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The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (originally the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature in 1968 and was passed into law in January 1969. The Commission was created to oversee development in the New Jersey Meadowlands and to ensure that the newly appreciated wetlands, and their flora and fauna, would be able to survive as a thriving ecological network after decades of industrial abuse and neglect.

The District is now home to more than 265 different species of birds and is recognized as a major migratory fly-over and resting preserve. Shellfish and finfish have returned in abundance.

The 30.4-square-mile (79 km2) District is located approximately five miles (8 km) west of New York City in North Jersey. The District encompasses portions of fourteen municipalities in two counties, with ten in Bergen County and four in Hudson County; all being represented by the Meadowlands Regional Chamber. The District is bordered by U.S. Route 46 on the north, Routes U.S. Route 1/9 (Tonnelle Avenue) and the freight rail line owned by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation Corp. (the former Conrail main line) on the east, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) commuter rail lines and Pulaski Skyway on the south, and Route 17, the Pascack Valley Line, and the Kingsland rail line on the west.