Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition Reveals Better Location for Disc Golf Course
Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition
(973) 760-9373
9/18/2017
Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition
Media Contact: Ann Schnakenberg
ann@softprose.com (973) 760-9373
*** PRESS ADVISORY ***
Local Group Reveals Better Location for Disc Golf Course
Press Conference: Thursday, September 21st, at 1:00PM, by the Nature Center at Rifle Camp Park
The Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition (http://saveRCP.org) announces a Press Conference to declare a new location at an existing county golf course in lower Passaic County would be more suitable for the proposed Disc Golf Course.
To get to the press conference, drive into Rifle Camp Park-at 387 Rifle Camp Rd., Woodland Park– and park in the last parking lot, the “Ring” at the end of the road. Representatives from the Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition will be onsite to welcome you and direct you to the conference. The Nature Center is up a small path from the parking area. This is the same section of the park where the Passaic County Freeholders are planning on installing a Disc Golf Course to replace the forested natural areas of the park.
You will observe that the Nature Center and Observatory has been closed and abandoned; the exhibits inside have been left to rot.
Passaic County Parks no longer employs a naturalist. Bathroom facilities are limited to the first parking lot as you enter the park. A full Media Kit will be provided on the day, with maps, documentation, and history of our efforts to protect Rifle Camp Park from overdevelopment. Following the press conference, this Media Kit will also be available on our website in our Media Resources section, at http://savercp.org/media/.
What Is Happening to Rifle Camp Park?
The Passaic County Freeholders have announced a plan to convert Rifle Camp Park from a passive park dedicated to nature to an active sports facility hosting a tournament- level Disc Golf course. They have hired a designer who has presented a design to convert nearly the entire forested areas of the park to a PDGA-approved disk golf facility. Note this planned sporting amenity would be the closest Disc Golf Course to New York City; at 17 miles it is almost half as close as the nearest other courses at Camp Gaw. Local residents feel that this is not in their best interests, and oppose this proposal.
The only people who can stop the construction at this point are the Passaic County Freeholders. They are having a meeting on Tuesday September 26th at 6PM, at their Meeting Room on the second floor of
401 Grand Street, Paterson NJ. We are encouraging residents and park users who object to this plan to show up and let the Freeholders know how they feel about this proposal. Our website at saveRCP.org has information about this meeting and other action events we have planned.
BACKGROUND:
Rifle Camp Park is the last undeveloped Passaic County Park in lower Passaic County. The redevelopment of the park away from a natural open space devoted to hiking and passive recreation will remove a precious refuge from city life from the citizens of lower Passaic County. In addition, Rifle Camp Park is considered an Audubon Important Birding Area; a vital stopover for many rare and unusual species during their spring and fall migration patterns. Some threatened species have been found there, such as the red-headed woodpecker. The proposed change in use for this park will disrupt both migrating species and those that live in the park year round, including a robust deer population which may need to find a new home.
Rifle Camp Park was established in the 1970’s with large natural areas clearly marked. The park is adjacent to the Great Notch Reservoir and contains wetlands that include the headwaters for the Third River. A Nature Center and Observatory building was built to celebrate the environment, and the natural world that can still be found there. This park was clearly designed and intended for Passive
Recreation- Hiking, education, and the peaceful contemplation of nature.
Rifle Camp Park is a Green Acres recipient park. However, in apparent violation of Green Acres regulations, the Freeholders of Passaic County have refused to have the public hearing required during a transfer from a passive park to an active sports facility.
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) guideline document for disc golf design, an 18 hole tournament-level course will require at least 4500 feet of fairway, between 15 and 40 feet
wide- an estimated one acre per hole. The Freeholders now claim the installation of golf course fairway thru the lush native forest at Rifle Camp Park will disturb less than a quarter acre of trees, something clearly in dispute based on our own research – and common sense. See the map of the proposed course from Passaic County’s presentation, shown on our website at http://savercp.org/disc_golf_map/. This plan is not to “add” a disc golf course to the park, but rather to convert the existing acreage to a disc golf course by using nearly all available space for fairways and tees.
Disc Golf is not “Frisbee” Golf
“Frisbee” is a trademark of the Wham-O toy corporation, and refers to soft plastic flying discs that are often used for games of catch.
Nobody plays catch with disc golf discs. Disc Golf is played with hard plastic slabs, not at all like the soft Frisbees of our youth.
They are thrown at high speed at metal targets. You would not want to walk too close to an active disc golf course; it is known to be dangerous.
Who is the Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition?:
The Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition was forged from community members and environmentally-minded organizations gathered together to protect our treasured park. We are your neighbors, your friends; concerned citizens brought together by an urgent call. In support of our efforts to end this project, the Save Rifle Camp Park Coalition has begun a grass-roots campaign to explain to the community what is at risk and to build support for our cause Our high-visibility Lawn Signs are available, along with important information on our website, http://saveRCP.org. We invite any environmentally-minded group to join our coalition, and receive new support every day.
We may not be saving the world, but are doing what we can to protect a little corner of it.
Think Globally, Act Locally.
Save Rifle Camp Park!
UPCOMING EVENT:
Please attend the next Passaic County Freeholders meeting.
The Freeholders Meet Second and Fourth Tuesday of each Month
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 26th 5:30-8:00pm
Location: 401 Grand St., 2nd Floor, Paterson NJ
PETITION:
Save Rifle Camp Park – Stop the Disc Golf Course at Change.org https://www.change.org/p/freeholders-of-passaic-county-save-rifle-camp-park-stop-the-disc-golf-course
THERE IS NO DISC GOLF COURSE IN THE MASTER PLAN:
Passaic County Parks, Recreation Open Space Master Plan See Appendix B:Summary of Survey Findings (that includes Rifle Camp Park) Community Attitude and Interest Survey- Executive Summary of Citizen Survey Results can be found on Executive Summary pages 2 -7 (Also known as PDF pages
132-137 of 247)
http://www.passaiccountynj.org/DocumentCenter/View/4334
###
