Raptor Trust Tour/Great Swamp NWR Hike

No report as it was cancelled

General information to get directions:
http://theraptortrust.org/
1390 White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946
Phone: (908) 647-2353

2nd)The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is one of more than 548 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System that is administered by the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and its habitat. It represents the most comprehensive wildlife management program in the world.

The Great Swamp NWR is located in Morris County, New Jersey, about 26 miles west of Manhattan's Times Square. The refuge was established by an act of Congress on November 3, 1960. It consists of 7,768 acres of varied habitats and over the years, the refuge has become a resting and feeding area for more than 244 species of birds. Fox, deer, muskrat, turtles, fish, frogs and a wide variety of wildflowers and plants also call the refuge "home".

NOTE:Pets are not allowed on the boardwalks at the Wildlife Observation Center and pets are not allowed on the hiking trails. In general, pets are not encouraged due to their potential to disturb wildlife.

3rd) Please join us for a late lunch/early dinner afterwords at a near by Mexican Restaurant (Casa Maya). Everyone is responsible to pay for their own meals/drinks.
-
FYI

History of the Great Swamp:
For a barrel of rum, 15 kettles, 4 pistols, 4 cutlasses plus other goods, and 30 pounds cash, the Delaware Indians in 1708 deeded a 30,000-acre tract, including the Great Swamp, to English investors. Later, settlements dotted the area and during the Revolutionary War local settlers fashioned wagon wheel parts with wood cut from the Great Swamp. By 1844, farms appeared on cleared uplands; farmers drained marshlands; and "foul meadow hay" became a major crop.

Small farming operations such as these became uneconomical and gradually disappeared. Consequently, much of the cleared upland returned to woods and the lower flats reverted to swampland. Various modern uses have been planned for the Great Swamp: flood control in the 1920s; drainage projects in the 1930s; and a major jet airport proposal in 1959.

It was the threat of the jetport that enabled the Great Swamp Committee of the North American Wildlife Foundation to muster the aid of a significant number of volunteers. This effort raised more than a million dollars to purchase nearly 3,000 acres, which were donated to the Department of the Interior. The refuge was established by an act of Congress on November 3, 1960. These acres formed the nucleus of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Through the years, additional acres have been added to the original tract. In 1966, the Refuge was designated a Registered National Natural landmark. Then in 1968, the eastern half of the Refuge was designated as a Wilderness Area by Congress.