Mitigation begins on massive Meadowlands ecosystem

Michael Lamendola

In this corner of the Meadowlands, on a near convergence of four municipalities, Carlstadt, South Hackensack, Moonachie and Little Ferry, there’s an ecological renaissance taking place directly in the shadow of a massive commercial and industrial sector. What was once meant to be the mega mall that now is Xanadu in the Meadowlands Sports Complex is being transformed and molded into what will be one of the largest and most pristine wildlife habitats in the district, and by far one of the cleanest.

"There really has never been point or non-point pollution on it," says Tina Schvejda, executive director of the Meadowlands Conservation Trust (MCT), as she peers out onto backhoes and bulldozers shaping new berms and clearing phragmites in the 587-acre Richard P. Kane Natural Area. "I mean, this is about as good as you get in the Meadowlands. It’s very refreshing, that’s why we think we will be so successful in turning this around."

The Kane Area was formerly known as the Empire Tract before it was deeded to the MCT by Mills Corp. in 2005 in exchange for the Xanadu approval at the sports complex. Florida-based EarthMark Mitigation Services is leasing the land for $6 million to create and oversee what is known as a mitigation bank. EarthMark is in the initial stages of mitigating 235 acres, the first of 352 total in the massive tract of land that will be allowed to be used for mitigation credits. EarthMark is spending $25 million on the project. Transportation projects that impact wetlands in the Meadowlands District must offset that destruction by purchasing mitigation credits. EarthMark will be that seller. Entities such as NJ Transit, the NJ Turnpike Authority and Port Authority of NY/NJ would be those eligible to purchase the credits.

"Two hundred years ago, when the Dutch came in, they diked everything off and there’s pictures of them logging out huge Atlantic Cedars," says Schvejda, as she walks down a right of way road for the massive Williams Gas Transco pipeline that creates the border of the Kane Area. It will be, in approximately five years, a walking, biking and birding trail for the public. "We’ll never get it back that way; there are just too many circumstances that have changed. In the 30s, during Roosevelt’s time, the mosquito control commission was formed and straight as an arrow, they created channels through the property, water was flowing less and less throughout the property."

It’s why Schvejda won’t call the effort a restoration, but an enhancement. The number one enemy in achieving that goal is waging war on thousands upon thousands of invasive reeds known as phragmites. The phragmite, which can grow upwards to 15 feet tall, has literally choked out the entire tract, cutting tidal flow and inhibiting native grasses, trees and shrubs to thrive, thus inhibiting enhanced wildlife.

"[This is along] the migratory flyway, they [migratory birds] come from South America, the second stop is usually Delaware and then Cape May. The next should be here." says Schvejda. "It will be a new stopping point for neotropicals, your songbirds."

Peg McBrien, manager of ecological engineering at The Louis Berger Group, who has designed the mitigation plan, obtained state and federal permits for the project and will act as construction manager on behalf of EarthMark. She says the mitigation is being broken down into two sections. Approximately 20 acres is being turned into an uplands freshwater area closest to the Losen Slote Creek and heading further into the center of the area, a tidal ecosystem will be created, both sectioned off by berms. With only a couple weeks on the job, crews from GeoCon, Inc., the construction subcontractor on the project, have been able to dig up massive swaths of the phragmites. They’ll be replaced with native plants by The Dawson Corporation, who will be tasked with the backbreaking work of planting mind boggling amounts of grasses, trees and shrubs. In the uplands freshwater area, McBrien estimates between 120,000 and 150,000 native trees and shrubs will be planted, including oaks and willows; trees that can adhere and grow in a saturated base. In the tidal section, there will be between 800,000 and 900,000 native grass plugs planted, which are currently being incubated at Pinelands Nursery in Columbus from seeds plucked in the Meadowlands. They include spartina, bulrush and spike grass.

Another obstacle in the way is assuring that the land, when mitigated, is not disturbed by rogue, illegal ATV riders who have used the area as their own personal playground, rutting up the grounds. Recently they are being blamed for heavily damaging a critical levee that separated the tidal and freshwater sections of the property. Schvejda said before the mitigation began, the MCT was in the process of repairing the levee and riders who disregarded the ban from the area came in one night, ran a piece of equipment into the muck, filled the gas tank with sugar and busted out the windows. A chain-link fence and bolted gates now cut off access points to the property and because there are workers on-site six days a week, both McBrien and Schvejda feel the riders will look elsewhere to go.

"We hope that once they’re away for awhile, the ATV riders’ memories will be lost," said McBrien. "There is a network where they know they can go and when they know this is unavailable, they will find someplace else to go, at least that’s what we’re hoping for." Schvejda added that the passive park element will also act as a deterrent. "With the public access, the public as our bodyguard will make a great watchdog."

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Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/94989224_Work_begins_on_making_Kane_Tract_open_to_the_public.html

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