforts leading to local environmental, planning, and zoning improvements.

“We want the Alliance to provide a forum for holding a conversation among municipalities and their officials,” said GSWA Executive Director Sally Rubin, “Our communities face a lot of the same environmental and planning issues, and sometimes coordinating solutions together, on a regional basis, is going to be more effective and more economical.”

Representatives from ten New Jersey municipalities joined Rubin at the offices of The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in Morristown for a presentation by noted municipal planning consultant Frank Banisch.  Banisch, who is the founder and president of Flemington-based Banisch Associates, Inc., discussed the current demographic trends that are driving renewed interest in living in walkable, more-urban downtowns, and are resulting in high vacancy rates for New Jersey’s suburban office space.  These same trends are prompting many municipalities to re-examine old approaches town planning.

“We used to think that business as usual meant that we would always continue to prefer suburban places,” Banisch said, “but we were wrong.”  “Twenty-five percent of New Jersey’s suburban office space is no longer needed,” he continued, “and there is heightened demand for smaller, more affordable residences, often in more urban areas where jobs and amenities are easily accessed.”

While municipal land-use planning provided the kernel for discussion at the first meeting of the GSUPMA, other issues of shared concern among the participating municipalities will take center stage at future meetings.  Topics for upcoming meetings will include deer management policy and municipal options for reducing damage and speeding recovery from floods.  Alliance organizers also anticipate developing conversations around other important local issues such as wastewater and stormwater management, open space management, and the development of green infrastructure and improvements in low-impact development strategies.

“The Alliance offers municipalities an opportunity to get out in front of these issues and take advantage of the best opportunities,” said Frank Banisch.  “[Municipalities] have tremendous power in New Jersey,” he said, “and as soon as two of them work together to do something in the public interest—like when they engage in regional planning—they cannot be beaten.”

Area municipalities represented at the inaugural meeting of the GSUPMA included Bernards Township, Bernardsville Borough, Chatham Township, Harding Township, Long Hill Township, Mendham Borough, Morris Township, the Town of Newton, the Town of Morristown, and Washington Township.  Jay DeLaney, former Mayor of Morristown and a law partner at Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, was also among those in attendance.

“I was so excited to see this event in Morristown, which is a hot and exciting town in terms of development and zoning," said DeLaney, “It was wonderful to get people together from the various towns in the region to hear…Frank Banisch present the latest in NJ zoning trends, to share their common ideas and problems, and to discuss and work together on solutions for the region.”  “Events like this will make our region even a better place to live and work,” he said.

“I really look forward to doing this again,” said Sally Rubin.  “The questions and comments after Frank’s presentation really spoke to the need for a group like this,” she said, “and I think the information and expertise that was shared got a lot of people thinking about how their towns could benefit from some new perspectives and by cooperating with their neighbors.”

For more information about the Great Swamp Upper Passaic Municipal Alliance (GSUPMA) please visit the Great Swamp Watershed Association online at GreatSwamp.org or call the organization at (973) 538-3500.

A video recording of Frank Banisch’s presentation to the GSUPMA is available online at YouTube.com/GreatSwampWatershed.


----
For versions of this article that include statements from other meeting attendees, please visit http://greatswamp.org/PressReleases.htm.

Did You Know? A “Crystal Ball” For Trees ---- Where Are Our Trees Headed?

by Jim Northrop, GSWA Volunteer

In 1982, a large glass-and-steel dome called “Biosphere 2” was constructed, intended for the human colonization of Mars. It failed for that purpose, but it has been useful for studying planet Earth because it allows researchers to control variables and play out different scenarios in a way that can’t be done in the real world.

The University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 earth systems
research facility in Oracle, AZ. Credit:
flickr.com/photos/tim846 (Tim Bailey, CC Attribution)

In 2009, according to Jim Robbins, author of the 2012 book The Man Who Planted Trees, two researchers moved twenty mature pine trees, five to six feet tall, into the dome and split them into two groups of ten. One group was placed in a chamber where conditions were equal to what they are today, and the other group was placed in conditions some seven degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is now ---- roughly equal to the high end of the temperature rise scientists predict for the next century. Once the trees established themselves, researchers deprived both populations of water.

The human-induced drought killed the trees in the warmer chamber 28% faster than the trees in the chamber with normal temperatures. The conclusion of the researchers was that forest die-offs could increase by a factor of five if the climate warms seven degrees as predicted over the next century. Because droughts can kill trees faster when temperatures are warmer, they suggested that instead of one die-off in one hundred years, the number could increase by a factor of five! This is based on temperature increase alone. However, in addition to the effect of warmer temperatures on trees, we must consider the aggravating effect of warmer temperatures on disease and insects. In concert with water stress, disease and insects kill many more trees than drought alone.

Some scientists believe the earth is on track to see 20% of its tree species become extinct or be on their way to extinction by the end of the century. These scientists see droughts, heat waves, and forest fires of unprecedented ferocity, rapidly rising sea levels, and more storms with hurricane-force winds. While there have been mass extinctions before in the earth’s history, scientists say this one is different from the others. It is brought on largely by humans through their disturbance of the natural landscape, the introduction of exotic species of plants and animals, new pathogens (such as increased carbon pollution), and unsustainable exploitation of plant and animal species.

