This is the thirtieth diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Links to prior diaries are located at the bottom of this diary. Last time I was in New Hampshire, this time I'm in New Jersey, the Garden State. New Jersey is a small state covering less than 9000 sq miles. 3.1% of the state is federally protected, good for 34th in the country, slightly ahead of South Carolina, and slightly behind Tennessee. Currently, New Jersey has 1 national monument, 5 wildlife refuges and 9 historic sites and other NPS Units. I will propose adding 2 more monuments to New Jersey's total.
New Jersey
Total Area 8 723 sq miles
Land Area 7 354 sq miles
Water Area 1 369 sq miles
Coastline- 130 miles
Additional Monuments-2
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS
* New Jersey Coastal
Would protect the coastline of New Jersey out to 20 miles from shore along its coastline and inland up to 10 miles. Estimated Area 2.5 million acres-3900 sq miles miles, nearly twice the size of Delaware
* Pinelands
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View from atop Apple Pie Hill the Highest point in the Pinelands
Would expand and re-designate the current reserve as a national monument and move the area fully into the Park Service as a unit instead of its current status as an affiliated area. Estimated area 1.2 million acres-1875 sq miles, nearly the sizw of Delaware
EXISTING AREAS
NATIONAL MONUMENTS-1
* Statue of Liberty Established 1924 Covers 45 acres (In NJ and NY)
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A picture of the famous statue is shown above
One of the world's most famous landmarks, the Statue of Liberty has been a symbol of America for over 100 years. given to the US from France as a belated centennial gift in 1886, France paid for the statue itself while America paid for the pedestal and supplied the location. one of the Americans who helped raise money for the statue was a young Theodore Roosevelt, the future President was 19 at the time. Officially dedicated in 1886, the dedication saw the first ticker tape parade in New York City. viewed by millions of immigrants who passed by the statue on their way to Ellis Island, the statue quickly became famous around the world as a symbol of America. the statue itself was declared a national monument by President Coolidge in 1924, the monument was expanded by FDR in 1937 to include the whole of Liberty Island and President Johnson in 1965 added Ellis Island to the monument.. the statue has undergone restoring three times- in 1938, from 1984-86(for the statue's centennial) and 2011-12. 3.2 million visited the monument in 2009. the Statue of Liberty will be the New Jersey representative in the national park collection, it will be the fourth quarter released in 2017.
WILDLIFE REFUGES-5
* Cape May Established 1989 Covers 21200 acres
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a map of the refuges location is shown above
The second- largest of New Jerseys five refuges, Cape May is divided into three districts-Delaware Bay, Great Cedar Swamp, and Two Mile Beach. the refuge was declared a Wetland of International Importance in 1992.
* Edwin B Forsythe Established 1984 covers 40000 acres
created from two existing protected areas, the refuge is the largest in the state at over 40000 acres. the two divisions are Brigantine which was created in 1939, and Barnegat , which was created in 1967. named after the late New Jersey Representative Edwin B Forsythe, the refuge has over 6000 acres of wilderness, and is an important stop on the Atlantic Flyway. the refuge was declared a Ramsar Wetland in 1986 and gets more than 200000 visirors a year.
* Great Swamp Established 1960 Covers 7800 acres
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a map of the refuge is seen above
the oldest refuge in the state, Great Swamp was created after a protracted legal battle between residents of the area and Port authority officials who wanted to put a large airport in the area. the refuge was formed with an initial donation of 2600 acres, the refuge has since expanded to nearly 8000. Congress designated half of the refuge as wilderness in 1968, the first Interior area to receive such a designation, and the refuge was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966.
* Supawna Meadows Established 1974 Covers 3000 acres
Partly located on the border with Delaware, Supawna Meadows conserves part of the wetlands along Delaware Bay. the refuge has an approved boundary of 4600 acres, so land acquisitions are ongoing to reach its full extent. currently the refugfes has a numbers of enclaves separated from the main refuge by roads or water.
* Wallkill River Established 1990 Covers 5200 acres (in NJ and NY)
Lying mostly in New Jersey, this refuge borders the Wallkill River for 10 miles from the NY-NJ border. the refuges manages two refuges in neighboring states- Cherry Valley WR in PA, and Shawanguck Grasslands WR in NY.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS-9
* Delaware Water Gap NRA Established 1965 Covers 70000 acres (in NJ and PA)
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Silver Threads Falls, part of the NRA, is seen above
Straddling the Delaware River along the NJ-PA border, the RA is roughly split evenly area-wise, between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is managed by the Park Service. the 40 miles of the Delaware River within the NRA is managed as the Middle Delaware NSR. nearly 5 million people visited the NRA in 2011.
