THE KEARNY MARSH, WHAT LEGACY WILL WE LEAVE
"They have ears yet can not hear, they have eyes but do not see" Ezekiel 12:2
In the middle of the greatest metropolis in the world, the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, lies a vast wilderness. The Hackensack Meadowlands. A great and diverse biosphere teeming with life and yet so few of us see it. Oh, we may see the tops of the cattails when we drive down the Turnpike, but how many truly take notice. A great struggle takes place here as the tide ebbs and flows to the cycle of the moon in an attempt to filter and cleanse itself and to defend itself from the ever threatening onslaught of man. This fight, this war, can be won, but we have to want to win it. We must stand vigilant against corporate greed. The ever churning machine that wants to pave over every parcel of land in the state for strip malls, expensive housing and office "parks" (an oxymoron if I ever heard one).
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.
The site is also home to the offices of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. This was tastefully constructed and includes a "marsh lookout building" on stilts that sits right over the water. Through the efforts of environmentalists and ordinary citizens (I often run into folks hauling out trash left behind by the less enlightened) a thriving habitat has been created for all to enjoy.
Of more immediate concern to me as a citizen of Kearny is the remediation and protection of the Kearny Marsh. I have always wondered why the Meadowlands of Kearny were never developed the way they were in Lyndhurst, Carlstadt, Moonachie and Rutherford. Those municipalities have hotels and sports complexes and other great tax ratables while Kearny sat ignored. Maybe it was all for the best. We now have a blank canvas which we can attempt to restore to a more pristine natural beauty. But work needs to be started quickly. A sampling of eight test pits dug in September 2003 found elevated levels of cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, PCBs and pesticides. In fact the pesticide levels were in concentrations 10 to 1,000 times higher than ecologically acceptable. Groundwater quality was equally abysmal.
In 1978 a report by the New Jersey Audubon Society called the 370-acre Kearny Marsh "the best freshwater marsh in New Jersey". So what happened? A little history lesson of the region is needed. For me this gets personal, since I have traipsed and explored these lands since a young boy in the early and mid seventies. Back then we simply called it "the dumps". In the north east corner of this marsh lies the Keegan Landfill, which operated for approximately 50 years before being closed in 1970, though illegal dumping continued and most likely still occurs from time to time. Unlike the other 10 landfills that operated in the area which are hilly and steep, the Keegan Landfill remained relatively flat. The Keegan Landfill is a so-called orphan landfill because it cannot be traced to any company that could be held responsible for it's cleanup.
After a stint in the Marine Corps and some lapsed time I returned to "the dumps". What I found surprised me. This land hardly seemed to be a dump. I remember the seventies when household trash was clearly visible everywhere. Dolls heads, detergent bottles, plastic bags, diapers and all manner of humanly disposable waste were the norm. 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 20 years? I was amazed at how much nature could mend itself if it was just left alone. What clinched it for me was a day in 1998 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.
So how does one reclaim a highly toxic wetland? Nature. Petroleum wastes naturally degrade in wetlands due to microbial communities that establish themselves amongst the roots of plants associated with wetlands. This is nothing new. For years, those who keep aquariums know that aerobic bacteria is the best way to break down waste products that build up over time in an enclosed environment. Municipal wastewater treatment plants use much the same technology. These microbes also break down many volatile organic compounds.
This type of remediation requires much less maintenance (and thus less money) than mechanical treatment. Bacteria and plants work for free. It is also visually less invasive. The water flow can be done subsurface through a gravel bed which provides a much higher surface area for the bacteria to cling to and provides better treatment per square foot. Removal of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) happens through aerobic biodegradation. Forced bed aeration can greatly speed this process. This system will usually need to be maintained for at least 50 years. It took a long time to degrade these areas to the point they are at now, it should thus not surprise us that cleanup will also take some time.
So what legacy will we leave our children and grandchildren? Some politicians have bandied about the idea of a golf course, though this hardly serves the greater good and enjoyment for the majority of the people. A natural park setting, bounded on the north by the old Boonton Line, to the east by the New Jersey Turnpike, to the west by the rail line adjacent to Gunnel Oval, which could be transformed into a "linear park" for biking and walking, and to the south by either Bergen Avenue or possibly even Harrison Avenue would show future generations our desire to protect our natural settings, and our respect for the land which we for so long abused. What legacy will we leave? Will we be proud of it? It is up to all of us.
