Group fights to protect local rivers and streams Woodbridge River Watch cleans, educates to preserve wetlands BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer For almost 20 years, the Woodbridge River Watch group has made it their mission to clean up the waterways in the township. "We have done about 30 extensive cleanups to the Woodbridge River," said Ernie Oros, chairman of the river watch group. "We have dug out tons of debris. The river has been totally abused. Whatever bad that could be done to a river, it was done to the Woodbridge River." Oros said the Woodbridge River Watch, which has been given the Governor's Award and a Pride in America Award, has grown from six members in August 1988. "We currently have 30 members," said Oros. "However, we peaked around 90 members." The goal of the Woodbridge River Watch is to maintain the waterways of the township through cleanups and public education. Oros said industrial waste had ruined and killed the headwaters of the river. The river runs from Avenel along the Pin Oak forest through Port Reading where it eventually empties into the Arthur Kill, which is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, N.Y., from mainland New Jersey. The area of the Pin Oak forest in Avenel makes up 97 acres of open space and the area in Port Reading makes up 90 to 100 acres of open space. The Woodbridge River is a tidal river and is 10 to 12 feet deep in some places and is two to three feet deep in the shallow areas. Among the waste, the River Watch group pulled out approximately 800 to 1,000 tires, 500 to 600 shopping cars, six to seven car engines and appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and stoves. "With all the parts we pulled out of the river, we could have made a piano," said Oros, who said they were lucky to have members that had trucks to pull out the big appliances. Oros added that the township was helpful with the cleanup efforts. In October, the fruits of their labor were shown during a dedication of the 64 acres of salt marsh at the Woodbridge River, which have been restored to their original condition. Local, state and federal agencies spent $7.2 million for the restoration, which was a project due in part by the Exxon spill at its Bayway facility into the Arthur Kill in 1990. Township officials along with representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey attended the dedication. The Exxon Corporation agreed to pay $10 million in civil settlements to federal and state natural resource trustees to restore the injured resources. In addition, a $1.5 million criminal restitution paid by Exxon has been allocated for natural resource restoration. In 1999, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Army Corps began the New York and New Jersey Harbor Deepening Project and dredged the harbor and surrounding channels to accommodate larger vessels. As a part of the project, the Port Authority needed to find restoration projects to help mitigate for the injury to natural resources it might cause. NOAA joined forces with the Army Corps, the DEP, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Woodbridge Township to restore the Woodbridge marshlands. Workers excavated fill from 36 acres and planted more than 360,000 marsh plants replacing most of the invasive phragmites species with a high quality marsh grass called spartina alterniflora. The project is scheduled to be finished by mid-November. The River Watch built a manmade walkway over the marshland in Port Reading, though it was later determined that walkway needed to be replaced; work will be done by the Army Corps by next spring. "I call [the walkway] the 'field of dreams," said Oros. "This is where the residents can come out and bird watch and where the students can come and observe." The Army Corps will construct two observation walkways that will feature maps, illustrations of wildlife and a history of the area. The restored marshland houses 90 to 100 various birds, deer, wild turkeys, skunks, raccoons, foxes and quails. "We also are working on making a half-acre butterfly garden in the Pin Oak forest area and having two walking trails made along the garden," he said. Oros, who will be 84 years old in two weeks, said there still needs a lot of work to do. "I hope someone could take over my place as chairman, but I look to continue preserving the township's natural resources," he said. "We'll keep on going as long as we can and we couldn't have done this without all our volunteers." Oros said his ultimate goal is the have a smaller replica of the historic kiln and gristmill placed along the marshland in Port Reading.