Meadowlands Quest

Meadowlands NJ

Meadowlands NJ

Welcome to the Hackensack Meadowlands, located in both Bergen and Hudson County, NJ and just a little west of Manhattan. Here lies 21,000 acres of land best described as a strange contrast. The Hackensack Meadowlands is the largest wetland complex and open space so closely situated to a metropolis of several million people. Here, wildlife abounds. Here there are parks to stroll, canoes to paddle your way down the Hackensack River and guided tours and short hikes through bird habitats and salt marshes. In short a little slice of heaven on Earth.  However, the Meadowlands is also home to businesses and buildings that greatly impact the immediate and surrounding communities both economically and environmentally. Here, we find the Meadowlands Sports Complex, housing The Continental Airlines Arena, Giant’s Stadium and the Meadowlands Race Track, not to mention the mega story hotels and conference centers, the Meadowlands Environmental Center, golf courses, tennis courts, restaurants, and the infamous meandering Secaucus outlet stores that all call the Meadowlands home sweet home. 

Is that a muffled cry for help we hear in the background? What types of strain have these land uses put on the wetlands and ecosystem health and how have they impacted the quality of the air, land and water in The Meadowlands area? The area was heavily used as a garbage dump and there were several toxic dump sites. The NJ Meadowlands Commission, the Meadowlands manager, believes in the “careful balancing of environmental and economic development needs in the District”. Sustainability is apparently their goal, but have they succeeded and what will the future hold?

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Copyright 2005 NJHEPS. All rights reserved. Last Update: October 6, 2005 6:31 PM

Image Credit: NJ Meadowlands Commission