'MAGA' Graffiti At NJ Park Can't Be Safely Removed, State Says

ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, NJ — Nick Homyak has spent decades exploring and volunteering in some of New Jersey's most beautiful parks. But during a recent walk in the park, Homyak found some prominent, political graffiti, prompting the Lake Hiawatha resident to contact state officials.

He took a picture of a spraypainted "MAGA" message on the cliffs in the Wildcat Ridge Wildcat Management Area. Known as Graffiti Cliffs, plenty more spraypainted designs surrounded President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogan.

Homyak contacted the Department of Environmental Protection last month about the graffiti. But David Golden — director of the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife — said in a letter to Homyak that the graffiti couldn't be safely removed.

"The graffiti is a reoccurring problem," Golden wrote in the letter, which Patch obtained. "Each time putting themselves at risk to climb the steep cliffs to undo the nefarious actions of others. Regarding this more recent transgression, as indicated previously, there is no way for staff to safely address the remaining graffiti. While some individuals may choose to put themselves at risk to deface the rock cliff, we cannot ask staff to risk harm."

Golden told Homyak he would see whether the National Guard could assist in the removal. DEP spokesperson Larry Hajna told Patch the following:

"These acts deface natural resources that belong to all of us. They are not acceptable and are punishable as criminal offenses. The Department of Environmental Protection is currently developing a plan to assess and address the damage."

Homyak hopes the agency can get the National Guard to help remove the graffiti. But New Jersey's state and national parks' issues with vandalism and litter extend beyond the cliffs, he says.

The 71-year-old has been a longtime volunteer for the National Park Service. But Homyak also regularly visits state parks and communicates issues with the DEP.

He returned Monday to Wildcat Ridge. Along the way, Homyak discovered spray paint containers, along with graffiti in the parking lots, trees and the old iron furnaces below the dam. (Homyak showed Patch photos of discarded spray paint cans, along with graffiti that included swears and sexual language.)

Homyak says there's much more that environmental agencies and law enforcement can do to investigate issues such as vandalism and graffiti.

"They could use technology," he said. "They could use game cameras to find out who’s going into these places and doing these things. ... Whose initials are these (spraypainted)? Do you know anybody like this? Are there any receipts with bar codes? Nobody wants to take it to the next step."

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