Disposal Road certainly has proved to be a popular destination for birders, nature photographers, and winter raptors, but the Meadowlands Commission is concerned about everyone’s safety — especially when some of the best photo opportunities appear to be around dusk, when visibility is poor and Meadowlands Commission employees are leaving work.

We have urged employees once again to drive slowly on Disposal Road, but photographers and birders should be mindful that they need to be aware of vehicular traffic at all times. The road was designed for trash transport, not bird-watching, and drivers are also navigating speed bumps and potholes.

The Commission asks that folks be mindful of the potential dangers posed by a roadway that was not designed for pedestrians. For example, if you are wearing drab or camouflage clothing, you should not stand on the roadway.

The Commission is considering a couple of ideas to improve the situation. In the meantime, the Commission also welcomes ideas from the public.

If you would like to suggest any realistic solutions to the Disposal Road traffic safety issue, please e-mail Jim Wright at jim.wright@njmeadowlands.gov.

You will be happy to hear that we have thus far rejected the idea of valet parking.

These two plants have been common at Losen Slote — and they are invasive.

The plant on the left is mugwort. The plant on the right is the dreaded Mile-a- Minute vine.

Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society  and frequent leader of the NJMC/BCAS nature walk, has a new column on wildnewjersey.tv, about the abundance of Bald Eagles in our region and the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Here’s a sample:

This past month was the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), signed into law by President Nixon on December 28th 1973.

For the last 40 years the ESA has saved hundreds of animals, plants, birds, and fish and protected thousands of acres of critical wildlife habitat that is enjoyed not only by endangered species but by we humans also.

Here in New Jersey and even in Bergen County we can see the benefits of this groundbreaking piece of legislation by looking at places like the Hackensack River. The Endangered Species Act has brought back the Peregrine Falcons, the Osprey and none more dramatic a sight than the Bald Eagle, not only to the Hackensack but to rivers in communities all over the United States, a sight that was not possible for the last Century.

Growing up in the Hackensack Meadowlands, I never thought I would see the day when I could point out these magnificent birds to schoolchildren — an honor that my generation was never able to enjoy.

Link is here.