Council urged to say no

The Edison Township Council is considering a proposal to clear-cut at least 8 acres of pristine forested wetlands and healthy upland forest right in the heart of the Dismal Swamp Conservation Area. What makes this parcel unique is that it is landlocked and accessible only through township-owned land. This means the fate of this beloved natural oasis lies solely with the Edison Council.

The Dismal Swamp, or "The Diz," is the only large natural area left for the hundreds of thousands of residents of Edison, South Plainfield, Metuchen and nearby Woodbridge. As "the Everglades of central New Jersey," the Dismal Swamp offers prime habitat for over 175 species of birds, including threatened and endangered species.

Best of all, the Diz is being enjoyed by the public more than ever before. The nonprofit Triple C Ranch hosts Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, school trips, seniors groups, young Police Explorers, church groups, and environmental science field trips for Edison high school students. At no cost to Township residents, hiking trails and bird blinds are being constructed throughout the Conservation Area, offering families the only local opportunity to encounter nature and enjoy the great outdoors in the middle of Edison.

Unfortunately, the council is currently weighing a proposal to destroy the very heart of the Conservation Area. A proposal to build single-family homes and a sprawling Jehovah's Witness hall would decimate wildlife and the public's ability to experience this natural wonder, in addition to significantly worsened flooding and other harmful effects it would cause to neighbors.

The Dismal Swamp's wetlands are considered so important for Edison's flood control that both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated them a national priority. Without the healthy Dismal Swamp to absorb excess rainwater, the massive storm that hit Edison this past April would have likely flooded out hundreds of homes in nearby residential communities.

In fact, the Township Council and Mayor Choi have already recognized what an amazing resource the Dismal Swamp is for Edison families by working with the Friends of the Dismal Swamp and other local groups to transform a former factory into a regional Dismal Swamp environmental education camp center. The planned site of that center is just a stone's throw from the Visco tracts that are now being considered for overdevelopment.

The Township Council should take a firm stand for the families of Edison, and vote no on allowing a politically connected developer to use land owned by the residents of Edison in order to bulldoze over thriving wetlands and clear-cut vast tracts of healthy forest. Instead, the council should pursue the full preservation of the Visco tracts and the other remaining unprotected portions of Edison's Dismal Swamp Conservation Area.

On Jan. 3, the proposal will be heard by the Planning Board, and the council will likely decide on it soon after. This council and mayor's administration have already allowed many of our few healthy remaining forests to be paved over throughout Edison - along Woodland Road, near the Costco site on Route 27, and another large parcel on Route 1. There's no need for the council to destroy Edison's last real wildlife sanctuary as well. The solution for the council is as easy as "saying no to Visco."

David Wheeler Edison Wetlands Association

Edison