The Jersey Journal
Restoration of river shoreline proposed
Wildlife refuge, habitat among the design plans
Friday, October 18, 2002
By Jason Fink
Journal staff writer
A 251-acre undeveloped portion of Liberty State Park, which has been
targeted for use at various times as a golf course and a commercial
waterpark, will instead be transformed into a tidal salt marsh and nature
preserve, according to officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
which will undertake the massive project.
Seeking to restore the swath of land to its natural condition as the
shoreline of the Hudson River, Corps officials are proposing to run one or
more channels into the Jersey City park's interior. The project is designed
to recreate the habitat of long-departed animal and plant species, and open
up a wildlife refuge for the enjoyment of the park's roughly 2 million
annual visitors.
"This is going to create a Discovery Channel in the backyard of millions of
New Jersey residents," said Eric Stiles, a member of the New Jersey Audobon
Society and a participant in Wednesday night's public meeting at which the
Corps' preliminary plans were presented.
The specific shape of the area just east of the Liberty Science Center,
which will likely be divided into a roughly 60-acre open space perimeter of
grasslands surrounding 190 acres of wetlands and forest, has not been
settled and Corps officials are offering their preliminary plans for public
comment.
In order to create the natural shoreline and tidal marsh, the Corps will
have to remove the landfill, which was added more than a century ago by the
railroad companies that ran freight and passenger lines through what is now
the state park.
Liberty State Park was created in 1976 and has been a work in progress ever
since, with various sections getting cleaned up and developed in stages
over the past 26 years.
"After the Industrial Revolution, what was left was basically a derelict
rail yard," said Frank Gallagher, the director of Parks and Forestry for
the state Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the
1,122-acre park, 600 acres of which are above the waterline.
Officials say immediate plans for the 251-acre interior call for digging up
the fill - much of which may be contaminated - and clearing the way for an
ambitious restoration project that will take several years to complete.
Two conceptual plans were presented Wednesday night by the Corps, both of
which include fresh and salt water marshes, mud flats, upland forest and
possibly small hills to block views of nearby industrial buildings from the
preserve. One plan calls for dredging a single channel to bring water from
the Hudson into the area and the other envisions two channels, one bringing
water in and the other allowing it to flow back out.
Although there was some disagreement among the roughly 75 members of the
public who came out on a rainy night to hear the Corps' plans, most praised
the general intention to create wildlife habitats.
"The Hudson River is one of the mightiest rivers in the country and has
virtually no natural shoreline," said geologist Emlyn Koster, president and
CEO of the Science Center. "We're bringing back that which was there."
After plans for a golf course and commercial waterpark died in the face of
widespread public opposition during the 1990s, a committee was assembled by
the DEP to come up with plans for the interior section of the park.
The committee, made up of park advocates, government officials and members
of the public, spent nearly two years soliciting ideas and eventually came
up with what is known as the General Management Plan. That document calls
for open space for passive recreation around a nature preserve with trails
running through it.
Some have asked that sports fields or a small amphitheater be built on the
perimeter section. Those close to the planning process say, when the
engineering work is underway, public bids will be sought for landscape
architects to design the open fields and portions of the interior preserve.
While members of the Audobon Society said they generally favor an
undisturbed wilderness area where migratory birds can stop on their winter
flights south, others are pushing for public access to the forest and tidal
areas.
The Corps, which is directing the project as part of the Hudson-Raritan
Ecosystem Restoration - a program authorized and partially funded by
Congress - will be coming back to the public with more specific plans as
time goes on, said Joseph Redican, the Corps project planner.
"We're not going to come in here and do something that nobody wants us to
do," Redican said. "We're here to get your ideas."
Some have objected to the Corps' plans to eliminate Phragmites - tall
plants that Redican characterized as "weeds" - from the area.
"We have to watch what they do, what vegetation is removed, how many trees
are destroyed," said Jersey City resident Katherine Grimm. "We have to
keep
it serene for the animals."
Greg Remaud, president of the Liberty State Park Conservancy, said he would
favor opening up the marsh and forest areas to park visitors.
"This is nature for people," said Remaud. "I am a strong advocate
for
people having access to the 251 acres."
Sam Pesin, president of the 700-member Friends of Liberty State Park and
son of Morris Pesin, who first proposed the idea of the park more than 40
years ago, said so far the plans are keeping with those his organization
has pushed for always.
"This is the infancy of a plan that will one day be an international model
for urban nature restoration," Pesin said.