This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2017) |
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge | |
---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Morris County, New Jersey, U.S. |
Nearest city | Morristown, New Jersey |
Coordinates | 40°42′30″N74°28′00″W / 40.70833°N 74.46667°W |
Area | 7,800 acres (32 km2) |
Established | 1960 |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge |
Designated | May 1966 |
The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1960, it is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System.
The first part of the Great Swamp that was assembled and donated for perpetual preservation by the park service of the federal government was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1966. [1] More land has been added several times. Its eastern half (3,660 acres (14.8 km2)) was designated as a wilderness area by Congress in 1968, [2] making it the first wilderness area within the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency within the United States Department of the Interior. Refuge lands lie within the townships of Chatham, Harding, and Long Hill.
The Great Swamp is the remnant of the bottom of the once-mighty Glacial Lake Passaic that approximately 15,000 to 11,000 years ago stretched across 30 by 10 miles (48 by 16 km) in what is presently northern New Jersey. The lake was formed by the melting waters of the retreating Wisconsin Glacier at the end of the last ice age. The glacier had pushed a moraine ahead of its advance, a rubble of soil and rocks that plugged the existing outlet for the waters that drained into the area of the watershed. As the retreating glacier melted, the waters rose to create the lake before a new outlet began to allow the water to exit at a much higher elevation. [2]
The plug altered the course of the Passaic River, which had drained a swamp that predated the lake. A range of mountains to the west of Morristown formed the western boundary of the new lake and the most easterly line of the Watchung Mountains became the eastern boundary. The tops of some of the Watchung range became islands in the great lake. Water that had vented through the Watchung range, or to its south, found a new path that altered the old drainage paths. When the plug collapsed, the river still was forced to travel north through the range before finding a new outlet near present-day Paterson where it could manage the eastern turn toward the sea.
Some ten thousand years ago, Amerindians arrived in the area and established settlements shortly after the retreat of the glacier, hunting, fishing, and farming. In 1614, Dutch colonists claimed part of the area as New Netherlands and they traded with the natives. Later, British settlers came, establishing dominion over what they called the Province of New Jersey.
The refuge includes about one-quarter of the Great Swamp 55-square-mile (140 km2) watershed that gives rise to the Passaic River. The watershed touches ten modern communities, many of which were settled by European colonists long before the American Revolution.
The land that would become the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established by an Act of Congress on November 3, 1960, after a multi-year legal battle that pitted local residents against Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials wishing to turn the Great Swamp into a major regional airport to supplement Newark Airport's ability to accommodate large jet aircraft. [3]
The Jersey Jetport Site Association was the first to form in opposition. Their efforts to prevent the development of an airport in the swamp became public knowledge on December 3, 1959, when four of its members (Kafi Benz, Joan Kelly, Esty Weiss, and Betty White) were expelled from a meeting at the Essex House in Newark that had been organized to generate support for its construction. [4] The JJSA activity was followed closely by an influential sister organization when (because of connections with Marcellus Hartley Dodge, Sr., a major donor to and participant in JJSA) the North American Wildlife Foundation established its Great Swamp Committee in 1960. [5] Between the two organizations and, in less than a year, enough property in the core of the swamp was quickly purchased, assembled, and donated to the federal government to qualify for perpetual protection as a National Wildlife Refuge. [6] As the representative from Arizona, Stewart Udall immediately championed the efforts of these residents, whom he described as having mounted the greatest effort ever made by residents in America to protect a natural habitat, and later, on May 29, 1964, as the Secretary of the Interior, he oversaw its dedication as a refuge. The initial donation was 2,600 acres (11 km2), which assured its protection as a refuge and the acquisition of additional lands continued. In 1960, Representative Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr., whose estate was in the area targeted for development also joined the effort. [7] [8] [9]
By the end of 2010, the extent of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge had grown to nearly 7,800 acres (32 km2) of varied habitats. It lies within the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion. [10] When the remainder of the area donated was dedicated on September 9, 1968, it was the first refuge to receive wilderness designation. [11]
The Great Swamp is a migration-resting and feeding area or a permanent habitat for more than 244 species of birds. The major routes of birds migrating along the eastern portion of the United States follow the corridor that includes the Great Swamp as an important stopping place for rest and nutrition.
