Effort being mounted to reclaim park
Workers dismantle large ATV course in 1,700-acre expanse
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Matt Rosencranz, 17, and Dan Devincenzo, 16, roll away a tire they dug up that was used to create a jump for ATV riders in Jamesburg County Park.

Middlesex County officials have set a course to stop the frequent use of all-terrain vehicles in Jamesburg Park, and to clean up some of the destruction left behind.

Part of that effort took place last week, when the county's Conservation Corps spent several days working to combat the problems caused by all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The group, led by a representative of the county Parks and Recreation Department, took down a course built by riders and began mapping the area, among other tasks.

"There is certainly no overnight solution," said Rick Lear of the county parks department, who led the crew. "I wish I had a magic pill or a magic wand that would turn it back to what it should be."

The Conservation Corps, started last year by the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, consists of two groups - adults who volunteer their time, and the Youth Corps, which consists of people from teens to 20s who are paid for their work.

Jamesburg Park

"The goal for the Conservation Corps is to really do work in any of the land or properties that were preserved by the open space fund," Lear said, adding that over 6,000 acres have been preserved in the county.

Due to an article that appeared in Greater Media Newspapers in January regarding the use of ATVs in the 1,700-acre Jamesburg Park, the county has made the expanse a top priority for environmental work, according to Ralph Albanir, director of parks and recreation for the county.

A stronger enforcement presence by rangers is one of the measures the county has taken to bring parts of the park back to its natural state. Albanir said county parks workers have also been posting signs to indicate the boundaries of the park, thereby discouraging the four-wheelers.

Lear said part of the problem is the number of access points created by rights of way because of the railroad, along with the gas and power lines in the area. One way to discourage the open-door mentality, he said, is to encourage more of the passive recreation activities that are conducive to the park's health.

"The more you get people in there to do other stuff, the more you tend to lose the people doing the wrong things," Lear said. "I think it's a wonderful place to go for a hike or for a walk."

Walking trails, which would help promote legal recreation there, are being considered by parks officials, Lear said.

The county is working with local historian and avid Jamesburg Park hiker Joe Sapia, of Monroe, who is familiar with the park's geography and has helped identify problem areas, according to Albanir.

Although concerned parties are taking various avenues to address the issue, a major roadblock slows them in their tracks. Jamesburg Park spans four municipalities, and borders another two. Despite its name, the park is not situated in Jamesburg. Instead, it reaches across parts of East Brunswick, Monroe, Helmetta and Spotswood. Jamesburg and South Brunswick have access points along its boundaries.

Due to ATV riders' ability to travel quickly through the park's rough terrain, they are difficult to apprehend. East Brunswick Police Lt. Bill Krause has said there is simply not enough manpower, nor sufficient resources for patrolling the park. Putting officers there would take them off the street, Krause said. The department would also have to get similar vehicles to chase down the four-wheelers.

"The only way you can stop these off-road vehicles is to enforce them and catch them in the act, and they're very hard to catch," Albanir said.

The ATV and bike course traversed about 5 acres, according to Lear. Dismantling it involved taking down jumps, filling in holes and removing buried objects like tires and traffic barrels.

"Over time, that area can kind of heal itself," Lear said.

To help the healing process, garbage removal was necessary. With Sapia's help, the group was able to zero in on sites in the park that had the greatest need for cleanup.

Some did not welcome the change.

Vandals tried to thwart the efforts of the group by redistributing the gathered garbage throughout the area, and spray painting vulgarities and threats on trees and debris.

"It's a hard thing with this park," Lear said. "You're kind of up against, I think, entrenched ways of thinking."

Sapia, whose family has walked the park's trails for the past 100 years, said the vandals returned to the scene later the same day, but evaded police and rangers. He said he's had enough of nothing being done to prohibit the destruction there.

"I think law enforcement … should do a crackdown," Sapia said.

Lear said parks officials have been in communication with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, gleaning information about the enforcement of environmental crimes.

Sapia said he has seen and heard fewer off-roaders in recent months, both near his Monroe home and during his frequent hikes in the park.

"The ATV activity may have decreased, but it doesn't seem to have gone away," Sapia said.