Wild New Jersey Exclusive: Meadowlands sunset pontoon tour through the thriving "Swamps of Jersey" (Part 1 of 2)
A black-crowned night-heron flies across the marsh near the New Jersey
Turnpike overpass. Photo by Melanie Worob, Edison Wetlands Association.
Long dismissed as a notorious wasteland fit for nothing but landfills, the Meadowlands have recovered over the past two decades to become a national model for nature thriving in the shadows and impacts of a major urban area. Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan has been leading the fight for the Meadowlands' recovery for the past two decades, and Wild New Jersey recently had the chance to take a sunset pontoon tour with Sheehan and Greg Remaud from NY-NJ Baykeeper.
Though a fierce storm had passed through the area just an hour earlier, the Meadowlands scenery was a extraordinary. The marshes of Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area and near Laurel Hill yielded great wildlife sightings such as black-crowned night-heron, black skimmer, ospreys, peregrine falcons, egrets and a muskrat, all to the soundtrack of marsh wrens and red-winged blackbirds. Sheehan outlined many of the fascinating elements of the Meadowlands history and recovery. Click here for the second entry.
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 6/23/2009 12:00 PM 
Categories: WNJ Exclusives, Birds
Tags: Meadowlands Hackensack Riverkeeper NY-NJ Baykeeper black crowned night heron
Categories: WNJ Exclusives, Birds
Tags: Meadowlands Hackensack Riverkeeper NY-NJ Baykeeper black crowned night heron
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