The Great Swamp

In the 1950s the struggle between modern commercial developers and environmentalists began. In 1956, 450 acres were set aside as a sanctuary. Three years later, nomination of the Great Swamp as location for a 10,000 acre jetport unleashed a deluge of public fury. The Great Swamp Committee, an citizens' alliance since revered by conservancy groups around the world, worked relentlessly to align political forces and raise millions of dollars to create the National Wildlife Refuge and first ever Refuge Wilderness Area. The Committee's initial donation of 3,000 acres formed the nucleus of today's 7454 acre national refuge, as well as stimulus for the two county-run facilities.

The Refuge's western portion is managed by providing nesting structures, regulating water levels, and controlling plant growth to maintain optimum habitat for wildlife. The Wildlife Management Area serves the Refuge's foremost purpose: to provide migrating, nesting and feeding habitat for migratory birds. The area also provides unique research opportunities.

After the eastern half of the federally managed land was designated as a National Wilderness Area in 1968, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service returned the area to an unblemished natural state, restoring drained wetlands and removing all traces of human habitation.

Eight miles of trails through the wilderness area are accessible only on foot and offer expeditions especially sublime. A walk through the swamp usurps your will, absorbing you into its primeval past. Hillock poke through shallow puddles. Tree stumps dissolve into the muck and new growth arises from the decay. For bird lovers the Great Swamp is paradise.

A multitude of ecological systems; woodland, hardwood ridges, cattail marsh, grasslands, ponds and meandering streams; support more than 220 species of birds, 29 kinds of fish, 18 types of amphibians, 21 reptile varieties, and 33 examples of mammals. Endangered species include the blue-spotted salamander, the bog turtle, and the wood turtle.

Public Facilities at the Great Swamp

National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters

Pleasant Plains Road, 973/425-1222
Office hours are 8am-4:30pm, Monday through Friday. The headquarters will also open for many weekends during spring and fall.
Wildlife Observation Center: One mile of trails, an interpretive trial, informational kiosk, blinds, restrooms, boardwalk.

Lord Stirling Environmental Education Center at Lord Stirling Park

190 Lord Stirling Road, Basking Ridge, 908/766-2489
The Somerset Park property on the western border of the Refuge includes 900 acres, 8 1Ž2 miles of trails, 2 miles of boardwalk. The 18,000 s.f. building includes an Auditorium, Art Exhibit hall, classrooms, a resource library, and a gift shop/ book store. Hundreds of annual programs focus on education. It also make a great place for a kid's birthday party. The adjoining Lord Stirling Stable offers ten miles of riding trails. Archeological work at the site has recovered thousands of artifacts which are on display and which have inspired the Lord Stirling festival each fall. The rest of Becker's exhibit, and, in fact, the agenda at Lord Stirling Park, is environmental education.

Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center

247 Southern Blvd., Chatham 973/635-6629
Part of the Morris County Park systeim the Nature Center houses a reference library, and auditorium, two classrooms, and natural history displays. Hikers are welcome on the two miles of trails, an observation blind, and boardwalk through woods, fields, swamps and marshes. Self-guiding trail books are available, and there is a connecting trail to the Eastern edge of the National Wildlife Refuge. Weekend family programming, trail walks, and workshops are scheduled on a seasonal basis. Open 7 days a week, 9am-4:30pm, Sept-June.