A view of trees damaged by black mountain beetles
(Dendroctonus ponderosae) in the Black Hills National
Forest in South Dakota. Credit: flickr.com (Chris M. Morris
CC Attribution).

To be more specific, giant forest die-offs have already begun in the Rocky Mountain West. In the last half century, the two-degree temperature rise that has occurred in the West has already begun to turn ecosystems inside out, and the anomalous behavior of insects is one of those changes. With only a small increase in normal temperature, tiny black mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) now constantly fly from May until October, instead of a mere two weeks each year. They are attacking trees, burrowing in, and laying their eggs for fully half the year. There is evidence that the beetles are now attacking immature trees, and that they are switching to other tree species. In some high places where the beetles had a two-year life cycle because of cold temperatures, it has changed to a one-year cycle. This means that their populations can increase more rapidly during warm droughts when their host trees are most stressed, resulting in more beetles doing a lot more damage.

A dying forest is problem enough, but when large landscapes die they become contributors to a warming climate, a cycle called a “positive feedback loop.”  One of the most important things forests do for life on the planet is to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as plant tissue. Trees contain half of our terrestrial carbon stores, more than any other single source on land. Without forests, more carbon dioxide would remain in the atmosphere, causing more warming. When forests die or are cut down, they release their stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; in fact, such events are said to comprise 20% of annual carbon emissions.

While we cannot cure global warming, we may be able to slow it down. Understanding the causes and seeing whether we can adapt better to the effects is worth thinking about today as we face this inevitable change in nature.

Treasures In Your Backyard: Celebrating Harding Township’s Natural and Historical Riches

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is combining efforts with Kemmerer Library Harding Township (KLHT) throughout the month of April to highlight the Township’s natural and historical treasures.  Several programs for children and adults are planned to educate members of the public about Harding’s unique environment and its rich history. Township residents will also have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in a discounted well water testing program.

April’s activities get an early start on March 30 when the Harding Township Treasure Hunt begins. Don your fedora, summon your inner gumshoe, and then head to KLHT between 4PM and 5PM to pick up your special Harding Township treasure hunter’s kit. All participants will have two weeks to scour the landscape in search of answers to several town-specific brainteasers. Budding sleuths can solve these mysteries at their own pace, but the ultimate goal of the hunt is to learn more about the environment, history, and culture of Harding Township.

“We hope this fun adventure will engage families in discovering our Township’s rich history and environmental riches,” says Lotte Newlin, Director of KLHT.

The Harding Township Treasure Hunt will conclude on Friday, April 11, with a special prize award event at KLHT starting at 4PM. All scavenger hunt participants are encouraged to attend and share results.

One week after the treasure hunt, on Saturday, April 19, KLHT and GSWA will hold two workshops about native plants and native wildlife in Harding Township. One workshop will be geared toward adult participation and the other will be for children and their parents. From 10AM to noon at KLHT, GSWA’s Director of Education and Outreach Hazel England will present Wildlife “Berried” Treasures, a program that teaches adults how to use native plants to attract beneficial wildlife into their back yards. Participants will leave the workshop armed with a trove of information about what they need to plant in order to support local bird, bee, and butterfly populations. From noon to approximately 2PM, KLHT and GSWA will offer a special hands-on bird and bee box building workshop for children and their parents. Each child/parent team will create their very own bird or bee box that they can take home and use at the end of the event.

On April 26, from 9AM to noon, local volunteers are needed to assist with a special clean-up of all the natural treasures at Harding Township’s Bayne Park. Under the direction of GSWA’s Director of Water Quality Programs Laura Kelm, participants will tend shrubs and native grasses that were planted around the perimeter Bayne Pond in 2011 in an effort to reduce pollution from stormwater runoff. Following the clean-up activities all volunteers are invited to attend a free luncheon across the street at KLHT.

As all of these special events progress, KLHT and GSWA plan to spotlight another one of Harding Township’s most important natural treasures—its precious water supply. Unlike many other New Jersey municipalities, Harding Township relies on private wells for its water. For many years, residents have taken advantage of a free well water test for E. coli bacteria offered by the local health department. This year, and only during the month of April, residents will be able purchase an expanded water test offered through GSWA at a discounted rate. The GSWA test not only detects the presence or absence of E. coli, it also measures the level of several other important indicators of water purity, including nitrates, pH (acidity), iron, arsenic, and lead. 

Harding Township homeowners who are interested in taking advantage of the new well testing program may register with KLHT or GSWA between March 30 and April 22. All participants will be required to make a $10 deposit and pick up a self-guided water sampling kit when they register. Participants must use the supplied kit to sample well water at their home on the morning of Wednesday, April 23. All samples must be returned to KLHT between 8AM and noon the same day. (Note: Water samples that do not follow specific timetable instructions may not return reliable test results.) Homeowners may customize their well test by choosing specific testing parameters from a prepared list at time of registration. The cost for a basic, multi-parameter test will not exceed $110. Test add-ons may be purchased for an additional charge.

GSWA will collect all water samples from KLHT on April 23 and send them to Garden State Laboratories, Inc. in Hillside, NJ, for testing. Following the testing period, GSWA will mail final results to individual homeowners.

