ShrutiThe new visitor center tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2008 at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Harding Township, N.J., will be named in honor of late conservationist Helen C. Fenske of Green Village, N.J., according to Refuge Manager Bill Koch.
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Shruti"Helen Fenske is a name that is synonymous with the fight to save the Great Swamp from becoming a regional jetport back in the 1960s. Her vision and advocacy to conserve the natural environment of New Jersey will benefit future generations," said Koch.
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ShrutiFenske spearheaded a grassroots campaign fifty years ago from the kitchen of her Green Village home that successfully raised more than $1 million to purchase and donate nearly 3,000 acres of land to the U.S. Department of the Interior for the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Several years after the refuges establishment in 1964, Fenske played a major role in the creation of the Great Swamp Wilderness Area, the first wilderness area wilderness area
Wilderness areas are places untamed by humans. The Wilderness Act of 1964 allows Congress to designate wilderness areas for protection to ensure that America's pristine wild lands will not disappear. Wilderness areas can be part of national wildlife refuges, national parks, national forests or public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Learn more about wilderness area designated on Department of Interior lands.
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ShrutiFenske went on to become a statewide environmental advocate, serving as Assistant Commissioner in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In this role, she promoted the creation of the Wallkill River and the Cape May National Wildlife Refuges, led efforts to protect the states wetlands, championed the preservation of open space, and fostered the creation of numerous local environmental commissions across the state. She received many awards including the U.S. Department of the Interiors Conservation Service Award. Helen Fenske died on January 19, 2007 at the age of 84.
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ShrutiThe Fenske family, Helens husband Art and children, Mark, a restaurant owner in New Hampshire, Karl, an attorney in Morristown, NJ and Susan, an educator at Peck School in Morristown, NJ, said that they gratefully welcome the naming of the new visitor center after Helen. "We know she would be proud of the continuing efforts of the federal government joining with grassroots private organizations to spread the word about the Great Swamp and preservation of our beautiful New Jersey treasures. Helen was all about carrying the message to new generations of environmental warriors who would not only save what we have, but continue her works to acquire new lands. Indeed, this building fulfills a dream she worked on in her last years to house the organizations she sought to nurture."
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ShrutiThe Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center will be housed in a century-old farmhouse located on Pleasant Plains Road that is being renovated. The facility will provide visitor services, exhibits, meeting space, and offices. The Friends of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge will relocate their Discovery Den and Bookstore & Gift Shop to the new facility. There will be a new interpretive nature trail leading to the Passaic River which borders the property. The first phase of interior renovations has been completed and additional interior and exterior work, as well as construction of a new parking and access road, will begin shortly.
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ShrutiThe Friends of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge passed a resolution in March supporting the Refuge Managers suggestion to name the center in honor of Fenske. The idea was enthusiastically supported by Fenskes family and several of the refuges conservation partners, including New Jersey Audubon Society, Morris Land Conservancy, Ten Towns Committee, and Great Swamp Watershed Association, local municipalities and townships, and the New Jersey General Assembly - District 21. Formal approval of this request was granted on July 19, 2007 by Marvin Moriarty, Northeast Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the National Wildlife Refuge System.
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ShrutiThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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