Experience it all... Hackensack River Guide in the river Meadowlands The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Offers: t Pontoon boat cruises and t Environmental remediation guided canoe tours and enhancement projects t Children’s programs, t Films, book talks, concerts and including our annual Halloween other public events Party and Spooky Walk t Grants, professional help and t School science programs other direct municipal assistance that meet NJ core curriculum to help offset property taxes standards t t Guided birding walks, Scientific research through talks and bird-banding MERI, the Meadowlands demonstrations Environmental Research Institute t The Flyway Gallery, featuring t MERI Science Library, open to local environmental artists the public The Meadowlands Experience t Meadowlands Environment t Free trail guides, birding books Center’s interactive educational and other pamphlets displays t Green building guides, t Thousands of acres preserved, assistance and existing examples eight miles of trails, 21 area parks t Public viewing nights and t Millions invested in major astronomy classes at the William flood plain management D. McDowell Observatory projects About the NJMC: The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is the zoning and regulatory agency for the 30.4-square-mile Meadowlands District, composed of parts of 14 municipalities in Bergen and Hudson counties. Created in 1969, the NJMC has fought to end illegal dumping, encourage appropriate development, and protect the remaining open space and wetlands. The NJMC has helped preserve New Jersey thousands of acres and helped create eight miles of trails and 21 parks in the District, and also conducts Meadowlands Commission bird walks, canoe tours and popular pontoon boat One DeKorte Park Plaza • Lyndhurst, New Jersey • 07071 cruises on the Hackensack River. (201) 460-1700 www.njmeadowlands.gov New Jersey About the NJMC’s nature programming: In collaboration with the Bergen County Audubon Meadowlands Commission Society, the NJMC offers free twice monthly bird Meadowlands Environment Center walks as well as other nature walks and additional Two DeKorte Park Plaza • Lyndhurst, New Jersey • 07071 special events. For the schedule click the “Events” (201) 460-8300 button at njmeadowlands.gov. www.njmeadowlands.gov/ec About the NJMC’s Nature Blog: The Meadowlands Nature Blog – meadowblog.net – helps the public keep up with events and nature news in the region, J featuring daily updates and great photography. Come and explore the New Jersey Meadowlands! The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission invites you to explore the Hackensack River The thriving marshes and recreational opportunities along the Hackensack River are among the best kept secrets of the 30.4-square-mile Meadowlands District. Through our guided pontoon boat cruises and canoe tours of the River and its hidden waterways, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is helping visitors from near and far to discover this hidden gem. These cruises offer a chance for photographers to capture visions of rare birds hidden in the reeds, for children to learn about the area’s ecology, and for adults to relax and enjoy a few hours on the water, with the Manhattan skyline in the background and egrets soaring overhead. The Meadowlands means many things to many people, but the NJMC’s boat tours are a wonderful way to experience the Hackensack River and its amazing natural resources up close. Learn about the region’s history Sit back, A combination of natural and human actions created relax, and today’s Meadowlands. Our expert staff will tell you about enjoy the ride the Wisconsin Glacier that shaped the region, the Lenape The easy pace and Native Americans who first lived here, and the early natural serenity of an Europeans who cleared its Atlantic White Cedar forests. Find NJMC pontoon boat out how tide gates, the construction of the Oradell Dam cruise offers an unfor- and fierce storms all played a role in the region’s natural gettable experience of history. Listen to tales of river barges and railroads, pirates wetlands and wildlife. hiding along Carlstadt’s Paterson Plank Road, and black Cruises depart from the River Barge Park and Marina in snakes scaring settlers away from Secaucus’ Laurel Hill. Carlstadt, and last for about two hours, depending on the See the local wildlife Learn about the NJMC’s preservation of parks and wetlands, tide. For the more adventurous explorer, join a guided More than 270 bird species have been reported in as well as ongoing efforts to restore the ecosystem. canoe tour on a weekend morning. the Meadowlands, from metallic-blue Tree Swallows perched on nest boxes to Snowy Egrets wading along For cruise and canoe schedules the shoreline. Watch for Double-crested Cormorants visit njmeadowlands.gov and click on on top of tide gates and Peregrine Falcons perched “Events” or call 201-460-4640. under bridges. Listen to the song of the Marsh Wren coming from the