* Gateway NRA Established 1972 Covers 26607 acres (in NJ and NY)
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a map of the recreational area is shown above
The smaller of the states two recreational areas, Gateway lies mostly in New York with only a small part- the Sandy Hook Unit- lying in New Jersey. Gateway refers to the entrance to the harbor of New York City, and the recreational area preserves open area on both sides of the harbor and is one of the most frequently visited area in the national park system, with visitation regularly approaching 10 million. 7.7 million people visited in 2011.
* Great Egg Harbor SR Established 1992 covers 82560 acres
Set aside by Congress in 1992, the scenic river conserves 129 miles of the riiver and its tributaries, covers over 80000 acres of area. the river was named by Dutch explorer Cornelius Mey, who explored the area in 1614, and found it so covered with bird eggs that he called it Eyren Haven (or Egg Harbor). today the river is managed by the Park Service, which regularly considers it one of the best areas in the country for birding.
* Jacques Cousteau ERR Established 1997 Covers 110000 acres
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a map of the ERR is shown above
Named after the legendary conservationist, the ERR was established by Congress shortly after Costeau's death in 1997. the estuary preserved by the ERR is one of the least disturbed in the Northeast, with less than 1% of area having been developed.
* Pinelands NR Established 1978 Covers 1,164,025 acres
the largest protected area in the state, the Pinelands covers over a fifth of New Jersey. the preserve doe not cover all of the Pine Barrens in the state, about 10% lies outside the existing boundaries. the Pinelands was the first reserve created by Congress. as of 2015, 570000 acres, or nearly half of the reserve, has been placed under permanent public protection. NJ owns most of the public lands within the reserve. Declared a Biosphere reserve in 1983 the Pinelands are managed by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and is an affiliated area of the Park Service.
* Middle Delaware NSR Established 1978 Covers 25600 acres
the NSR preserves the portion of the Delaware River that flows through the Delaware Water Gap NRA. established alongside the NRA in 1978, Middle Delaware preserves 40 river miles, and is managed by the Park Service
* Morristown NHP Established 1933 Covers 1711 acres
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Wick House, part of the Jockey Hollow unit of the park, is shown above
Established as the first historic part unit of the NPS in 1933, Morristown conserves three areas connected to the Revolutionary War-The Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense, and Jockey Hollow. The Ford Mansion served as George Washington's headquarters during the winters of 1777 and 1779-80. Fort Nonsense was a continental fort that overlooked the town of Morristown, and Jockey Hollow was the site of a Continental camp during the winter of 1779-80. the conditions were so bad at the camp during the winter that the entire Pennsylvania contingent mutinied and much of the New Jersey contingent attempted to do the same. the mutiny of the New Jersey contingent was put down and several of the men were hanged. over 200000 people visited the park in 2011.
* Paterson Great Falls NHP Established 2011 Covers 118 acres
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a view from near the falls
One of the newest units of the NPS, the historic park conserves the surroundings of the Great Falls of the Passaic River. the falls powered development of mills in the region, including cotton mills and paper mills. the oldest existing mill in the park is the Phoenix Mill, built in 1813, 20 years after the first mill was built on site. the falls was declared a national natural Landmark in 1967. the area was first protected as Great Falls state park then set aside federally in 2009.
* Thomas Edison NHP Established 1955 Covers 21 acres
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Glenmont, the home and laboratory of Thomas Edison, is shown above.
The home of legendary inventor Thomas Edison, Edison lived in the buildiong from 1886 until his death in 1931. inventions Edison made during this time there including motion picture cameras, silent and sound movies and storage batteries. First designated as Edison Home NHS in 1955, it was designated a national monument by President Eisenhower in 1956, then changed back to an historic site in 1962, being renamed to its current name in 2009 to distinguish it from the Edison site in Menlo Park. 55000 people visited the site in 2011.
This concludes my journey to new Jersey. Next time I'll be in New Mexico, spelunking through Carlsbad caverns, and checking out the view from La Badaja Mesa. As Always, comments, input and feedback are Welcome. see you in the comments!
Prior Diaries
1.Alabama
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2 Alaska
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3 Arizona
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4 Arkansas
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5 California
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6 Colorado
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7 Connecticut
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8 Delaware
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9 Florida
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10 Georgia
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11 Hawaii
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12 Idaho
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13 Illinois
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14 Indiana
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15 Iowa
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16 Kansas
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17 Kentucky
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18 Louisiana
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19 Maine
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20 Maryland
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21 Massachusetts
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22 Michigan
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23 Minnesota
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24 Mississippi
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25 Missouri
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26 Montana
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27 Nebraska
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28 Nevada
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29 New Hampshire
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