“We hope this initiative will enable Harding homeowners to learn valuable insights about the quality of their drinking water,” says Hazel England, director of education and outreach at GSWA. 

To register for any of these programs, or to receive additional details, please contact KLHT or GSWA.

Find KLHT online at HardingLibrary.org or call (973) 267-2665.  KLHT is located at 19 Blue Mill Road in New Vernon, NJ.

Find GSWA online at GreatSwamp.org or call (973) 538-3500 x22.  GSWA is located at 568 Tempe Wick Road in Morristown, NJ.

New Jersey’s Great Swamp, Passaic River Focus of Upcoming Talks

Dr. Lee Pollock points to a number of
macroinvertebrate animals clinging to the
underside of a river rock. May 2010. Dr.
Pollock will present findings from his 2013
macroinvertebrate analysis of Great Swamp
streams at GSWA's Breakfast Briefing event
on May 20, 2014. Credit: Great Swamp
Watershed Association.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is pleased to announce the schedule of appearances and topics for its Spring 2014 Breakfast Briefing Speakers Series.

GSWA created the Breakfast Briefing Series to help area residents stay informed about important environmental issues affecting their lives. Briefings take place early in the morning in order to minimize overlap with most traditional business hours. Presentations are kept brief; and coffee, tea, and a continental breakfast are always served free of charge. Unless noted otherwise, all briefings take place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at GSWA’s headquarters located at 568 Tempe Wick Road in Morristown, NJ.

Support for GSWA’s Spring 2014 Breakfast Briefing Series comes from Investors Bank of Madison, located at 16 Waverly Place in Madison, NJ.

On Tuesday, March 11, Peter Coviello, of the Madison-based landscaping firm Coviello Brothers Horticultural Services, offers home owners some tips for growing a healthy and environmentally friendly lawn this spring. Drawing on his family’s 40 years of experience in the landscaping business, Peter will show how careful decision making about landscaping technique, lawn care products, and irrigation can build turf that is beautiful, easy and inexpensive to maintain, and less damaging to nearby rivers, lakes, and streams. An extensive discussion session will follow the presentation, so participants are encouraged to come prepared with their own questions about lawn care.

On Tuesday, April 8, David Kluesner, team leader for community affairs for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2, will discuss his organization’s work on a plan to clean up the last eight miles of the Lower Passaic River. Sediments found along this stretch of river are contaminated with PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, mercury, and other hazardous substances that pose a serious threat to public health and wildlife populations. As EPA develops its plan, the agency will need to effectively address several important issues concerning urban water degradation, environmental justice, and legal compliance. This presentation will outline some of these issues; as well the important role community involvement will play in shaping EPA’s final decision making on cleanup activities along the Lower Passaic.

On Tuesday, May 20, Dr. Leland Pollock, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Drew University, will discuss findings from his 2013 study of bugs, worms, mollusks, and other small spineless creatures living in New Jersey’s Great Swamp Watershed region. Collectively referred to as macroinvertebrates, scientists observe changes in the populations of these aquatic creatures in order to measure the relative health and cleanliness of rivers, lakes, and streams. Dr. Pollock has studied macroinvertebrate wildlife in the streams of the Great Swamp for many years, and both the Great Swamp Watershed Association and the former Ten Towns Great Swamp Watershed Management Committee have used his data to inform short- and long-term environmental decision making. Conducted seven months following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, this year’s study conclusions may offer some interesting insights on the long-term environmental impact of that storm.

Please note that this presentation is offered free of charge to all and will take place at Kemmerer Library, located at 19 Blue Mill Road in New Vernon, New Jersey.  Kemmerer Library is in no way responsible for the content or views presented during this event.

On Tuesday, June 10, Tom Suro, an hydrologist and surface water specialist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) New Jersey Water Science Center, will discuss his work on a pilot project designed to map inland flooding along the Passaic River Basin.  This presentation will offer important information about flooding and flood dynamics for all New Jersey residents living along the western and northern reaches of the Passaic River and its tributary streams.

For driving directions and additional details about each event, please visit GSWA at GreatSwamp.org.

Voluntary donations to GSWA are sincerely appreciated. If you are not a GSWA member, please consider making a donation of $10 per adult at the time of your registration. (Suggested donation amounts for non-member children and family groups are available online.)

Seating is limited, so advanced registration is strongly recommended. To register or receive additional information, please visit GreatSwamp.org or call (973) 538-3500 x22.

Great Swamp Advocacy Update - Feb. 2014

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is closely monitoring new proposals for land development currently under review by the planning boards in Long Hill Township and Bernardsville Borough.

Long Hill Township

In Long Hill, Restore Meyersville LLC has submitted an application to build a new indoor volleyball facility on property located at 596 Meyersville Road near the Meyersville traffic circle. The property, which once housed a business known as Archie's Resale, stands adjacent to a portion of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.  GSWA has participated in several planning board meetings, and questioned the applicant and his experts.  The site is contaminated with asbestos and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  Under the proposed development plan, these pollutants will be cleaned up under the oversight of a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP).  The same plan will reduce the amount of impervious surface coverage at the site by almost 10%.  In turn, this may lead to a reduction in the amount of stormwater runoff flowing away from the property which will benefit the local environment.

