New Jersey Meadowlands - Human Impact

Human Impact

Before European settlement, the area consisted of several diverse eco-systems based on fresh-, brackish-, and saltwater environments. Large areas were covered by forests. Considered by residents of the area through the centuries as "wastelands," the Meadowlands were systematically subject to various kinds of human intervention. The four major categories are:

• Extraction of natural resources (including fish and game). Farmers also harvested salt hay for feed. Over time, the resources were either depleted or contaminated by pollution.
• Alteration of water flow
• Reclamation, land making, and development. In addition to landfill from garbage, landmass generated from dredging was also used to create new land. Many material from the landfill came from the World Trade Center.
• Pollution by sewage, refuse, and hazardous waste: various types of waste have been dumped legally and illegally in the Meadowlands. During World War II, refuse generated by the military during the war was dumped in the Meadowlands, including rubble from London created by the Battle of Britain used as ballast in returning ships. After the war, the Meadowlands continued to be used for civilian waste disposal, as the marshes were seen simply as wastelands that were not good for anything else. The opening of the New Jersey Turnpike in January 1952 only amplified the continuing environmental decline of the Meadowlands, as both spurs of the Turnpike travel through the region from the Passaic River to just past North Bergen.

The Meadowlands Sports Complex with stadia and a race track is also in the Meadowlands.