I had an idea what would be inside the box. I was told past copies of the “Blue Jay,” the newsletter of the back then named Hackensack Bird Club awaited my reflection. I needed to set some copies aside to display at our dinner, but did not know what I would find inside of these old publications.

Would I find notes of bird species and places long gone from New Jersey? Would I come across anything relevant to the complicated conservation issues we face here in the garden state and in the rest of the country?

I took a breath and lifted off the top, and like Howard Carter looking into King Tut’s tomb for the first time, I saw many wonderful things. There it was: birding history that included the thoughts, observations and reflections of people that loved what we love going back seven decades, all in one magical box. Having a firm religious belief ever since I opened my first box of Captain Crunch that the best prizes were always at the bottom of the box, I quickly dug right down and pulled out a 1951 copy of our “Blue Jay.” I held it my hand and considered all the hard work and time it took to put that little newsletter together. No computers, no notebooks or even e-mails; just a typewriter and lots of commitment.

The five page newsletter fell open from the back. There I saw a list of field trips to some of the same places we still visit, like Hatfield Swamp and other places I never heard of and fear are long gone. But what I found next was so timely and relevant it could have well been written this morning. It was simply titled “Conservation Notes 1951.”                           
    
Conservation Notes - 1951

Conservation may be compared to democracy – everyone believes in it and wants to see it maintained, but few actually work to make it a living, workable and vigorous part of our way of life.

Conservation is much more than a sentimental hobby or protection for the species which we, as individuals, happen to be interested in – whether it be plant, animal or bird.

This nation is a great nation largely because of the amazing wealth of natural resources found on this continent.  The axe, the match and the plow have ruthlessly and steadily decreased this wealth to the point where now we – each of us – must be vigilant to be sure that what remains of our heritage be used with care and discretion, lest we lose what is left and with it our strength to maintain our way of life.

Work for conservation in your own community – support your local garden clubs and Audubon societies and above all, express yourself as an individual to your lawmakers at Trenton and Washington.  Our legislators depend on the freely expressed will of their constituents to guide them in the formulation of laws which deal with our common heritage – the fields, streams, woodlands and forests of America and the highly organized community of life which live in them.

I just sat back after reading that. I could not believe that this was written 60 years ago. It took me a while to grasp the time and issues facing the Audubon Society that motivated this person to write such an article in 1951. What was going through the author’s mind?

Remember, there was no Clean Water or Clean Air Act, no Endangered Species Act, no Pinelands or Highlands Protection Act, no Green Acres program, and no NJ Department of Environmental Protection or New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. There must have been some fear in the writer’s heart. It may have seemed that all may be eventually lost, but they did not give up. It was these volunteers that began the fight for cleaner air and water, and recognized that something had to be done about pollution and helping endangered species such as the Bald Eagle.

They organized themselves to help the environment. It must have felt like an insurmountable task, but that did not stop them. 70 years later we are still here thanks to the people that decided to stand up, despite overwhelming odds and public ridicule, and do what they believe needed to be done.

Thanks to the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act, osprey are breeding in the Meadowlands once again, something that did not exist in 1951.
Photo courtesy of Mike Malzone