James J. Calautti
In the middle of the greatest metropolis in the world, the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, lies a vast wilderness. The Hackensack Meadowlands. A great and diverse biosphere teeming with life and yet so few of us see it. Oh, we may see the tops of the cattails when we drive down the Turnpike, but how many truly take notice. A great struggle takes place here as the tide ebbs and flows to the cycle of the moon in an attempt to filter and cleanse itself and to defend itself from the ever threatening onslaught of man. This fight, this war, can be won, but we have to want to win it. We must stand vigilant against corporate greed. The ever churning machine that wants to pave over every parcel of land in the state for strip malls, expensive housing and office "parks" (an oxymoron if I ever heard one).
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.
The site is also home to the offices of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. This was tastefully constructed and includes a "marsh lookout building" on stilts that sits right over the water. Through the efforts of environmentalists and ordinary citizens (I often run into folks hauling out trash left behind by the less enlightened) a thriving habitat has been created for all to enjoy.
Of more immediate concern to me as a citizen of Kearny is the remediation and protection of the Kearny Marsh. I have always wondered why the Meadowlands of Kearny were never developed the way they were in Lyndhurst, Carlstadt, Moonachie and Rutherford. Those municipalities have hotels and sports complexes and other great tax ratables while Kearny sat ignored. Maybe it was all for the best. We now have a blank canvas which we can attempt to restore to a more pristine natural beauty. But work needs to be started quickly. A sampling of eight test pits dug in September 2003 found elevated levels of cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, PCBs and pesticides. In fact the pesticide levels were in concentrations 10 to 1,000 times higher than ecologically acceptable. Groundwater quality was equally abysmal.
In 1978 a report by the New Jersey Audubon Society called the 370-acre Kearny Marsh "the best freshwater marsh in New Jersey". So what happened? A little history lesson of the region is needed. For me this gets personal, since I have traipsed and explored these lands since a young boy in the early and mid seventies. Back then we simply called it "the dumps". In the north east corner of this marsh lies the Keegan Landfill, which operated for approximately 50 years before being closed in 1970, though illegal dumping continued and most likely still occurs from time to time. Unlike the other 10 landfills that operated in the area which are hilly and steep, the Keegan Landfill remained relatively flat. The Keegan Landfill is a so-called orphan landfill because it cannot be traced to any company that could be held responsible for it's cleanup.
After a stint in the Marine Corps and some lapsed time I returned to "the dumps". What I found surprised me. This land hardly seemed to be a dump. I remember the seventies when household trash was clearly visible everywhere. Dolls heads, detergent bottles, plastic bags, diapers and all manner of humanly disposable waste were the norm. 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 20 years? I was amazed at how much nature could mend itself if it was just left alone. What clinched it for me was a day in 1998 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.
So how does one reclaim a highly toxic wetland? Nature. Petroleum wastes naturally degrade in wetlands due to microbial communities that establish themselves amongst the roots of plants associated with wetlands. This is nothing new. For years, those who keep aquariums know that aerobic bacteria is the best way to break down waste products that build up over time in an enclosed environment. Municipal wastewater treatment plants use much the same technology. These microbes also break down many volatile organic compounds.
This type of remediation requires much less maintenance (and thus less money) than mechanical treatment. Bacteria and plants work for free. It is also visually less invasive. The water flow can be done subsurface through a gravel bed which provides a much higher surface area for the bacteria to cling to and provides better treatment per square foot. Removal of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) happens through aerobic biodegradation. Forced bed aeration can greatly speed this process. This system will usually need to be maintained for at least 50 years. It took a long time to degrade these areas to the point they are at now, it should thus not surprise us that cleanup will also take some time.
So what legacy will we leave our children and grandchildren? Some politicians have bandied about the idea of a golf course, though this hardly serves the greater good and enjoyment for the majority of the people. A natural park setting, bounded on the north by the old Boonton Line, to the east by the New Jersey Turnpike, to the west by the rail line adjacent to Gunnel Oval, which could be transformed into a "linear park" for biking and walking, and to the south by either Bergen Avenue or possibly even Harrison Avenue would show future generations our desire to protect our natural settings, and our respect for the land which we for so long abused. What legacy will we leave? Will we be proud of it? It is up to all of us.
James J. Calautti
posted by James at 2:29 PM
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