[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 75 (Friday, May 27, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  30 YEARS OF DEDICATED WORK BY THE GREAT SWAMP WATERSHED ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 2011

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Great Swamp 
Watershed Association (GSWA) locat in Morris County, New Jersey, which 
is celebrating 30 years of successful natural resource protection in 
the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge.
  Thousands of years ago, the melting waters of large retreating 
glaciers formed a massive glacial lake called Glacial Lake Passaic. 
Over the years, the lake drained to leave wetlands, which form a part 
of the Great Swamp in New Jersey. This federally-protected land is home 
to a large variety of plants, animals, and humans, as well as several 
federally-designated threatened species.
  After the creation of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in 
1964, a small group of citizens became concerned with protecting and 
improving water resources in the ten municipalities that bordered the 
Great Swamp. In 1981, this grass-roots group created the GSWA in order 
to protect the land and water in these towns. Through its efforts, the 
organization has acquired fifty-three acres of property in the area 
surrounding the Refuge, while working to preserve local streams and 
maintain local water quality.
  The GSWA has grown from its roots to include 2,200 members in over 40 
New Jersey municipalities. Today, the organization continues to protect 
environmentally sensitive land through land acquisition and promoting 
the strengthening of environmental regulations in New Jersey. With the 
support of its staff, trustees, and many valuable volunteers, the 
Association helped develop the first-ever water quality standards for 
the Great Swamp Watershed, which aid scientists, policy makers and 
local officials in protecting water resources from further degradation 
and in restoring those resources that have been harmed. Although the 
GSWA's work is centered primarily within the towns directly served by 
the Great Swamp Watershed, the results of its persistence extend to the 
more than one million people in Northern New Jersey who obtain their 
drinking water from the Passaic River.
  In addition, the GSWA fosters environmental awareness and provides 
environmental education for children and adults throughout the state. 
Over 1,500 students have benefitted from its three-dimensional 
watershed model that illustrates how individual and group actions 
affect water quality in the local area. The organization invites 
teachers to participate in programs that show them how to use their own 
school grounds as areas for environmental education. The GSWA also 
offers several family programs within the watershed that introduce area 
residents to the natural history in their own backyards. In providing 
these programs, the GSWA teaches communities of the ecological value of 
the Great Swamp watershed, as well as the importance of restoring the 
property and protecting it from land development.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
the Great Swamp Watershed Association for its 30 years of dedicated 
work on behalf of the great State of New Jersey.

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