The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge's wet landscape is unusual, trapped at the lower end of a watershed and in a nearly enclosed basin. The watershed is within an hour of New York City and Philadelphia, an area with more than 20 million people. The ridges lining the basin are valuable real estate -- both Morris and Somerset Counties are among the nation’s 10 wealthiest counties. Nearly 30 years ago, a jetport proposal threatened to destroy the Swamp; today residential development and water quality issues threaten the Swamp's survival.
As pressures on the watershed and the Refuge grow, the surrounding communities must recognize the area's complex interconnections and share responsibility for protecting it. The Refuge is habitat for protected species such as the bog turtle and blue-spotted salamander, and the surrounding land generates drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. As one partner stated during the Center’s planning process, “We can’t manage from behind a fence any longer.” Only by working together with an integrated approach can the Great Swamp be saved.
The Service plays a leading role, working to build stewardship throughout
the watershed communities. The function relates well with the Service's
ecosystem approach and recent Congressional legislation encouraging public
involvement in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The effort's
focus is on developing a facility to meet community and Service needs.
From these efforts grew a core planning group, the cornerstone for the
Great Swamp Partnership.
The Partnership helped set the Center's conceptual plan. By assessing
current and past watershed initiatives, the Partnership discovered the
pressing need for a coordinated and sustained approach to evaluating watershed
and Refuge health. The partners agreed on the following mutual goals
for the Center: sponsor continuous health studies for the watershed and
Refuge; store, interpret, and distribute data; and develop outreach programs
to help residents, civic leaders, and professionals get the tools and resources
needed to make wise decisions about the watershed and Refuge.
At the October 10, 1998 Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge open house, Anthony Leger, Assistant Regional Director for Wildlife and Refuges, referred to the Great Swamp Partnership as "one of the most creative partnerships the Service is participating in nationwide." And the effort is growing. Resource groups developed conceptual plans for programs, exhibits and buildings. Morris Land Conservancy is developing a presentation and final concept plan for the Service. By building on past successes, the Partnership plans to bring a healthy Great Swamp ecosystem into the 21st century.
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