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Your personal checks are also graciously accepted and will result in the full value of your donation going to Bergen SWAN.

A special thanks to all who contributed to our fall fundraiser drive and Valentine for the Watershed celebration!  With your help, we came extremely close to meeting our fundraising goal of $10,000 toward our new office in Westwood.  We appreciate all your support and hard work to make this event a memorable night and our fundraising a true success! 

Bergen SWAN & Hackensack Riverkeeper Join Forces to Defend Watershed Protection Act - 3,200 Acres of Water Company Land Now Protected by NJDEP Easements!

In settlement of our ten year inquiry into violations of the Watershed Protection Act, United Water NJ (UWNJ) will place a permanent conservation easement on over 3,200 acres of their watershed properties and contribute $1,000,000 to the NJ Green Acres program for future purchase of watershed protective open space in Bergen County.  A joint press release by UWNJ, Riverkeeper, and Bergen SWAN can be found at our Happenings page.  A link to a story in the Record appears below.  More details to follow...

http://www.northjersey.com/environment...

Upcoming Watershed Events--see the "Happenings" page for further details...

Saturday, March 21, 12:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Nature Program Cooperative Hosts 2nd “Natural New Jersey Tour” of Local Nature Preserves

The tour will include visits to Poplar Road Sanctuary in River Vale, the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, Lorrimer Sanctuary in Franklin Lakes, and Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood.  Members of Bergen County Audubon Society, Bergen SWAN, Fyke Nature Association, and New Jersey Audubon Society will each lead part of the tour. Please visit our Happenings page for more details and to learn how you can register.

Sunday, March 22, 1-3PM: “Seed-Starting at Flat Rock Brook”—Learn different germination techniques and start some vegetable and native flower seeds.  Register early by mail.  $10 for materials.  Flat Rock Brook Sanctuary.

Wednesday, March 25, 7PM: “The Great Controversy: Bottled Water or Tap Water!  Which is better, healthier, safer to drink?”—Features speakers Dr. Daniel M. Miller, of the Rockland County Department of Health, and Dr. Susan Golz, a Professor of Science at Rockland Community College.  Free.

Sunday, April 26, 1-4PM: “Meadowlands Birding Guided Paddle”—Join in a kayak or canoe for a guided exploration of the Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area and the Kingsland Marsh.  Reservations required.  $25 for NPC members, $30 for non-members.

Co-Directors Lori Charkey and Mark Becker will give a presentation on the SWAN’s 4 Towns Watershed Stewardship Project at the 2009 NJ Land Conservation Rally.  Our project partners, Greg Rusciano of Rutgers Water Resources Program and Chris Statile, Engineer for the Borough of Hillsdale, will also participate in the presentation.  For more information on the rally, including a full schedule of events, please visit the conference web site at: http://www.njconservation.org/rally/index.htm

Join us for a Friday night of celebration and revelry as we mark 21 years of activism for the Upper Hackensack River Watershed!  At our upcoming fundraiser, Valentine for the Watershed: A Night out on the Town for Bergen SWAN!, happening just one day before the strike of Cupid's arrow, we're planning to have live music, superb and healthy food and drink, eco exhibits, and unforgettable story telling by some of our area's most gifted naturalists and historians!

Be there as we listen to Jim Wright recite some favorite river poems and essays, Nancy Slowik and Tim Brandon tell short stories set by rivers, Eric Nelson treat us to renderings of Upper Hackensack River tales, and Kevin Wright take us way back to a time when natives lived their lives according the the Hackensack's seasonal cadences.

Secaucus-born singer/songwriter Joe McKay will perform on guitar and vocals, backed by mandolin-player Mike Kelly, and bassist Gordon Roehrer.  Joe has performed at coffee-houses throughout the Tri-State area, including the Turning Point, Hurdy Gurdy, and Warwick Valley Winery.

Trader Joe's of Westwood, Backwoods BBQ & Grill, Matsu, Veggie Heaven, and other area food concerns will be providing free, delicious, organic snacks and drinks.

At our silent auction, you can bid on an Old Town Discovery canoe, philharmonic tickets for two, an original Poplar Sanctuary painting, Baron Wolman framed prints, Olympus Stylus digital cameras, a rain garden coaching session, colorful hand-knitted scarves, or a basket brimming with locally-made chocolate hearts.  These amazing prizes and more were solicited by our volunteers from talented and generous local and regional businesses and individuals.

To preview auction items go to the following link:

Auction Items

Proceeds from the event will help us to cover the costs of our new office in Westwood and our ongoing educational programs.

Bergen SWAN has recently been awarded $11,000 from the Stonybrook Millstone Watershed Institute and $4,000 from Conservations Resources, Inc. towards funding of our Four Towns Watershed Stewardship Project!

We are working with the towns of Hillsdale, Emerson, River Vale and Westwood, which host two major tributaries that flow into the Oradell Reservoir, the Pascack and Musqaupsink Brooks.  Underway since spring 2008, the Four Towns Project is designed to assist local municipalities in facing the triple threats of non-point source pollution, flooding, and erosion and to become better stewards of our watershed.  We are partnering with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program (WRP) and other professionals to construct demonstration best management practices, such as rain gardens, stream bank restorations, drainage swales, and native/low water plantings, in each town.

Keep watch for more news about our progress!

Hot off the Presses...
New Emerson Woods Field Guide Available! 

Featuring a revised route starting from the Lakeview Terrace information kiosk plus new artwork by talented nature artist Jane Eyre, the revised Emerson Woods trifold brochure is easy to follow and enjoyable to read.  Call, email, or write us with your street address and we will send you a copy.  Take an intriguing self-guided tour of the 19+ acre woodlands and wetlands while the summer days are long!

Welcome to Bergen SWAN…

From our beginnings in 1988, Bergen SWAN has been aggressively pursuing the preservation of the watershed buffer forests around our drinking water reservoirs.  To date, we have helped protect from development over 500 acres of woods and wetlands, and over 300 acres of golf courses. 

The narrow, protective, forest buffers around our reservoirs represent some of the only unbroken stretches of woods in an intensely populated, increasingly urban area. These watershed buffers are a critical link to sound watershed management for the Upper Hackensack, helping to maintain safe drinking water quality for nearly 1 million Bergen and Hudson County residents in New Jersey and in Rockland County, New York.

Watershed buffers... 

• Filter and slow runoff, absorbing pollutants
• Control erosion
• Mitigate flooding
• Provide habitat for wildlife
• Provide a sanctuary for hiking and passive recreation
  

While we continue to fight for the permanent protection of the last remaining open spaces in our region, we are increasingly turning our focus to developing stewardship and educational programs that ensure the long-term sustainability of our watershed.   These programs include:

• Encouraging good streamkeeping by residents living alongside waterways
• Installation of stormwater controls such as rain gardens
• Phasing out the use of high phosphorus fertilizers
• Promoting non-toxic, environmentally sound practices in public places and golf courses
  
  

How it works… Throughout the year, each of the different partners of the Co-op (listed on the right side of this page) will host an outdoor activity or indoor educational program at a nature center or other appropriate location to which all group members are invited. When applicable, member discounts will apply to all Co-op partner members and supporters. For example, if Tenafly Nature Center hosts an event, members of all other NPC groups pay the TNC member rate. (Non-members are also welcome to attend the event, but must pay the non-member rate.)  All NPC events are advertised in each partner group’s newsletter.

For a list of upcoming NPC programs, please see our HAPPENINGS page, or visit the NPC site at:

http://www.natureprogram.org/