Rep. Josh Gottheimer Backs Mahwah Clean Up Efforts At Stag Hill

MAHWAH, NJ — Congressman Josh Gottheimer is putting his support behind local clean up efforts at Stag Hill, an area of the township that's been plagued by illegal dumping for more than half a century, he said.

Local residents, led by the Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization, have cleaned up "hundreds of thousands" of pounds of trash at Stag Hill, Gottheimer said, but lack the proper resources to complete the job.

That's where he comes in.

On Tuesday, Gottheimer visited Stag Hill, but also penned a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, formally requesting assistance for the Volunteers Organization and township to remove waste. That letter included a request for specialized equipment and resources to help stop the illegal dumping itself.

"Stag Hill is the ancestral home of the Ramapough Lenape Nation. It is also an incredible natural habitat in the Fifth Congressional District," Gottheimer wrote in the letter.

"Illegal dumping is an abhorrent practice that is continuing to take place throughout North Jersey. We must stop these materials from further damaging our environment and contaminating our air and water."

Click here to read his full letter.

According to his office, Gottheimer was joined on Stag Hill by:

• Bergen County Commissioner Mary Amoroso
• Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur
• Mahwah Mayor Jim Wysocki
• Mahwah Councilmember David May
• Mahwah Councilmember Michelle Paz
• Mahwah Councilmember George Ervin
• Mahwah Councilmember Kim Bolan
• Mahwah Councilman Robert "Rob" Ferguson
• Executive Director of MEVO Violet Reed
• Stag Hill MEVO Manager Billy Dimas
• President of the Land Conservancy of New Jersey David Epstein
• Chairwoman of the MEVO Board of Directors Karin Lagreca
• Member of the MEVO Board of Directors Dr. Sandy Shevak
• Ramapough Lenape Tribal Center Executive Director Petra
• Ramapough Lenape Nation Members Owl and Walt

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