reeds. Check out Fiddler Crabs digging in along the riverbank. Diamondback Terrapins can be NJMC Web sites: seen in the shallow waters, and Muskrat huts rise from Our home page: njmeadowlands.gov the mud. Even with New York City just a few miles away, Our research arm: meri.njmeadowlands.gov the Meadowlands is home to some of nature’s greatest Our nature blog: meadowblog.net wonders. Our history blog: meadowpast.net The New Jersey Meadowlands Hackensack River The Hackensack River is roughly 50 miles long, beginning in Lake Lucille in Rockland County, New York, and filtering down to 2 Newark Bay. The Meadowlands portion of the river is a 3 combination of fresh and salt water referred to as brackish. The Meadowlands District includes parts of 14 7 municipalities in Hudson and Bergen counties along 6 1 5 the Hackensack River. They are: Jersey City, Kearny, 4 North Bergen, Secaucus, Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, Moonachie, North Arlington, Ridgefield, Rutherford, South Hackensack, and Teterboro. 1 River Barge Park and Marina (Carlstadt) Formerly known as the Barge Club, this site was home to a waterfront bar and restaurant for nearly 30 years. In 2010 the NJMC began work on what will be the first public marina on this side of the Hackensack River in many years. 2 The Richard P. Kane Natural Area (Carlstadt, Moonachie, South Hackensack) 11 Harmon Cove (Secaucus) This 587-acre tract is owned by the 8 This residential community was the first Meadowlands Conservation Trust, major development approved by the which preserves land as habitat for 9 Hackensack Meadowlands Development birds and other wildlife. Commission, the NJMC’s predecessor, in the early 1970s. 3 Mill Creek Point Park (Secaucus) Once the site of a sawmill and more 12 HX Drawbridge (East Rutherford, Secaucus) recently a restaurant called Tony’s Completed in 1911, the HX (Hackensack Crossing) is one Old Mill, the NJMC has created a of the first “Heel Trunnion” bascule bridges built in the public park with a boat launch, 10 United States. The style was patented by Joseph B. Strauss, trails, benches, and an area for designer of the Golden Gate Bridge. A bascule drawbridge catch-and-release fishing. depends on a counterweight to help it open, in a seesaw fashion, and “Heel Trunnion” describes this 4 Mill Creek Marsh (Secaucus) specific type of design. This 207-acre area was purchased by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Richard W. DeKorte Park (Lyndhurst, North in 1996 and was the first wetlands 13 Arlington) Look northwest over the New Jersey enhancement project the NJMC managed. Turnpike for the three large flag poles; these pinpoint 5 Secaucus High School Marsh this one-square-mile park featuring walking trails, panoramic views and birds galore. The park, which can be seen in the (Secaucus) You can best view this site 11 by walking along the boardwalk between 12 distance, includes the NJMC’s Center for Environmental and Mill Creek Point to the high school. Scientific Education, the William D. McDowell Observatory, The wetlands include both high and low the Meadowlands Environment Center and the marsh, and offer good birding. Commission’s administrative offices. 6 Paterson Plank Road (Carlstadt, 14 Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area East Rutherford) This industrial artery (Lyndhurst, North Arlington) This marshy 750-acre wildlife was once one of the longest wood-surface preserve is nicknamed the “great lungs of the Hackensack River” roads in New Jersey. It stretched 15 miles, because its shallow waters allow for light to penetrate, which connecting Paterson to Hoboken helps plant life produce more oxygen and breathes life into via a swing bridge across the the ecosystem. Hackensack River. In East Rutherford, an exposed portion of the road 15 Laurel Hill (Secaucus) Many forces have shaped this mass where it meets the western shore of volcanic rock, including movement of the Wisconsin Glacier of the river, has been identified 15,000 years ago, and blasting and mining by humans centuries as a valuable historic resource. later. Laurel Hill was once the location of churches, a hospital 7 Izod Center (East Rutherford) The and a prison. It was also the inspiration for Prudential arena, along with Giants Stadium, Insurance’s “Piece of the Rock” logo and slogan. the Meadowlands Racetrack and the Today, it is the site of Laurel Hill County Park. former Xanadu complex, is on property owned and administrated by the New 16 Portal Bridge and Portal Tower Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. (Jersey City/Secaucus) The Portal Bridge was built by the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York 8 Route 3 Bridges (East Rutherford, Railroad Co. in 1907. It is the largest of several Secaucus) The southern bridge was bridges built on the Northeast Corridor rail line, constructed in 1931 to offer motorists a and the only remaining center-bearing swing quicker commute between Manhattan and 13 bridge of the three constructed.