Bernardsville Borough

Proposed site for new TD Bank building off Morristown
Road in Bernardsville, NJ. Credit: S. Reynolds

In Bernardsville, TD Bank has filed a proposal and requested variances to construct a new bank building, drive-thru lanes, and a parking area on vacant land along Morristown Road (U.S. Route 202) between Weichert Realtors and the retail shops at Bernardsville Centre.  (The planning board has not yet determined that the application is complete.)

Nearby Penns Brook has already suffered serious damage as a result of the stormwater runoff emanating from existing building complexes in the area.  Erosion along the brook is extensive.  Water testing reveals unusually high nitrate levels.  Road salt is routinely detected at levels in excess of state water quality standards.

As proposals for new construction along this stretch of Morristown Road have proliferated, GSWA has stepped in repeatedly to represent environmental interests and protect Penns Brook from additional harm.

In 2006, the organization cited concerns over increased stormwater runoff and erosion in its opposition to Weichert Realtors’ plan to construct a new building next to its existing 62 Morristown Road location.  (This construction project was proposed for the same site now under consideration by TD Bank.)

GSWA actively participated in the application for expansion of Bernardsville Centre to ensure appropriate stormwater controls.  GSWA stepped in once again in 2012 when Chase Bank sought to build a new facility immediately south of 62 Morristown Road.  In this case, the organization successfully argued in favor of amending Chase’s original development plan to include stricter stormwater controls.

Construction is currently underway at the Chase Bank
site off of Morristown Road in Bernardsville, NJ.
Credit: S. Reynolds

Slope disturbances at the Chase Bank site have been extreme.  The precipitous embankment that has been created has exposed several soil layers to the elements (see photos).  Although a retaining wall is being constructed, this wall will not be as effective as a stabilized natural slope.

Should TD Bank’s new proposal proceed, more of the same slope is likely to disappear.  And, yet another stand of mature, soil-stabilizing vegetation will disappear along with it.  Without question, the addition of another building and another parking lot will add even more to the impervious surface cover in this already-crowded Morristown Road corridor.

We already know that erosion and stormwater pollution have taken their toll on Penns Brook.  With new construction projects proliferating in the area--first at the Chase site and now at the proposed TD site--Penns Brook’s future must be weighed carefully against the upsides of further development.  And while development may be inevitable, GSWA will vigilantly advocate for it to be appropriate in size, scope, and environmental protections.

Did You Know? Unsung Masters of Flight

by Jim Northrop, GSWA Volunteer

Geese in flight over NJ. Credit: Ann Campbell.

The other day I was walking in a local parking lot, when I heard a persistent honking in the sky. It was getting louder and louder. When I looked skyward, I saw a flight of large birds ---- perhaps 50 or 75 of them, passing overhead. What was most striking was not their quantity, but that they were arranged in a loose “V” formation. “Ah, Canada geese,” I said to myself.

Later, I was thinking about the beauty of that formation of Canada geese. I wondered why we normally see them flying in a “V” formation, so I decided to do a little research. Let me share with you what I learned.

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) species is native to North America. It breeds in Canada and in the northern United States in a variety of habitats. Annually, the geese migrate south from Canada and the Great Lakes region, for the winter. In the spring, they return north. These annual migrations require them to be able to fly great distances.

The flight in “V” formation has been studied by various researchers. It appears that birds take turns in the lead position of the “V,” since flying in front consumes the most energy. Meanwhile, all the other birds in formation will position themselves in spots that are aerodynamically optimal ---- spots where they can take advantage of the swirls of upward moving air generated by the wing beats of the bird ahead.

Those swirls are very important. As each goose flaps to generate lift, small “whirlpools” of air rise to the right and to the left of the animal. By following one another the right way and timing their wing beats perfectly, each goose can ride the “whirlpools” created by the animal immediately in front of it. The result is a reduction in the amount of energy each bird must expend to gain lift in flight. Unfortunately, the lead bird gets no such lift advantage! And, if one bird happens to get a little too close or a little too far from the bird it is following, it instantly adjusts its wing beats to compensate. The same re-adjustment occurs when a goose chooses to change its position within the “V.”

Formation of Canada Geese.
Credit: flickr.com/donjd2 (Don DeBold)

How do the birds know to fly in these optimal spots? Researchers say that geese may have evolved “rules of thumb” for flying, or that they have “good sensors” and merely adjust to find spots that feel good. The up-wash of air that helps each bird support its own weight in flight, follows the same principles glider aircraft use to climb or maintain height indefinitely in rising air. Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone. Very quickly, it returns to the formation to take advantage of the lifting power supplied by the other birds.

Anecdotally, it is said that when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshot, two other geese will fall out of the “V” formation, follow the injured bird to the ground, and protect it from further harm. The guardians stay put until the ailing bird is able to fly again, or until their compatriot is dead. Eventually, if the trio returns to the air, they launch out in their own formation or join another flock until they catch up with their own group. This entire scenario may be a myth, but it is a lovely thought.

Researchers apparently have not attempted to calculate the energy a bird might save by flying in a “V” formation, but estimates range from a 30% energy savings to a savings of more than 70%. On long migration flights, Canada geese typically fly at about 40 mph. These noisy groups honk their way along established paths that include designated “rest stops.” Being social birds, they remain in flocks year round, except while nesting.

