How a Plan for a Jetport Created a National Wildlife Refuge

Contributed by Patricia Wells, Chatham Township Historical Society

In December 1959 the Newark Daily News headlined the NY Port Authority’s plan to build a 10,000-acre jetport on the Great Swamp. Residents in the towns surrounding the swamp, including the Chathams, were suddenly faced with the destruction of their communities and homes. The public’s reaction was all action. Organizers of the first meeting held at Madison High School hoped for a hundred people to show up. The auditorium was swamped with concerned citizens. Thousands of people gave their time, their money and their voices to defeat the plan, but Austin Tobin, the head of the NY Port Authority was intent on taking the land by eminent domain.

Behind the scenes, Marcellus Hartley Dodge, secretly purchased 1,000 acres of swamp land to donate to the federal government because the Port Authority could not take federal lands. Secretary of the Interior Stuart Udall agreed to create a wildlife refuge if 3,000 acres could be procured. With the plan out in the open, the Great Swamp Committee of the North American Wildlife Foundation spearheaded the fund raising. An additional 462 organizations and 6,100 individuals raised more than $1 million (equal to $8 million today) to purchase the land.

In May 1964 Secretary Udall dedicated the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Chatham Township Historical Society Historic Marker team (L-R) Tom Salvas, Bert Abbazia, Pat Wells, Kathy Woodward and Martha Wells.

Courtesy of Tom Salvas

But Tobin wasn’t done yet, claiming the jetport and the refuge could coexist. So Representative Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. and members of the Great Swamp Committee went to Washington to convince Congress that much of the newly acquired land should be designated wilderness, where nothing with an engine would be allowed. Congress agreed and in 1968 half the refuge was declared wilderness. The jetport was finally defeated.

Today the Refuge consists of 7,800 acres of which 4,100 acres are wilderness. In 2010 the Helen Fenske Visitors Center on Lees Hill Road opened, named to honor Green Villager Helen Fenske who helped lead the Great Swamp Committee. The Morris County Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center is located at 247 Southern Blvd, Chatham Township.

The award winning-documentary film “Saving the Great Swamp: The Battle to Defeat the Jetport”, by Chatham resident Scott Morris, is available at the Fenske Visitors Center or go to https://www.savingthegreatswamp.com.

New historic marker commemorating the defeat of a plan to build a jetport in the Great Swamp. Unveiled September 2019 at the corner of Southern Blvd and Hampton Road.

Courtesy of Tom Salvas

In September 2019 the Chatham Township Historical Society unveiled its latest historical marker. Located on the corner of Southern Blvd and Hampton Road, the marker honors the fight to save the Great Swamp and the creation of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Back of historic marker

Courtesy of Tom Salvas