Many species of birds reside permanently in the watershed. Deer, fish, fox, frogs, muskrat, raccoons, snakes, turtles, as well as many insects and a wide variety of wildflowers and plants call the refuge home. Some of the animals hunted by the prehistoric native inhabitants and colonists, such as bear and beaver, are encountered occasionally. Its role in draining the region and absorbing flood water for gradual release can be critical during extreme weather conditions. The refuge also plays an important role in improving water quality by acting as a natural ecological filter trapping sediments and contaminants.
Numerous nonprofit organizations have arisen from the communities within the Great Swamp watershed and work closely in partnership with the refuge. The Great Swamp Watershed Association, founded in 1981, works to protect the entire 55-square-mile (140 km2) watershed that surrounds the swamp. [12] Within the Great Swamp there also is a nonprofit bird-rehabilitation center founded in 1977, called The Raptor Trust, mainly specializing in birds of prey, such as eagles, hawks, and owls. Lord Stirling Park is part of the Somerset County Park System. The park is entered from the community of Stirling that is named after a military officer of the American Revolution who lived in the community, William Alexander. The park is located immediately adjacent to the southwestern boundary of the refuge on the west side of the Passaic River. The park offers excellent hiking facilities that include trails, boardwalks, observation blinds, and naturalist exhibits displayed in its park office that are related to the swamp and its wildlife.
The Morris County Park Commission manages parks in the vicinity of the NWR, including the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center. [13]
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about 30 mi (48 km) west of New York City. According to the 2020 census, the county was the state's tenth-most populous county, with a population of 509,285, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 17,009 (+3.5%) from the 2010 census count of 492,276, which in turn reflected an increase of 22,064 (+11.6%) from the 470,212 counted in the 2000 census, Morris County is part of the New York metropolitan area and is divided into 39 municipalities, with many commuter towns but no large cities. Its county seat is Morristown, in the southeast. The most populous place was Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, with 56,162 residents at the time of the 2020 census, while Rockaway Township covered 45.55 square miles (118.0 km2), the largest total area of any municipality. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.
Chatham Borough is a suburban borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,212, an increase of 250 (+2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,962, which in turn reflected an increase of 502 (+5.9%) from the 8,460 counted in the 2000 census.
Long Hill Township is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,629, a decrease of 73 (−0.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,702, which in turn reflected a decline of 75 (−0.9%) from the 8,777 counted in the 2000 census.
Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, through Rockaway Inlet, and is the westernmost of the coastal lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Politically, it is primarily divided between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, with a small part touching Nassau County.
The Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp, draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries.
Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago. The lake was formed of waters released by the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, which had pushed large quantities of earth and rock ahead of its advance, blocking the previous natural drainage of the ancestral Passaic River through a gap in the central Watchung Mountains. The lake persisted for several thousand years as melting ice and eroding moraine dams slowly drained the former lake basin. The effect of the lake's creation permanently altered the course of the Passaic River, forcing it to take a circuitous route through the northern Watchung Mountains before spilling out into the lower piedmont.
The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 and 500 feet high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native Lenape name for them, Wach Unks. In the 18th century, the Euro-American settlers also called them the Blue Mountains or Blue Hills. The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking the skylines of New York City and Newark, New Jersey, as well as their isolated ecosystems containing rare plants, endangered wildlife, rich minerals, and globally imperiled trap rock glade communities. The ridges traditionally contained the westward spread of urbanization, forming a significant geologic barrier beyond the piedmont west of the Hudson River; the town of Newark, for example, once included lands from the Hudson to the base of the mountains. Later treaties moved the boundary to the top of the mountain, to include the springs.
The Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska whose use is regulated as an ecological-protection measure. It stretches along the southern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, between the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge on its east and the end of the peninsula at False Pass in the west. In between, however, it is broken into sections by lands of the Aniakchak National Monument and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is administered from offices in King Salmon, Alaska and was established to conserve Alaska Peninsula brown bears, caribou, moose, marine mammals, shorebirds, other migratory birds and fish, and to comply with treaty obligations.
Hatfield Swamp is a fresh water wetland area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, forming what might be considered the "second bank" of the Passaic River between Morris and Essex counties.
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, encompassing part of the Montezuma Swamp at the north end of Cayuga Lake. The 10,004-acre preserve is composed of swamps, pools and channels and is a stopping point for migratory birds. It is the largest contiguous wetland complex in the northeastern United States and comprises a portion of the larger Montezuma Wetlands Complex, which is a partnership between the USFWS, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as several other non-profit support organizations.
The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the eastern United States, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk and northern North Carolina counties of Gates, Pasquotank, and Camden. Some estimates place the original size of the swamp at over one million acres (4,000 km2). As of 2022 the size of the Great Dismal Swamp is around 750 square miles.
The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1974 to help protect and preserve a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina in the United States. It is located in parts of the independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk in Virginia, and the counties of Camden, Gates, and Pasquotank in North Carolina.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000‑acre (1,627 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offices in Folkston, Georgia. The refuge was established in 1937 to protect a majority of the 438,000 acre (1,772 km2) Okefenokee Swamp. Though often translated as "land of trembling earth", the name "Okefenokee" is likely derived from Hitchiti oki fanôːki "bubbling water".
Garret Mountain Reservation is a 568-acre (230 ha) park located on First Watchung Mountain in Paterson and Woodland Park in southern Passaic County, New Jersey. In 1967, it was designated a National Natural Landmark as part of the Great Falls of Paterson-Garret Mountain listing. The park extends into Clifton. Garret Mountain is Passaic County's major recreational area, providing the visitors with grass fields, several miles of walking/running trails, basketball courts, picnic areas, Barbour's Pond is state stocked with fish for anglers, as well as an Equestrian Center with horseback riding lessons.
New Jersey is a state within the United States of America that lies on the north eastern edge of the North American continent. It shares a land border with the state of New York along the north, ratified by both states after the New York – New Jersey Line War, which is its only straight line border.
Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc., or "CU", is a 501(c)(3) (nonprofit) regional watershed organization. It was founded in 1979 and incorporated in 1986.
Lord Stirling Park is a 925/950 acre park operated by the Somerset County Park Commission and located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and separated from the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge by the Passaic River. The park displays a diverse ecosystem in floodplains of the upper Passaic River and its contributors and contains swamps, fields, forests, brooks, marshes, and meadows.
The William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge (WTDWR) is an 814-acre (3.29 km2) wildlife refuge straddling the New Springville and Travis sections of Staten Island. The park was named in honor of Staten Island native William T. Davis, a renowned naturalist and entomologist who along with the Audubon Society started the refuge with an original acquisition of 52 acres (210,000 m2). Additional acreage was acquired in increments and the park is today 814 acres (3.29 km2). Beginning in 2010, the adjacent 223-acre (0.90 km2) North Park section of Freshkills Park has undergone preparation to serve as an expansion of the wildlife refuge.
Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge was the youngest child of William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine (Goodsell) Rockefeller. Giralda Farms was the name given to the New Jersey country estate where the family lived. She was a great patron of the arts and parts of her collection became the object of a lawsuit following her death.
Passaic River Parkway, often called Passaic River Park, is a linear park along the banks of the Passaic River in Union County, New Jersey. It is one of the three "emerald necklaces" in the Union County Park System, the others being Rahway River Parkway and Elizabeth River Parkway.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service .