Scientists do not know how geese in flight find the aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect that the birds align themselves either by sight or by sensing air currents through their feathers. Alternatively, they may move around until they find the location with the least resistance. Other questions wait for future research. For instance, how do the geese decide who sets the course and the pace? Can a mistake made by the lead goose ripple through the rest of the flock and cause traffic jams? Whatever future research may tell us, we know already that Canada geese are very effective, amazing birds.

Buy Gifts That Give Back!

Courtesy of the Back to Nature Fund.

Looking for a last minute gift idea that also does some good for the environment and your community? Look no further!

Help feed our feathered friends this winter and support Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA)—with Living Ornaments from Back to Nature.

Visit Back to Nature Home and Garden at 3055 Valley Road in Basking Ridge, purchase some handmade seed ornaments, and request that GSWA receive credit for your purchase.

There are four styles to choose from—snowflake, holiday tree, star, and candy cane—and each one was created by a Back to Nature staff member.

100% of each $5 ornament purchase will benefit Great Swamp Watershed Association.

Stop by soon to buy several to deck your trees!

Click here to download a flyer for this promotion.

-----

Need another reason to shop at Back to Nature in Basking Ridge?

Here's a good one!

Members of the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) receive 10% off all purchases made in the store, online, or through BTN's Landscape & Construction Services.

...AND...

Every time you buy from BTN using the promo code below, GSWA receives a donation equal to 5.5% of the price of your purchase.

All you need to do to take advantage of the discount and the donation is mention the promo code GREATSWAMP10 when you are checking out or making payment. It's that easy!

So remember to visit Back To Nature Home and Garden at 3055 Valley Road in Basking Ridge today! You also can visit the online store at www.backtonature.net or call BTN at (908) 350-7506.

Let's get Back to Nature...
With our selection of locally sourced plants and organic materials, you'll find everything needed for gardening success. Our store hosts an array of artisanal gifts including pottery, woodwork, organic soaps and local honey.

This program is sponsored by CRI.

Did You Know? Living With Wildlife: The Coyote

Coyote pounce. Credit flickr.com/JustinJensen

by Jim Northrop, GSWA Volunteer

YES, there are coyotes (Canis latrans) living in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge!  Members of the Refuge staff have seen and heard them a number of times.  And, you know if they live in the Refuge, you can be sure that they live throughout the rest of the Great Swamp Watershed region too.

At first glance, the coyote resembles a small German shepherd dog, yet its color can vary from animal to animal.  Shades include black, brown, gray, yellow, rust, and tan.  They have shorter, bushier tales than their dog cousins that they carry low—almost dragging on the ground.  Coyotes also have longer, narrower muzzles than dogs.

Most of us have a very negative image of this spectacular animal.  In popular culture, coyotes are portrayed as villains, dastardly outlaws, thieves, and all-around scoundrels.  Just think about the impression you have of Wile E. Coyote—you know, the creature that remains in constant pursuit of the Road Runner in Warner Brothers “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” cartoon.  The long rap sheet of offenses we humans have pinned on the coyote could not be farther from the truth of their real lives.

Meet the Real Coyote

Canis latrans. Credit: flickr.com/~Shanth

Coyotes remain one of the world’s most successful mammals.  They have been shot at, poisoned, trapped, and otherwise besieged over generations.  Still, their cunning and intelligence have allowed them to thrive.  Coyote behavior often defies generalization, so here are a few intriguing things to carefully consider about these “adaptable predators.”

Although they are descended from wolves, coyotes demonstrate some unwolflike behavior.  They do not form highly structured packs, but prefer to live in loose confederations that vary with habitat conditions and food supply.  They also are less territorial.  And, while members of both species mate for life, coyote couples may choose to live together or live separately depending upon prevailing conditions.  This tendency toward social flexibility has earned the coyote a reputation for individuality that is uncommon in the animal kingdom.

The coyote’s flexibility also extends to its eating habits.  These opportunistic predators are true omnivores, and are as content hunting rodents, lizards, or rabbits, as they are scavenging carrion, insects, or berries.  As a result, they are just as capable of making a living in urban and suburban settings as they are in rural or wilderness areas.  This habit for ranging far and wide in search of food is often what brings coyotes into contact with humans.

Some wildlife experts estimate that the coyote has quadrupled its range throughout North America in recent decades.  And, many now speak of the animal’s “urbanization”, as more and more individuals are found hanging about office parks, housing sub-divisions, and shopping malls.  In fact, a pair of coyotes was spotted in New York City’s Central Park in 1985.  That is saying a lot when you consider the lengths to which people have gone to limit or eradicate an animal many consider a nuisance and threat to human health.

So what is the secret to the coyote’s success? Maybe it is the fact that you are more likely to hear a coyote than you are to see one.  These are animals that are shy by nature, and prefer to avoid confrontations with people.  Maybe it is the fact that coyotes reproduce more rapidly and in great numbers when under threat.  Where hunting is prevalent, coyotes are known to mate more often and have larger litters of anywhere between six and twelve pups on average.  Maybe it is the fact that coyotes are always on the move.  They can easily wander 25 miles in 24 hours.  Maybe it is the fact that the coyote’s natural predators—wolves and mountain lions—have been declining toward extinction. Or, perhaps we need to consider all of these factors together before we can attempt to construct a more accurate picture of the coyote we know today.

