Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System.

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey in March 2008
Map of Morris County with State of New Jersey inset and Great Swamp highlighted
LocationMorris County, New Jersey, U.S.
Nearest cityMorristown, New Jersey
Coordinates40°42′30″N 74°28′00″W
Area7,800 acres (32 km2)
Established1960
Governing bodyU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WebsiteGreat Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. National Natural Landmark
DesignatedMay 1966

The first part of the Great Swamp that was assembled and donated for perpetual preservation by the park service of the federal government was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1966. More land has been added several times. Its eastern half (3,660 acres (14.8 km2)) was designated as a wilderness by Congress in 1968, making it the first wilderness area within the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since about 1966, it has been managed by the Morris County Park Commission.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.