From the Archives: Arbor Day atop the Palisades

Here amidst the  cliffs of the Palisades sometimes we can’t see the trees from our terraces, in a metaphorical sense.  The day-to-day life in this less than rural setting with the world’s busiest bridge as our permanent scenic backdrop makes this disconnect understandable. Arbor day is the last Friday of April, this year April 26th, and in the spirit of Arbor Day it is wise to look east to Fort Lee’s largest abundance of trees preserved thanks to the wisdom of women and the bully pulpit of Theodore Roosevelt.

The new sequoias in Fort Lee taking shape are the towers of a new tomorrow, development of the once abandoned property near Main Street.  But as much as things change, in some very real sense they stay the same.  A few blocks from this massive new development sits a natural resource free to all of us yet so often little used by Fort Lee residents  - the Palisades Interstate Park.  For as sure as Main Street meanders east from the rising Phoenix of new development, it slowly dips towards Hudson Terrace and leads us to a land that is very much as it was when Henry Hudson sailed his Half Moon up the North River in September of 1609.

The Palisades in Fort Lee, these natural wonders created by the Ice Age, were being blown up bit by bit  in the late 19th century as the stone was being quarried for use in the construction of modern day Manhattan.  There were numerous failed attempts at the preservation of the Palisades.  But with characteristic grit and resolve the women  of New Jersey took the lead in this effort. The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs led the charge and their first success was the passage of a bill in 1899 by the New Jersey State Legislature empowering the Governor to appoint a committee of five to “report upon the present condition of the Palisades and to suggest some remedy or remedies to prevent the Palisades from defacement and depredation.”  In a wonderful book, The Palisades of the Hudson, by Arthur C. Mack, we are provided the details of how New Jersey Governor Foster M. Voorhees signed the enactment and named commission members.

The New York State Legislature passed a bill similar to that enacted in New Jersey and Governor Theodore Roosevelt appointed a New York Committee.  A year later, after many conferences and meetings, both state committees recommended in their reports to their state legislatures that the first step should be the passage of acts “constituting a permanent Interstate Palisades Park Commission with power to acquire and hold for each state whatever territory was necessary along the Palisades for an interstate park and thereby preserve the scenery along the Palisades – the intention being to form a continuous park along the entire front of the Palisades from Fort Lee, N.J., to Piermont, N.Y.”  According to Mr., Mack’s “The Palisades of the Hudson”, legislation to this end was passed by the New York State Legislature and approved by Governor Roosevelt on March 22nd, 1900.  However, things  did not go along as smoothly on the other side of the Hudson, in no little part do to the fact that we did not have the roar of Roosevelt in our New Jersey State Legislature.  There was a movement to kill the measure within and without the New Jersey State Legislature, led by the powerful quarrying interests.  However the forces of preservation held tight and fought hard and in the end Governor Voorhees signed the bill that was approved by the State Legislature.  These efforts, started by the  New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs and championed by TR (New York Governor Roosevelt) today serve as their legacy and our rich inheritance.  This gift comes with a price as we are the stewards of the Palisades and we must remain vigilant and work against encroachment for in the end we are caretakers who must pass on this rich heritage to future generations to enjoy. 

So on this Arbor Day, perhaps think about what you can do as a citizen of Fort Lee – one idea would be to volunteer to work on one of the Palisade Interstate Park volunteer clean up crews that meet atop and below the Palisades in Fort Lee and north to Alpine.  Currently volunteers are sought for cleanup in the aftermath of last October’s Superstorm Sandy.  The next volunteer cleanup dates are Saturday April 20 & 27 – you can visit this link to find out the dates and locations of the cleanups - http://www.njpalisades.org/.  Also check out this wonderful documentary produced by Palsiade Interstate Park Historical Interpreter Eric Nelsen, "New Deal for the Palisades."  

http://vimeo.com/22023989

The preservation of the Palisades championed by then Governor Roosevelt led to the creation of federal parks and the preservation of natural resources across this nation once TR became President.  This is a rich legacy, born atop our cliffs and one we need to continue to care for and protect for future generations.