Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is a nature reserve in Central New Jersey. With over 30 km ² Great Swamp is the largest national park in New Jersey.

Location

Great Swamp is located in Morris and Somerset County in New Jersey, approximately 40 km (25 miles) west of New York City / Manhattan. In the Great Swamp stems from the Passaic River, an industrially extremely heavily utilized river in northeastern New Jersey. Great Swamp is managed by the United States Department of Interior. Great Swamp represents the remains of a huge glacial lake, its glacier -covered before the end of the last ice age northern New Jersey.

Southeast connected to the Great Swamp of Lord Sterling Park is in Basking Ridge, part of the Somerset County Park system. In Lord Sterling Park there is an Environmental Education Center to the Great Swamp and hiking and cross-country trails.

History

In the area of Great Swamp should arise in the 50s a large airport for the Greater New York / New Jersey to replace the then small Newark Liberty International Airport. A community group fought vehemently against these plans and collected enough money to the first 6,000 acres (approx. 24,000 m²) to purchase and protect it. On November 3, 1960, the Natural Park with 7,600 acres was inaugurated ( 30.4 km ²).

Fauna

Great Swamp is resting and breeding place of over 244 bird species. Foxes, deer and various turtles and snakes are native to the Great Swamp as well. In the nature reserve there is also the " Raptor Trust" a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of birds of prey dedicated to.