Below is the press release from the BCAS:
Don Smith to receive Bergen County Audubon’s Frank M. Chapman Award
Don Smith has been called “Mr. Meadowlands. And just like Frank Chapman has devoted his life to the preservation and protection of our avian wildlife and the habitat they need to live and thrive.
Don grew up exploring and discovering the marshes of the Meadowlands. He is a Little Ferry native, a retired Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission naturalist, outdoorsman, and storyteller. Don Smith himself, is one of the natural treasures of the Meadowlands and one of the key figures in the region’s comeback. Don was on the front lines of the battle to save the Meadowlands.
Don served as the Senior Natural Resource Specialist and Water Pollution/Environmental Inspector for the then HMDC (later the NJMC) for 26 years, from 1972 to 1998. As an inspector, Don patrolled the district and documented sources of water pollution and illegal discharges of waste. He worked in association with State and Federal regulatory agencies to identify hazardous spills in the Hackensack River Estuary and initiated response for containment and cleanup.
Among his many accomplishments is the restoration of Harrier Meadow in 1996. The then HMDC bought the Harrier Meadow site and worked with Ducks Unlimited to design a natural area with native plants to offset wetland impacts from a Conrail project. At the urging of Don Smith, the three open-water impoundments were created.
The impact of the improvements was immediate. Before the enhancement began, 42 bird species were reported. Just after, that number had climbed to 58. Now there have been well over 222 species of birds reported there.
And let’s not forget about the methane burner on Disposal Road. When no one else knew what to do, it was Don who came up with the design to protect the birds from being burned.
Don today, even though retired from the Commission, still watches out for the water, the wildlife and the people of the Meadowlands, and is never afraid to voice his opinion when he sees what he considers all those things he cherishes and loves about our Meadowlands not being honored.
Please join us on January 12 at Our Annual Meadowlands Eagle Festival for our awards ceremony.
Don Torino -Bergen County Audubon Society