From The Jersey Sierran, July - September 2022
The future of Liberty State Park is uncertain, since people have been trying to take its land for a private golf course. The 1,200-acre park is extremely important not only for us, but also for many species of migratory birds and other animals. This park includes some of the few salt marshes in the North Jersey area—extremely important habitat for many creatures.
Salt marshes help maintain water quality in coastal bays and estuaries by filtering rain runoff and metabolizing excess nutrients. These marshes also help fight climate change by regulating and storing greenhouse gas. They are even more successful at this than rainforests.
Marshes absorb substantial amounts of carbon, and if Liberty State Park’s marshlands are disturbed, all that carbon may be released into the atmosphere. Salt marsh could also release methane if the soil heats up or is disturbed. Lastly, marshes and wetlands help create storm buffers. The roots of the marsh plants trap sediment, creating coastal barriers. This could help save thousands of dollars in the future as storms increase in number, size, and intensity.
Today, marshes are becoming rarer and rarer because they are filled in for development or drained for agriculture.
Liberty State Park’s wild animals are important to our ecosystem. Many are migratory birds, such as bald eagles, merlins (small, fierce predatory falcons), flycatchers, great egrets, and peregrine falcons. This area also is important to marine and land animals. The park and its marshes must be preserved for us all. Young children need to be exposed to the environment and its wildlife and learn the importance of protecting these treasures. This park can also be very nurturing for children in teaching them outdoor awareness. Adults also benefit from having a place to hike, take a casual stroll, or simply just relax and enjoy the views of the river, lower Manhattan, Ellis Island, and our Statue of Liberty.
Unfortunately, some people now want to build an active recreation center in the park’s interior, possibly for soccer, track, baseball, and football, which could reduce open space and tree cover. However, this is not a good idea.
Once an ecosystem is destroyed, it may take years for it to be restored to its former state, if ever. We can travel anywhere in the United States and find a sports field, but finding a healthy salt marsh is another story.
As of right now, Liberty State Park is not in imminent danger, but the threat is still there, such as billionaire Paul Fireman’s desire to fill in the park’s marshland to add two more golf holes to his already complete golf course. Fortunately, the Friends of Liberty State Park, a local environmental organization, stood in his way.
I hope you will help protect Liberty State Park—forever—by supporting a very important bill pending in the state legislature, the Liberty State Protection Act. The bill would prohibit the state Department of Environmental Protection from considering any proposal to commercialize, develop, or privatize the park.
I worry about what this world will look like when I grow up and whether the harm can be reversed. Too much of our land is being compromised or destroyed, but supporting this bill can help. We can do something to stop the tide of development, unchecked pollution, and animal extinction by protecting this small-but-symbolically rich park on the Hudson River.
Zoe Glavan is a sophomore at Mater Dei Prep in Middletown Township. Help Zoe by asking your NJ state representatives to pass the Liberty State Protection Act. This bill is supported by the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club and Empower NJ, a consortium of over 120 organizations working to counter climate change.