Contributing Writer

In the 1950s and ‘60s, tidegates were installed in the Overpeck Creek and the Overpeck and Teaneck Creeks were channelized. The 46-acre site that is now the Teaneck Creek Conservancy in the Teaneck, NJ portion of Bergen County’s Overpeck Park was stripped of vegetation. Construction debris, such as concrete from sidewalks and roadways, was dumped there and some debris was used to create a berm that cut off the natural hydrology between the creek and wetlands. Detached from the tidal flow, invaluable urban wildlife habitat was destroyed as the area quickly became a despoiled freshwater system.

On February 20, 2004, a team that includes Hackensack Riverkeeper, NY/NJ Baykeeper, scientists from the US Geological Survey, Rutgers University, and TRC Omni Environmental, and the Teaneck Creek Conservancy made a presentation to the New Jersey Wetlands Mitigation Council. The team requested funding for a three-year project that is needed to restore, enhance, and conduct research on 20 acres of freshwater wetlands.

These wetlands, historically part of the New Jersey Meadowlands, were degraded during the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 80 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation—before the passage of New Jersey’s wetlands laws. The site targeted for restoration is listed as one of the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program’s Priority Restoration Sites.

Since January 1993, about 26 acres of lost wetlands have been compensated through monetary donations to the Wetlands Mitigation Fund, for a total of $2,983,296. Less than half of the state’s wetlands mitigation projects have been successful, for a net loss of wetlands.

Clearly, the amount of wetlands acreage that will be restored is significant for many reasons. The site is in the same vicinity as the original decimated ecosystem. Hackensack Riverkeeper and NY/NJ Baykeeper are supporting this project because they believe that wetlands restoration should occur as close to the impacted area as possible. Also, it is appropriate for state funding to be used to restore a site where the impacts were caused by the state.

Photo Courtesy Pete Kallin, TRC Omni Environmental

The project will yield not only a major restoration, but also will provide valuable new information. The scientists from USGS will be able to apply information from this project to an ongoing Wetlands Mitigation Council project. The Council has provided funding for USGS to develop methods, standards, and systems for other mitigation projects in New Jersey. The project offers real data about the transport and fate of pollutants in ground water, surface water, plants, and soil in urban wetlands to the USGS/Wetlands Mitigation Council project, the work of Rutgers students and faculty, and other scientists, who will be able to access information about this project from USGS. Our pollutant studies will include nitrogen, which comes from motor vehicle emissions, Canada geese, pet waste, lawns, and other urban sources in the Meadowlands region.

Because of this project, the Wetlands Mitigation Council will be better able to advise the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection about techniques and standards for the urban wetlands that comprise about one quarter of the state’s lands. As a result, other urban projects — which may include other areas of Overpeck Park — will be more likely to provide environmental benefits, and enable the Wetlands Mitigation Council to fulfill its legislative mandates.

Editor’s notes: Mary Arnold is the executive director of the Teaneck Creek Conservancy. Once completed, this urban, freshwater, forested wetland will become a model for urban wetland enhancements across the state. Its 1.5 mile trail system will become a regular venue for Hackensack Riverkeeper’s Eco-Walk program and its outdoor classroom and interpretative signage will offer authentic educational experiences within a living, outdoor landscape for students of all grade levels who are studying any of a number of topics.