New Jersey Meadowlands

This article is about the wetlands. For the sports complex, see Meadowlands Sports Complex. For other uses, see Meadowland (disambiguation).
19th century
Meadowlands seen from Route 7, showing at least four different species of waterfowl
Marshlands in Lyndhurst
Meadowlands Environment Center
Mill Creek Point walkway
The Meadowlands as seen from an abandoned section of the Montclair-Boonton Line

New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The area was forested with Atlantic White Cedar before the early Dutch settlers cleared the cedar forests and used dikes to drain the land. The Dutch farmers used the drained tidal lands to create "meadows" of salt hay; hence the area was referred to by locals as the Meadows. In more recent times the Meadowlands became known for being the site of large landfills and decades of environmental abuse. The Meadowlands stretch mainly along the terminus of the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers as they flow into Newark Bay; tributaries of the Hackensack include Sawmill Creek, Berrys Creek, and Overpeck Creek. The Meadowlands consist of roughly 8,400 acres (34 km²) of open, undeveloped space in addition to developed areas that had been part of the natural wetlands which were heavily developed by H. Bert Mack in the 1960s.[1] The area includes portions of Kearny, Jersey City, North Arlington, Secaucus, Lyndhurst, Rutherford, East Rutherford, Carlstadt, North Bergen, Moonachie, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, and Little Ferry.

Human impact

Before European settlement, the area consisted of several diverse ecosystems based on freshwater, brackish water, and saltwater environments. Large areas were covered by forests. Considered by residents of the area through the centuries as wastelands, the Meadowlands were systematically subject to various kinds of human intervention. The four major categories are:[2]

The Meadowlands Sports Complex, with stadia and a racetrack, is also in the Meadowlands.

New Jersey Meadowlands Commission

The location of the New Jersey Meadowlands near the New York metropolitan area and its outgrowth into New Jersey makes conservation of the vast wetland a difficult proposition. In spite of this, the New Jersey Legislature, led by Richard W. DeKorte, created the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (since renamed New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) in 1968 to attempt to address both economic and environmental issues concerning the wetland region. Even under grave environmental circumstances, the Meadowlands contain many species of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks and are considered to be an important bird habitat.

Money from the United States Congress has been allocated to protect and preserve the Meadowlands and establish organizations to research the unique animals and their interaction with the ecosystem. The ecosystem is a fragile environment that waterfowl and other species of animals need. Richard W. DeKorte Park in the Meadowlands is known for bird watching, particularly for migratory waterfowl.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Orlando Sun Sentinel: "H. Bert Mack, Businessman, Philanthropist" May 11, 1992
  2. ↑ The Meadowlands Before the Commission: Three Centuries of Human Use and Alteration of the Newark and Hackensack Meadows, accessed July 19, 2006
  3. ↑ New Jersey Birds: Meadowlands

External links

Coordinates: 40°48′57″N 74°02′23″W / 40.815888°N 74.039612°W / 40.815888; -74.039612

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