While many of us continue to regard coyotes as a threat to our lives and livelihoods, it is important to remember that we are the ones responsible for forcing more and more contact between our species.  Human sprawl destroys more and more coyote habitat every day.  And, our habits--particularly our methods of waste disposal--make us an easy and dependable source of food in once-wild areas where food has become scarce. 

So, if we want less contact between ourselves and coyotes, what do we do? Do we continue the failed tradition of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on eradication programs?  Or, do we follow the coyote’s example and use our own wariness and flexibility to master the art of peaceful coexistence?

If you are in favor of at least experimenting with the idea of adapting to the presence of coyotes, here are some tips and tricks you can use for maintaining a peaceful coexistence.

Some Ways To Coyote-Proof Your Environment

While coyotes are shy, they also are constantly on the lookout for food.  Here are some ways to further avoid contact:

• Coyotes are attracted to food scraps in garbage.  Dispose of trash in a metal can.  Make sure the lid fits tightly.  Secure the lid with a bungee cord or chain.
• Coyotes infrequently prey on domestic animals, such as cats and small dogs.  However, they may be attracted to areas where there are free-roaming pets.  To prevent potential conflicts, keep small pets indoors, especially in the hours between dusk and dawn.  Also, if you must feed your pet outdoors, pick up food and water bowls (as well as leftovers and spilled food) as soon as your pet has finished eating.
• Do not put out feed or water for coyotes or other animals that are prey for coyotes (such as rabbits, deer, squirrels or chipmunks).  It’s really just asking for trouble.
• Construct and position bird feeders so that coyotes and their prey (squirrels and rodents) cannot get to the feed.
• Walk your dog on a leash and accompany your pet outside, especially at night.
• If you must keep coyotes out of fenced land, make sure your solid wood fence is at least six feet high.
• If you must keep coyotes out of unfenced land, reduce the number of brush piles, areas of low-growing vegetation, or other possible shelter sites.
• Because coyotes like to eat fruit, keep fruit trees fenced, or pick up fruit that falls to the ground.

What Should I Do If I See A Coyote?

What should you do if you encounter a coyote and you want it to leave? Here are some tips:

• Don’t run from the animal, but be as big, mean, and loud as you possibly can be.
• Shout or yell at the animal.
• Make other loud noises by clapping your hands, blowing a whistle, knocking two boards together or by using a car horn, air horn, or other noise-making device.
• Wave your arms.
• If necessary, throw rocks and sticks at the animal.

Taste Some Wine, Taste Some Water, Bring A Friend!

You're invited to GSWA's first Water ‘n’ Wine party!

Here’s the deal.

On Wednesday, December 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Great Swamp Watershed Association will present Water ‘n’ Wine, where we'll put your taste buds to the ultimate test. The party is free, but you must bring a friend!

For every friend you bring, an anonymous donor will contribute $25 to GSWA!

If your friend becomes a member on December 4, the same donor will contribute another $25!

More About the Event

Party-goers are invited to taste test a variety of waters, including local, bottled, and city varieties. All those who partake will cast a vote for their favorite and find out which water is voted "Best-tasting."

In addition to water tasting, attendees will enjoy an informal wine tasting and delicious hors d’oeuvres. GSWA’s Director of Education and Outreach, Hazel England, also will entertain guests with a fun game! Prizes will be awarded!

All the festivities will take place at GSWA's headquarters located at 568 Tempe Wick Road in Morristown, New Jersey. Map it!

Please register by emailing drice@greatswamp.org or by calling 973-538-3500 x22.

Meet GSWA in Madison on November 21

GSWA Meet & Greet

On November 21, come to Madison, NJ, and meet members of the staff and the Board of Trustees from the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA).

We will be holding an Meet & Greet event at Investors Bank, located at 16 Waverly Place in Madison, between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. No registration is required.

Come have some refreshments and hear about all of the environmental work we have been doing on your behalf. We'll also let you know about some exciting new opportunities to become involved in our organization.

Are you an Investors customer? Thinking about becoming one? Well, November 21 is also an excellent opportunity to find out more about how this bank is supporting us, and how you can make that support grow.

Protect New Jersey's Great Swamp, While You Protect Your Savings

We will be announcing our a new partnership with Investors Bank and its Care2Share Affinity Program.

Care2Share allows you to link your personal deposit account at Investors to GSWA. On a regular basis, Investors will look at the number of accounts linked to us, calculate the average balance in those accounts, and make a donation to us equal to a percentage of that average balance. It doesn't cost you a cent, and one of your favorite charities benefits!

Come to the November 21 Meet & Greet to get all of the details in person, or give GSWA a call at (973) 538-3500 for more information. You'll also find some supporting materials available through our website at http://www.greatswamp.org/PDFs/InvestorsCare2Share.pdf (PDF).

Hope you can join us!

Did You Know: What Brings Fall Colors to Our Trees?

by Ann Campbell, Jim Northrop, & Steve Reynolds

Fall colors on display at Bayne Park in Harding Township, NJ.

