| Elderly man rescued
from woods
BY ROB JENNINGS
DAILY RECORD
Thursday, March 29, 2007
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- An 84-year-old Denville man who went
missing overnight Wednesday was rescued this morning near the cemetery
where his parents are buried, police said today.
Joseph Konecnik -- located by a hiker at around 10:30
a.m. in the woods by Wildcat Ridge
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Morris, state fund deal for 77-acre camp
$1.3 million sale adds property to Rockaway Township's
open space, purchase includes Egnert's Lake
THE DAILY RECORD
1/6/2006
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- An easement along an abandoned rail bed
on the west side of the lake will be transferred to the Morris County Park
Commission as an extension of its West Morris Greenway trail system, connecting
the property to Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.
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No repairs for hawkwatch
Platform destroyed by fire last year at Wildcat Ridge
won't be rebuilt by DEP
8/27/05
BY ZENAIDA MENDEZ
DAILY RECORD
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- The hawkwatch platform at Wildcat Ridge
Wildlife Management Area will not be rebuilt, the state Department of Environmental
Protection has decided.
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Calling All hawk-eyed individuals
July 31, 2005
By Fred J. Aun
Star Ledger
The fire that destroyed a beautiful observation platform
atop Wildcat Ridge last October didn't stop the Friends of Wildcat Ridge
from counting hawks.
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Coalition to buy 525 acres for $6.1M
Public-private partnership to preserve Rockaway
Twp. woodlands
June 12, 2005
BY PAULA SAHA Star-Ledger Staff
After 10 years of negotiation, a coalition of public and
private agencies is on track to purchase a 525-acre tract of woodlands
and streams in Rockaway Township this month. The land will be absorbed
into the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.
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Students hit with hazing charges after fraternity
bash
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/30/04
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A raucous, after-hours college fraternity
bash at Wildcat Ridge was broken up by police, who slapped 20 Montclair
State University students with hazing and/or underage drinking charges.
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Preservation promise
3 leaders push their Highlands legislation
05/28/03-Posted 11:32:30 PM from the Daily Record newsroom
By Colleen O'Dea, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- With a nearly unbroken vista of trees
as a backdrop, three New Jersey congressmen vowed to push their legislation
to designate the Highlands as a federal stewardship area and commit $250
million in federal funds to land preservation.
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Splitrock toilet is no ordinary portable potty
Public facility in Rockaway Twp. does not use septic
11/15/2004
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A public toilet recently installed at
the Splitrock Reservoir by the state Department of Environmental Protection
is no ordinary portable potty.
Described by DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey as an "environmentally-friendly,
non-septic using, self-contained toilet facility," it will keep visitors
to the 625-acre reservoir from having to duck behind a tree before boarding
their kayaks and canoes.
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This turkey day
honors the bird
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/18/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Wildcat Ridge will be one of two locations
in the nation hosting the National Wild Turkey Federation's Thanksgiving
Turkey Release next week.
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Wild turkeys win their
freedom in Rockaway Twp.
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/21/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - A dozen wild turkeys flew to freedom this
morning, the star attractions in the National Wild Turkey Federation's
annual "Thanksgiving Turkey Release."
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100 Acres on Wildcat Ridge (NJ) Protected
Trust for Public Land
12/21/01
The purchase of the Johnson Woods property protects wildlife
habitat, safeguards the Town of Rockaway’s water the water supply, and
extends public access to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area. The
area is a prime feeding and
nesting habitat for hawks, eagles and other raptors during
spring and fall migrations.
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Found: Dead bear without claws
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
11/19/02
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Investigators are trying to find out who
removed the claws from the body of a 285-pound black bear after it was
struck by a car and killed.
The dead bruin was found by township police, about
50 yards north of the Split Rock Dam.
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Wildlife area gains 61 acres
By Matt Manochio,Daily Record
7/3/2001
ROCKAWAY TWP. — Sixty-one forested acres have been added
to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in a three-part agreement
between a township family, Morris land Conservancy and the Conservation
fund.
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Hiker found after night on ridge in Rockaway
By Greg Saitz
Star Ledger
10/19/99
An overnight search for a hiker on Wildcat Ridge in Rockaway
Township ended yesterday morning when rescuers found the woman unharmed
after a stormy night in the woods, authorities said.
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Lost hawk counter guides his rescuers
Star Ledger
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
ROCKAWAY TWP.: Police are
warning hikers to be prepared for the worst during excursions into the
woods ....
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|
Keep Watching the
Skies
August 14, 2005
By Christine Contillo
New York Times
This is the time of year when hawks flock to the skies,
and hawkwatchers flock to the hills and ridges of New Jersey.
