Across the Watershed - Spring 2001

It was cloudy overhead and damp beneath the feet, but some 150-200 hardy souls nonetheless turned out at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GSNWR) headquarters on Sunday, April 1, for an outdoor kickoff of "Swamp Thing 2001," a "celebration of the multitude of recreational and educational resources you’ll find in the Great Swamp watershed."

The month-long celebration was coordinated by GSWA.

On hand on April 1 were Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, five local mayors and eight other public officials. Along with Refuge Manager Bill Koch, Recorder Community Newspapers Co-Publisher and Executive Editor Elizabeth Parker, and GSWA’s Julia Somers and David Budd, they hailed the grass-roots efforts of the 1960s that created the refuge, as well as the continuing work of local organizations to preserve and enhance its quality.

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Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, "La Nina" the owl, and Len Soucy of Raptor Trust

Before and after the kickoff ceremony, under tents provided by GSNWR, visitors browsed among displays and exhibits set up by ten local environmental organizations. Refreshments were provided by Kings Super Markets, a co-sponsor along with the Recorder Community Newspapers of the month-long celebration.

Though the weather wasn’t ideal, the event "brought together a greater number of local mayors and more local environmental organizations than I’ve ever seen in one place in the watershed before," according to Somers.

Before the April 1 kickoff, GSWA arranged for the printing of some 70,000 fliers that were distributed to local residents through the Recorder Community Newspapers. The fliers were designed by Integrated Communications Corp., as a pro bono contribution.

Under the banner "Do the Swamp Thing," the fliers summarized the natural history of the area, listed all the organizations in the watershed that offer public events and activities, and offered a calendar of more than 75 separate public programs and activities occurring in April. PSEG underwrote most of the costs associated with the flier production.

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