[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WILDERNESS ACT

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2014

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Great Swamp 
National Wildlife Refuge, located in Harding Township, County of 
Morris, New Jersey, as it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 
Wilderness Act.
  On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed one of the 
most important and successful pieces of conservation legislation: The 
Wilderness Act. Over the past half-century, the Wilderness Act has led 
to the preservation of environmentally sensitive land in more than 750 
Wilderness Areas in 44 states across America, encompassing 109 million 
acres.
  Almost 7,800 acres of that total is found in the Great Swamp National 
Wildlife Refuge in Morris County, New Jersey. One of the most 
beautiful, peaceful, ecologically diverse and environmentally important 
areas of the Garden State, the Great Swamp is true wilderness, formed 
by the retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier. The Refuge remains today much 
as it has for millennia. But what took nature thousands of years to 
create was once almost destroyed in the blink of an eye.
  In 1961, the Port of New York Authority (as it was then known) wanted 
to build another airport--the fourth--for the metropolitan area. The 
new airport would have been enormous: twice the size of Kennedy 
International Airport. If the Port Authority had its way, it would have 
paved over New Jersey's Great Swamp, which the PA maintained was the 
only practical site it could find.
  Then, as now, the Port Authority was a powerful player in the 
region's politics. The Port Authority was used to getting what it 
wanted. Stopping it would not be easy. But in what would become one of 
the nation's first modern major environmental battles pitting progress 
against preservation, preservation and citizen action would win.
  Among those who fought to save the Great Swamp was the area's 
representative in Congress, my father, Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen.
  Described by the New York Times as ``a leader of the opposition,'' my 
father headed the steering committee formed to oppose the Port 
Authority's plan. He helped mobilize the New Jersey Congressional 
delegation--both Republicans and Democrats--against the idea. He was 
joined by literally thousands of citizens in marshalling support and 
raising money to save what one writer described as ``a natural 
masterpiece.''
  At countless hearings and public meetings, the public came out 
against the proposal. One of the most effective citizen leaders was 
Helen Fenske. Her efforts were recently recognized by naming the 
visitor's center at the Great Swamp in her honor. At one meeting called 
by the Department of Interior, more than 900 people crowded the room. 
Only one person spoke in favor of the proposed airport. He was not well 
received.
  Yet despite the enormous outpouring of support for saving the Great 
Swamp, the Port Authority continued to press forward. But its efforts 
would never come to fruition. On May 29, 1964, 2,600 acres of the Great 
Swamp were designated a National Wildlife Refuge, the first such 
protected wilderness in the country. In recognition of the leadership 
and generosity of M. Hartley Dodge, who donated a considerable portion 
of the land for the new refuge, it carried his name.
  Had the PA succeeded, the residents of New Jersey and New York would 
have been the primary losers. The Great Swamp helps regenerate and 
improves air quality for millions of people in New York City and 
northern New Jersey, protects water supplies, and provides homes to a 
wide variety of wildlife, including more than 200 species of birds--
among them, our national emblem, the American Bald Eagle. But the 
nation would also have lost forever this unique natural treasure.
  My father considered his effort to help preserve the Great Swamp as 
the proudest legacy of his service in the House of Representatives. 
During my own tenure in Congress, I have followed his lead. Over the 
years I have secured Federal funds to expand the Refuge.
  Today, the tens of millions of people who visit the Great Swamp and 
the hundreds of other Wilderness Areas across the country can learn 
about and appreciate some of the most beautiful parts of America's 
precious natural heritage.
  President Johnson called the Wilderness Act one of the ``most far-
reaching conservation measures that a farsighted nation'' had ever 
enacted. As we mark its 50th Anniversary, my hope is that we will 
continue to build on its legacy for many years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

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