thecanessacorner

We live in the the greatest metropolis in the world, the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. Right smack in the middle of this great megalopolis lies a vast wildernes, The Hackensack Meadowlands. This is a diverse biosphere teeming with life and yet so many of us see it as an eyesore. It can be so much more. In 1978 a report by the New Jersey Audubon Society called the 370-acre Kearny Marsh "the best freshwater marsh in New Jersey". Yes, the marsh you see behind Gunnel Oval is a freshwater marsh. Why is this freshwater marsh not subject to the protection afforded other such bodies of water throughout the state? When I was a kid we would play in what we called "the dumps." Back then, that's what it truly was, a garbage dump. Household trash and other waste and byproducts of society had nature on the run. I remember the seventies when trash was clearly visible everywhere. Dolls heads, detergent bottles, plastic bags, diapers and all manner of humanly disposable waste were the norm. The Keegan Landfill, which operated for approximately 50 years, closed in 1970. Although illegal dumping still continued, nature caught a small break. What I find at the Kearny Marsh now trulu surprises me. This land hardly seemed to be a dump. Now vegetation had taken hold and the vegetation was allowing a topsoil, albeit thin, to take hold, camouflaging the unsightly trash of the past. Rabbits ricocheted back and forth across the land. Raccoons and skunks ambled about. Huge muskrats built their reed homes in the marsh water. Turtles lazily sunned themselves on logs, not even bothering to move as I walked past. Mother Nature was reclaiming her turf. Wildlife was making a comeback. How could all this have happened in just a short time? I was amazed at how much nature could mend itself if it was just left alone. What clinched it for me was a day when my girlfriend and I were walking our dog along the marsh behind Gunnel Oval, along the old Erie Lakawana Rail Line. We liked to watch the snowy egrets and blue herons stalking prey on their long legs and see the ducks and geese glide across the water. Then something big caught my eye swooping low out of a tree. It was a large bird of prey, possibly a peregrine falcon, native to the area. For their to be top predators like these living here, there had to be a plentiful supply of good sized prey. I knew then in my heart that this place needed to be protected. It can be done. A giant step forward toward responsible stewardship of this precious oasis of nature in our midst was the creation of Dekorte State Park in Lyndhurst. The 110 acre site was chosen in the mid seventies and was selected to make people aware of the natural beauty of the wetlands and as a barrier to the threat of developers and their continuing plans for land filling and development. Special attention was paid to try to plant fauna that was native to the site and to create areas that more closely resemble what a tidal wetland should look like. Birdhouses were erected in many areas and enclosed lookouts give birdwatchers a place to remain out of site yet still enjoy the more than 250 species seen there and the 60 species that nest there. Dirt roads allow access and egress and a type of plank walk allows one to cross over the marsh. Trails are well marked and most of the site is accessible to the disabled.

Can we here in Kearny rally to do the same? Between Bergen Avenue and the Gunnel Oval runs an old railbed. I believe it was part of the Erie Lackawana Railroad. Many communities are using these now defunct railbeds as "linear parks". The rails are pulled up and biking and walking trails are created. For too long Kearny has been saddled with the more unseemly projects needed by the county and state. Isn't it time we take a stand and add something we will be proud to hand down to our children and grandchildren?