A bright future awaits the Hackensack Meadowlands, said Michael Gonnelli, a commissioner on the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, predicting what will come in the year 2000. Among the most crucial activities will be adopting a final Special Area Management Plan, something that has been in the works for over a decade, but has been under public for review since 1996. The SAMP, which is largely a master plan for the meadows, will shape the future of the district over the next twenty years. The plan will affect communities including North Bergen, Secaucus, and Jersey City. It will involve development, land fill, and wetlands remediation. Gonnelli said the HMDC hopes to “turn the map green” through wetlands enhancement projects and open space preservation. In Hudson County, These wetlands projects include a 38-acre site near Secaucus High school, a 53-acre site nearly Anderson Creek marsh, and the Riverbend wetland preserve, all in Secaucus. Some sites whose future will be determined in the coming year include the Empire Tract in Carlstadt, where a mall has been proposed, and the FTP site in Jersey City, where a North Bergen freight company has proposed a freight-handling facility. Gonnelli said progress would likely be made in numerous areas for road improvements and transportation as well. “We worked very hard last year to get things done,” Gonnelli said. “This year we should accomplish many of things we worked for.” Winter walks In other activities, the HMDC kicked off free naturalist-led winter walks through DeKorete Park on Jan. 9, walks that will continue on the second and fourth Sundays of every month through to March 26, weather permitting. This was in response to the fall walks through the park in Lyndhurst near the HMDC’s headquarters, during which the natural attractions of the area were pointed out. John R. Quinn, and award winning artist and author, as well as the HMDC’s natural resource specialists, will lead people from the lobby of the HMDC’s environment center for the lecture walk through the park. The walks will start at 1:30 p.m. and last about an hour and a half, covering the mile of barrier free trails and unique marsh discovery trail boardwalk. Quinn offers participant a lively running commentary on the origins of the Meadowlands and its human and natural history, as well as a close-up look at the ecology and winter wildlife of the 100-acre Kingsland Impoundment, the nearby Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management area, and the surrounding Hackensack Meadowlands. Participate are encourage to bring binoculars, spotting scopes and a hot drink thermos, and should dress as weather dictates. Pre-registration is requested. To register call 460-8300. A license plate In addition, the HMDC is seeking input for the design of a new specialty license plate based on Meadowlands Conservation. The design and production of the new plate was authorized through the establishment of a Meadowlands Conservation Trust earlier this year. Assembly Majority Leader Paul Digaetano sponsored a related bill in the 1997 legislature which was signed into law on March 11, 1999. The license plate sales will help fund the new conservation body, which will establish incentive programs to encourage land donations in the Hackensack River watershed and the areas governed by the HMDC. All funds raised will be used to protect open space and improve public accessibility and recreation opportunities in the 32-mile area. Bernie Nangle, the HMDC director of external affairs, is coordinating the design and production of the license plate. He said that residents interested in submitting drawings or design suggestions for the Meadowlands plate should keep in mind the small space available for the artwork and slogan. This is not a contest, and no submissions will be returned, nor prized awarded, Nangle said. “We’re simply seeking input from residents – and they don’t have to be artists – but we will, however, certainly contract respondents and appropriately acknowledge them if their suggestions or designs are incorporated into the final design for the plate,” he said. Drawings and design suggestions should be submitted to Nangle at HMDC headquarters, 1 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071.