Like most other plants, trees rely on a biological process called photosynthesis to manufacture the nutrients they need to survive. Photosynthesis works by using light from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into the food compounds—sugars and other carbohydrates—necessary for growth and renewal. Since most of a tree’s photosynthesis takes place in the leaves, it is little wonder that those beautiful, ornately-veined structures have evolved to expose as much surface area as possible to incoming sunlight.

But what is it within each leaf that interacts with sunlight? And what is it we see in autumn when leaves turn from green to red or gold, purple or orange? The answer is pigment.

Trees leaves contain several pigments. All of them are important to the function of photosynthesis, but each one plays a slightly different role. Most of us already know about chlorophyll. It’s the green stuff found in plant cell bodies known as chloroplasts. Chlorophyll does all the heavy lifting of photosynthesis, and it’s the reason why leaves appear green to us for much of the year.

Yellow and brown shades from
carotenoid pigment dominate in these
fall maple leaves.

Less familiar may be the yellow, orange, and brown carotenoid pigments that leaves possess. Like chlorophyll, carotenoids are found inside the chloroplasts, and they absorb sunlight. But instead of using that light energy to produce food, they usually just pass it along to other part of the leaf. Carotenoids are very good at preventing damage from solar radiation. So, in a sense, they behave a lot like sunscreen for chlorophyll, which is a somewhat unstable compound and easily damaged by exposure to too much light.

Red, purple, and blue pigments known as anthrocyanins also feature in the composition of leaf tissue, although they accumulate outside of the chloroplasts in the sap. These compounds excel at absorbing high-energy light waves, especially those found in the blue-green and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum. This means that anthrocyanins are even better than the carotenoids at being “leaf sunscreen." It also means that they are found in greatest quantity when days are sunny and long.

All three pigments—chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthrocyanins—are present inside of a leaf at any given time. Most trees would be hard pressed to survive, let alone mature and grow, if they entirely lacked any one of them. Still, this seems contrary to the human experience of autumn when the passing of one season into another is marked by a change in foliage color.

The truth is that autumn’s fireworks display—as well as the other, subtler color shifts one sees in leaves—has everything to do with how much of each pigments is present at any one moment. For instance, in early spring when new leaves are unfurling, concentrations of chlorophyll are still ramping up, while the carotenoids are already hard at work hard protecting tender new tissue from the sun. The result is a leaf that is lighter green, even yellowish, in hue.

As spring gives way summer, lush greens prevail in the forest. This is when trees are working overtime to produce and replace chlorophyll at an almost-alarming rate. They are so committed to overproducing the green stuff that all of the other colors gifted by carotenoids and anthrocyanins completely disappear. This is an important point to note. Those deep emerald hues of high summer not only reflect a tree’s need to synthesize food for growth and maturation, they also indicate a steady build-up and conservation of energy aimed at shepherding the rest of the tree through the harsh temperatures and low-light conditions of the impending winter. After all, there will be no leaves to create food in just a few short months.

Colors from anthrocyanin pigments predominate in these
leaves found along the Passaic River.

As autumn dances in, it is the duration of daylight—rather than falling temperatures—that prompts a tree to change its outfit. Even so, rainfall and thermal variations affect the variety of colors it will choose to show. Because carotenoids are always present, you can count on yellows, golds, and browns in fall forest foliage just about every year. But those gorgeous red and purple anthrocyanins will only erupt when sugar levels in leaf sap are quite high. For that to happen, most of the growing season will need to have supplied lots of sunny days and plenty of moisture.

A lot of environmental variables and a lot of chemistry go into producing the annual parade of color everyone has come to expect from our forests. That said, all bets are off if Mother Nature pitches a curve ball like an early frost or a few strong autumn storms. Heavy rains or unseasonable snow will knock senescent leaves from their branches. Freezing temperatures will stop the production of vibrant anthrocyanins dead in its tracks. Droughts too can stress trees, which, in turn, may prompt the shedding of leaves before any color develops at all.

What is the lesson then? Autumn passes quickly and it may not be so glorious next year. Enjoy the fall you have right now, and enjoy it while you can!

Cleanup Begins on the Lower Passaic: Summary and Opinion

Workers use a specialized environmental dredging bucket to
remove contaminated sediment from the RM 10.9 portion
of the Passaic River. Sediment is transported to a facility in
Kearny, NJ, for processing before it is moved by rail to a
landfill in Oklahoma. Courtesy of Lower Passaic River
Study Area Cooperating Parties Group.

In July, after many years of study and debate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began oversight of a $20 million dredge-and-cap project along the Lower Passaic River in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The work will remove approximately 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a short stretch of river adjacent to Riverside County Park. On August 7, GSWA Executive Director Sally Rubin attended a press conference intended to mark the start of dredging and introduce the project timeline to media representatives and the general public.

A long legacy of industrial pollution has rendered the Lower Passaic unswimmable, unfishable, and unlivable by most standards. In fact, in 1984, the overwhelming presence of hazardous substances in and below the water led the EPA to list 17 miles of the
river—from Dundee Dam near Garfield to Newark Bay—as part of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site.

The site takes its name from the now-defunct Diamond Shamrock Chemical Company (aka Diamond Alkali). As a major manufacturer of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange in the 1950s and 1960s, the corporation’s old Lister Avenue plant is now understood to be the predominant source of PCBs, dioxin, mercury, and other toxins afflicting the Lower Passaic.

