From New City, NY, to Newark Bay . . .

NYNJERCKS Group Paddles Length of Hackensack River

 

A committed group of biologists, educators, artists and environmental specialists from federal, state and county governments and local non-profit organizations made a historic trip down the entire length of the Hackensack River on May 20-22. The group, known as the New

York New Jersey Endangered

Rivers Canoe and Kayak Squad (NYNJERCKS, pronounced “Nine Jerks”) choose a different ecologically and socially challenged river to paddle each year. Previously, the group paddled the Passaic and the Raritan.

“We had 30 canoes and kayaks begin the trip at Lake Lucille in Rockland County on Friday. Three days later, they pulled into the 16th Street Park in Bayonne,” said Jared Eudell, project manager, Hackensack Riverkeeper. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first descent of the Hackensack River since the construction of the dams.”

Eudell continued, “Local partners and governments were receptive and even encouraging to the ecological and restoration-minded mission of the JERCKS.  It was only through unique arrangements that we were given permission to land on private property in Lake Lucille and West Nyack, to camp in River Vale and in Foschini Park in Hackensack, and to leave cars in Bayonne over the weekend.”

United Water also granted permission for the flotilla to paddle across through the three restricted drinking water reservoirs--Lake DeForest, Lake Tappan and the Oradell Reservoir--in exchange for the group’s observations about tree damage and questionable land use.

Due to changes in water flow (primarily from a three-week drought prior to the trip), development and erosion over the years, the group was forced to portage at several locations around dams, weirs, debris catchers, sand and mud bars, and dozens of felled trees within the upper watershed.

Members of the public joined the NYNJERCKS on the Sunday leg of the trip which proceeded from Foschini Park to Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus, site of Hackensack Riverkeeper’s Paddling Center. From Laurel Hill, participants had the option of continuing south to Bayonne’s 16th Street Park (located on the shores of Newark Bay) via their boats, by van or aboard the Edward Abbey - one of Riverkeeper’s pontoon cruisers.

“The Hackensack River suffered for a very long time from human activity.  But in recent years, thanks to the efforts of many people, it has truly turned the corner,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, executive director, Hackensack Riverkeeper.  “This event is both a celebration of how far we’ve come as well as a dedication to the river’s continued recovery.”

The 2005 NYNJERCKS excursion on the Hackensack River was sponsored by Hackensack Riverkeeper, NY/NJ Baykeeper, Teaneck Creek Conservancy, Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network and the NYNJERCKS themselves. In addition, financial support was provided by LML Supermarkets, Community Bank of Bergen County and JB Offset.