The Hackensack River has its origin at Lake Lucille in New York state and flows past Secaucus down into Newark Bay. The river is filled with fish like perch and carp, and is the habitat for birds like egrets and cormorants. For those interested in the life of the river, environmental scientists Dr. Ildiko Pechmann and Dr. Francisco Artigas of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority escort riders on pontoon boat tours around the Hudson County portion of the river, past Secaucus, all summer long.
Industrial firms once lined the river for decades and poured their wastes into its fresh waters. The river was once heavily polluted, but Pechmann and Artigas say the water has become mostly clean of contamination. The soil of the river bed remains polluted, according to Pechmann, but there are hopeful signs that the river is slowly healing itself.
“We now see nature reclaimed,” Pechmann said. “Nothing has been planted, it came naturally.”
Today birds like cormorants, or diving birds, search for perch that live in the brackish water in the lower part of the river, in a salty mixture of river water mixed with the waters of the ocean that the river eventually empties into.
On a recent boat ride on Friday, July 15 during high tide, diving birds were seen drying their wings off on top of wooden planks. They dive into water and swim to catch fish. Water isn’t repelled by their feathers like a duck, so the diving birds have to sit in the sun to dry.
“We now see nature reclaimed.” – Dr. Ildiko Pechmann
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According to Pechmann, fish and birds don’t like to live, eat, or pass through phragmites. Fish enjoy the spartina, or cordgrass, more, Pechmann said. Cordgrass are thinner than reeds, and easier to swim through. From the boat, birds could be seen flying through reeds, or sitting near cordgrass.
Another plant spotted on the boat ride is salt marsh water hemp. Pechmann said it’s related to marijuana, but doesn’t have the same alkaloids.
Under the bridge for Route 3 East a peregrine falcon couple and their two babies had built a nest that could be seen from the boat.
The tour boats can generally pass under an old bridge still used by NJ Transit. The bridge was made by the same person who built the Golden Gate Bridge, according to Pechmann. The NJSEA can call NJ Transit to move the bridge if the tide gets too high for the boat to safely ride under.
Anyone can take a pontoon boat ride with environmental scientists by visiting njsea.com for the full schedule, registration, direction, and donation information. Boat cruises last for about two hours and leave from 260 Outwater Lane in nearby Carlstadt. The next rides start Tuesday, Aug. 2 and run every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the month until the 24th.
The rides are for a suggested donation of $15 to go towards the Hackensack River. Registration is recommended to ensure your seat on the boat, and can be found on the website.
Hills, natural and man-made
Pechmann said Laurel Hill is made of volcanic rock, and is the only real hill in Secaucus.
“There was lots of illegal dumping here, and that had to be put to a stop. The rest of the hills are made of garbage with a cap on top to keep gases from releasing,” he said.
Methane gas can be released from the cap and sold to places like PSE&G, according to Pechmann. The PSE&G plant is also along the river near the Belleville Turnpike. PSE&G raised the towers because of the rising water level.
“If you don’t believe in global warming, PSE&G does,” Artigas said as he pointed to the plant’s electrical towers.
If the tide is low, great blue herons and other birds can be seen resting on mud flats. The NJSEA will conduct a study in the near future to look at the carbon fluxes in the mud flats. They’re going to take samples from the flats, and see how much salt and sentiments are in it. The study will be funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and scientists hope to understand the carbon fluxes.
According to Pechmann, herons and egrets are seen more often during a low tide. Other birds that can be seen in the tours of the marshes on the river are the black crowned night heron, the snowy egret, the great egret, the great blue heron, and osprey. There are man-made osprey nests along the river, but one nest can be seen by the NJ Transit bridge. Pechmann said the man-made nests might be too low to the ground, and for that reason are not to the birds’ liking.
Samantha Meyers can be reached at samantham@hudsonreporter.com .