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Rockaway Twp. officials find body in reservoir
July 11, 2005
DAILY RECORD STAFF REPORT
ROCKAWAY TWP. --Local and township officials retrieved
the body of a man from the Split Rock Reservoir on Monday afternoon, Rockaway
Township Fire Chief Joe Mason said.
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Highlands a priority, say U.S. Secretary
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
05/23/04 - Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton
called Highlands preservation a national priority Saturday and lauded local
and community efforts aimed at protecting the 800,000-acre region.
"It's wonderful to see things firsthand -- to see the
wonderful areas that are here, the importance of the watershed and the
strong natural resources," said Norton, the first Interior Secretary to
visit the Highlands region in a decade.
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$14M allotted for open spaces
County trust fund announces grants
November 11, 2004
BY PAULA SAHA
Star-Ledger Staff
A 525-acre tract in Rockaway Township adjacent to the
Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area just might be preserved as its original
owner wished.
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Conservancy buys 100 acres in Rockaway Twp.
Land will be added to state wildlife sanctuary
Friday, October 18, 2002
BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE
Star-Ledger Staff
When three Nutley investors bought a 100-acre parcel in
Rockaway Township in the 1980s, they envisioned making a future financial
killing because their land would abut a major golf course proposed by famed
golfer Arnold Palmer.
But the golf course was never built.
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Holding the High Ground
Trust for Public Land
10/28/00
By Richard M. Stapleton
A strong coalition moves to preserve open space in the
New Jersey Highlands, a crowded state's last best defense against sprawl.
Bill Gallagher has to carry his chair to work every morning.
And there's no elevator. Not even stairs. His office is a hundred stories
up, on a balcony-sized ledge of million-year-old metamorphic gneiss. There's
no kitchenette, and the men's room is, well, over behind a tree. But ohhhhh,
he enjoys the view.
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Cabinet chief to hike to Wildcat
By Charlotte G. Kullen,Daily Record
10/23/99
ROCKAWAY TWP. — Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt
will hike up the trails leading to the Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch Monday,
to get a bird’s eye view of a 300-acre property that conservationists want
to stop from becoming another subdivision.
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A bird in a hand..
Makes it worth a trip to wildlife management area
By Dianne Sommers,Daily Record
March 19, 2002
Surrounded by freezing wind, Bill Gallagher is perched
on the edge of a rocky ridge that’s so high he can see clear to Manhattan.
He’s standing around and staring into the sky. He’s busy.
Gallagher is counting raptors, or birds of prey, as a
volunteer for the Hawk Migration Association of North America. The big
birds use the same flyways each year, so counting them during spring and
fall migrations helps monitor their population trends.
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AS PARKS GROW, SO DO THEIR NEEDS
June 11, 2000
By Jan Barry, Staff Writer, Bergen Record,
Nature lovers this spring have 83 additional acres to
explore in the rugged Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in Rockaway
Township.
Wild and remote, it's a jewel in the state's open-space
inventory. But it's also just a very small one, amid thousands of acres
added in the past year to the state's parks and forests.
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Adventures in Leadership
Awards for 2000
Recipient:
Lisa Reyerson
Copeland Middle School
To obtain and incorporate educational signs on the Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch
in Rockaway Township. She will work with members of the Hawkwatch
professional staff as well as local designers and volunteers.
Hike of the Week
Bergen Record
9/25/2003
FEATURES: This loop hike in the Farny Highlands climbs
to a panorama over Rockaway Valley from the Hawk Watch and goes by a beaver
pond.
LENGTH: 2.4 miles.
DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.
TIME: About two hours.
MAP: Wildcat Ridge trails map (available at f.vanderburgh.home.att.net/imap/wcrtrails.html).
DOGS: Permitted on leash.
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Lost hikers rescued after call to police
Daily Record
11/01/03
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Snow may stymie bear hunting
12/07/03
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
John Rogalo of Stanhope, president of the Morris County
chapter of the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen, predicted that bear
hunters would flock to Wawayanda State Park in Vernon, the Berkshire Valley
Wildlife Management Area and Wildcat Ridge in Rockaway Township.
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Splitrock gets a new parking lot
11/22/2003
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. - A 25-vehicle gravel parking lot opened
Friday at the Splitrock Reservoir, state Department of Environmental Protection
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell said.
The parking lot, located at the southern end of the reservoir,
will provide access for people to launch a car-top boat for fishing, kayaking
or canoeing, Campbell said. Gasoline-powered engines will not be permitted
on the reservoir, he said.
