GSWA Executive Director Sally Rubin chats with U.S. Congressman Rodney Frelinhuysen (right) and Larry Fast (Long HIll Township) following a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The ceremony took place outside the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge on September 3, 2014.
On September 3, 2014, members of GSWA’s staff and Board of Trustees attended a ceremony at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Great Swamp N.W.R. was the first unit under the U.S. Department of the Interior to receive federal wilderness status when president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the legislation into law 50 years ago.
The keynote address for the anniversary was delivered by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. In a nod to our humble corner of the country, she began her remarks by noting how much the Great Swamp epitomizes those values originally embodied in the Wilderness Act.
Those also in attendance included Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, Congressman Rush Holt, Congressman Leonard Lance; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services Director Donald Ashe; Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society; and Laura Herrin, regional vice president of the Student Conservation Association (SCA).
GSWA us honored to have been a part of this very important milestone in our nation’s history.