Arthur
Kill Watershed
Northeastern New Jersey
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Six New Jersey streams flow into the Arthur Kill, the narrow saltwater
channel that separates New Jersey from Staten Island. The Kill’s
tributaries total over 75 miles of waterways, including the Elizabeth,
Rahway and Woodbridge rivers, as well as Moses, Piles and Smith
creeks and their respective feeder streams. The 130 square miles
drained by these streams in Essex, Middlesex and Union counties
make up the Arthur Kill watershed.
Although the industrial shore of the Arthur Kill appears overwhelming,
the watershed is predominantly residential with a population density
over five times that of New Jersey overall and 75 times that of
the nation. Surprisingly, this heavily populated and industrial
region retains significant natural stretches along its streams and
waterways which protect water quality, prevent flooding, provide
habitat for a surprising abundance and variety of wildlife and offer
public recreational opportunities.
In 1990, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the New Jersey Audubon Society conducted an inventory of
the river and stream corridor, identifying nearly 200 bird species
including about 90 species that breed in the watershed. NJCF coordinated
the Arthur Kill Greenways Tributaries Greenway Project and published
Greenways to the Arthur Kill to identify priority wildlife habitat
areas needing protection and potential greenways, linear networks
of parks and trails that often protect streams.
New Jersey Conservation Foundation has worked with many preservation partners over the last two
decades to establish a network of publicly and privately held lands
along the Arthur Kill. For example, we assisted Edison Township
with the acquisition of approximately 17 acres of upland and wetland
forest for critical wildlife habitat protection.
To learn more about New Jersey Conservation Foundation's preservation work in the Arthur Kill,
please contact Lisa MacCollum, Assistant Director of Acquisition,
at 1-888-LANDSAVE (1-888-526-3728) or
lisa@njconservation.org.
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