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|
Hunters bag trophies
on first day of bear hunt
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
BY BRIAN T. MURRAY
Star-Ledger Staff
It was just before 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning when Terry
Atkins fired his Ithaca 12-gauge pump-gun and hit the lumbering black bear
in the left side, high in the chest. But the large bruin did not drop.
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DEP takes a closer look at Split Rock
Neighbors say access has spawned problems
November 03, 2005
BY PAULA SAHA
Star-Ledger Staff
Two years after opening the Split Rock Reservoir in Rockaway
Township to the public, officials at the state Department of Environmental
Protection say they are looking into increasing enforcement in the area
and building a permanent ramp for rescue boats.
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Hawk-tober Festival
Pathways Fall 2005
Morris County Park Commission
The annual weekend celebration will focus on charismatic
birds of prey - hawks!
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Split Rock bridge: Ace of the holes
9/18/05 - Rob Jennings, Daily Record
The Road Crew has bounced over quite a few roads in Morris
County with car-chomping potholes.
Probably the worst is the one-lane bridge over the Jersey
City-owned Split Rock Reservoir's dam in Rockaway Township.
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Volunteer Profile
July 30, 2005
By Tehani Schneider
Daily Record
Who is he? Where does he volunteer? Why does he volunteer?
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Hawkwatch platform fire probed as a possible
arson
Autorities: Blaze that destroyed deck may have been started intentionally
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/06/04
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Splitrock Reservoir users told to beware
Officials look to prevent lawsuits with new warning sign:
Enter at own risk
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/8/04
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- Local officials have a message for hikers
and boaters at Splitrock Reservoir: Enter at your own risk.
A sign warning that "emergency response may be delayed
due to the inaccessibility of this remote area" will be installed near
the 625-acre reservoir, Mayor Louis Sceusi said Thursday.
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Sprawl in Highlands imperils water supply
Federal study details threats to region
By Colleen O'Dea, Daily Record
4/5/02
The Highlands region in New Jersey and New York is losing
more than 5,000 acres a year to development, and that could deplete the
water supply to dangerous levels if officials don’t act to curtail sprawl,
according to a federal study being released today.
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FRELINGHUYSEN SECURES FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR HIGHLANDS
PRESERVATION
7/7/2001
CAPITOL HILL – Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey’s
senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced today his
success in securing $9.5 million for land purchases in the Highlands.
Frelinghuysen also secured a requirement for two cabinet agencies, the
U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture, to develop plans on how the
Federal Government will become a major partner in efforts to preserve lands
within this critical national priority area.
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Green Acres Program Protects Wildcat Ridge
6/22/2000
The Green Acres Program, along with the Trust for Public
Land, Morris County, Rockaway Township, the Forest Legacy Program and the
Land and Water Conservation Fund preserved 295 acres of land adjacent to
the State's 2,662 acre Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area. Situated
in the state's Highlands region, the newly protected land begins the development
of connections to the Farny Highlands Trail Network, a 37-mile trail system
linking public lands throughout Morris County.
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Colored Redtail Sightings
Dan Kunkle
wildlife@fast.net
Saturday August 11, 2001
Thanks to the reports from volunteers like you, we had
16 sighitngs of color marked Red-tailed Hawks from our first year of marking.
We begin the second year of the study this August. We will again be color
marking birds as described below. PLEASE TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THOSE RED-TAILS
beginning now, and continuing through next spring. Please report any sightings
as indicated below.
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Youths blamed in brush fire
Firefighters kept blaze from reaching homes in Rockaway Township
04/25/03 - Posted 11:06:47 PM from the Daily Record newsroom
By Rob Seman, Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A fire believed to have been set by local
youths burned 19 acres of trees and brush near the border of Boonton Township
on Thursday afternoon.
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Hawk Migration Over NJ Highlands
By Lorraine Ash,Daily Record
9/21/01
No matter what happens on earth, the birds migrate and
there are those that never miss their majestic journey over the flyways
of New Jersey.
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Hiker OK after being rescued from park
Daily Record
July 6, 2003
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Vandals disturb 19th century grave
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
10/08/03 - Daily Record
ROCKAWAY TWP. -- A 19th century grave plot at St. Patrick's
Cemetery was partially unearthed, but the remains of three people interred
there were not removed, police said.
Authorities responded to the historic, remote burial ground
after a Lake Denmark Road resident reported the disturbance on Sunday,
according to a police report.
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High-flying spectacle
Thursday, September 25, 2003
The Record
By Vera Lawlor staff writer
Ten pairs of binoculars are trained on two broad-winged
hawks flying low along the cliff face.
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Wildcat
Ridge in the News
