From the Morris County Tourism Bureau:

Make It Morris Film Series: Saving the Great Swamp

See It Free at The Morristown-Morris Township Library on Sept. 25th at 6:30 PM

In Partnership with the Great Swamp Watershed Association

Join The Morris County Economic Development Alliance’s Film Committee for the Make It Morris Film Series: Saving The Great Swamp, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, at the Morristown & Morris Township Library in Morristown. Doors open at 6:30 and the film begins at 7 pm.

Go here for free registration.

New Jersey’s Great Swamp is nestled within a 55-square-mile natural basin, about 25 miles from New York City. It is a quiet, undisturbed place which provides a home for more than 200 bird species, many mammals, and a variety of reptiles, amphibians and fish. It is also the home to one of New Jersey’s largest breeding populations of Eastern Bluebirds. But it almost was lost.

In 1959, the Port Authority of New York announced plans to build an international jetport in the swamp with four 10,000-foot runways. This proposal, which the Port Authority deemed a done deal, would have filled in the swamp, demolished some 700 homes, and changed the landscape forever.

But a small group of concerned citizens opposed the threat and finally won. Their story is told in the fascinating documentary Saving the Great Swamp, and the Morristown-Morris Township Library is pleased to screen the film on Monday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m., with registration starting at 6:30 p.m. The library is at 1 Miller Road in Morristown.

This one-hour documentary tells the story of the events, people and politics behind the struggle to preserve this beautiful rural area between 1959 and 1968, and has won several awards since it came out in 2017. USA Today called the film “a truly astonishing and entertaining history lesson” and it has aired on PBS.

This free event is made possible thanks to the support of the Morris County Tourism Bureau, a division of the Morris County Economic Development Alliance, and the Morris County Economic Development Alliance’s Film Committee.

Additional sponsorship provided by the Great Swamp Watershed Association and the Morristown-Morris Township Library. Join us at The Morristown & Morris Township Library for the award-winning documentary Saving the Great Swamp screening.

The Morris County Economic Development Alliance & Morris County Tourism Bureau receives operating support from the County of Morris and the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the NJ Department of State. The MCEDA & Morris County Tourism Bureau receives funding through a grant from NJ Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism.

News Source : https://morristowngreen.com/2023/09/19/saving-the-great-swamp-screening-at-morristown-township-library-sept-25/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=saving-the-great-swamp-screening-at-morristown-township-library-sept-25