For decades, cleanup of the contaminated river bottom has been mired down by innumerable feasibility and impact studies conducted by federal and state government agencies; as well as an unremitting, seven-year lawsuit. Filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the suit sought damages against 70 corporations deemed responsible for causing the pollution. Most of those corporations, including the oft-mentioned Occidental Chemical Corporation, are successors to the original Diamond Shamrock concern which was broken up, sold, and resold over the course of many years.

With the majority of impact studies concluded or wrapping up and the NJDEP lawsuit settled for $130 million in the state’s favor this past June, remediation is finally starting.

The project now underway at River Mile 10.9—RM 10.9 in common parlance—was not designed to address all 17 miles of the designated Superfund site. In truth, the intervention only covers a 5.6-acre area of severe contamination located offshore west of Riverside County Park. Nevertheless, Judith Enck, regional administrator for EPA Region 2, interprets activity at RM 10.9 as a positive sign of progress to come.

In a prepared statement released at the August 7 press conference Enck stated, “This cleanup removes some of the worst contamination in the Passaic River while the EPA continues to develop long-term cleanup plans for a 17-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River...” An NJ.com report from the same event portrayed the Administrator’s hopeful outlook: “When you clean up urban waterways, people flock to the river,” Enck said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for recreation and economic growth.”

The Lower Passaic River Study Area Cooperating Parties Group (CPG) recently released a statement announcing a timeline for work at RM 10.9. Equipment barges were to move into the vicinity of Riverside Park by the end of July, and dredging was to be completed by the end of September. However, a number of drawbridge failures along the downstream river corridor delayed the initial staging. Assuming the project recovers lost time, site capping—which involves the placement of an engineered stone barrier over the area of sediment removal—will begin in October and will conclude by December 31.

A diagram depicting the arrangement of silt curtains around
the RM 10.9 site. The curtains will work to prevent loose
contaminated sediment from flowing downstream and
further polluting other area of the river. Courtesy of Lower
Passaic River Study Area Cooperating Parties Group.

Work will be conducted entirely on the water, and is not expected to adversely affect park access, or the health and safety of nearby homes and businesses. However, a number of measures have been implemented in order to ensure the continuing safety and security of workers and residents. Those measures include the presence of an onsite security officer, a roving team of noise monitors, air-quality monitoring stations, and the installation of a floating silt curtain system in waters surrounding the site. The silt curtain, which extends several hundred yards downstream, is designed to prevent disturbed sediments from washing into other areas.

New Jersey will cover the $20 million price tag associated with RM 10.9 by dipping into the $130 million fund secured by NJDEP’s lawsuit. Although all of that settlement money has been earmarked for cleanup of the Lower Passaic, the Christie Administration—in a bid to balance the state budget—is pushing to reallocate at least $40 million of it into the state’s General Fund.

Speaking at the August 7 press conference, NJDEP Commissioner Bob Martin explained that the substantial reallocation would be used to pay back the state for earlier environmental investigations and intervention planning his agency conducted on the Lower Passaic. According to The Observer Online, Martin clarified his position stating that, “Before EPA got involved, the state did a lot of research to understand the magnitude of the problem with the river…”

NJDEP’s argument in favor of retroactive remuneration to the General Fund does not sit well with many. Congressman Bill Pascrell from New Jersey’s 9th District is one of those opposed to the idea. In a letter to Governor Christie dated August 6, 2013, he wrote, “….it is essential that all funding recovered from the responsible parties be put toward the remediation and environmental restoration of the Passaic River, and not diverted to alternate programs.”

Congressman Pascrell’s view echoes those of others throughout New Jersey who see the governor’s move as a scheme to pad the state’s budget at the expense of Passaic River communities. From this perspective, a clear distinction is made between the fuzzy logic of collecting a reimbursement for past exploratory exercises, and the inevitable need to pay the bills coming due for current, effective, shovel-in-the-ground remediation projects. For those who have waited much of their lives to see even a single concrete step taken toward river restoration, there is nothing to contest. Funds from NJDEP’s settlement must be used to alleviate the present threat and real pain of Passaic River pollution, and not redistributed under the pretense of refunding the government for work that has already been bought and paid for.

The poet and author Maya Angelou famously wrote that, "When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that grantor’s gift." The communities of the Great Swamp Watershed have put tremendous effort into ensuring that the water passing through their custody on its way to Newark Bay remains clean and accessible to all. It is a given that those efforts have not been entirely successful, neither have they been wholly altruistic. Nevertheless, the principle of Angelou’s statement stands. The Passaic River begins with fishable, swimmable, and livable water. There is no valid principle or reasoning available to deny or delay the same for those living beyond its headwaters.

As protectors and advocates for waters that eventually find their way into the Lower Passaic, the Great Swamp Watershed Association lauds the progress made with the initiation of the dredge-and-cap program at RM 10.9. We also encourage all parties involved to look forward, instead of dwelling on past travails. Maintain your established momentum and commit all available resources and earmarks to the continuation of viable, effectual environmental remediation and restoration. Action is the best and only way to stretch the gift of cleaner water from the Great Swamp all the way to Newark Bay. And the sooner it is done, the sooner all of us in New Jersey may profit from a swimmable, fishable, and livable Passaic River.