Sunday, November 05, 2006

Meadowlands Guide Available

If you live or watch birds in New Jersey, you might be interested in a new guide to the New Jersey Meadowlands. The guide was published in August by the NJ Audubon Society, Hackensack Riverkeeper, and Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, and it is available for free. Most people experience the Meadowlands while passing through on the Turnpike or the Northeast Corridor trains. Dedicated birders know that there are many bird watching possibilities among its marshes.

The goal of the guide was to highlight the wildlife viewing possibilities in a heavily-urbanized portion of the state.

"The northeast corner of the state gets such short shrift. These places are gems of nature and quiet and solitude and habitat," said Hugh Carola, a conservationist with Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc., which helped write sections of the guide.

"But close to home there are these tremendous places of good woods and wetlands and older parks. You'll find what you wouldn't expect," Carola said.

To obtain a copy, visit njwildlifetrails.org or email your.meadowlands@njmeadowlands.gov.