When Chuck Liber visited the windswept marshes of Lower Alloways Creek before the winter freeze set in that would make the creeks that wind through the remote area unnavigable, his "neighborhood" of eight cabins remained mostly intact.

But that's all about to change in just days as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection moves ahead with its plan to demolish four of the compact, one-room structures that have sat hidden in the marsh for six decades, the owners say.

Used by hunters, fishermen and pleasure boaters, they are part of the rural landscape and the heritage of the region, but the state says they are on state land illegally and must come down.

"The state's tax dollars could be used for more pressing issues in New Jersey than destroying our local history," said William Bradbury, whose cabin is among those targeted for demolition.

Cabin owners hope for official intervention to allow compliance issues with the state to be resolved, but time and hope are dwindling, they say.

A citizen complaint tip to the DEP in March 2017 began a series of events that drew inspectors to the four cabins on the state-owned Mad Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area and four on adjacent private marshland.

"To the Division of Fish and Wildlife's knowledge, the four cabins on state land did not exist when the land was purchased. Neither the DFW nor the Fish and Game Council ever gave permission for them to be erected on state lands," DEP Spokesman Larry Hajna said this week.

Owners maintain the structures have been there for generations and say they have the proof, but they say the state doesn't want to listen.

Bradbury's family cabin is one of four of the mostly one-room cabins located in the wildlife management area, a vast marsh covering thousands of acres between the mainland in Lower Alloways Creek Township in Salem County and the Delaware River.

The cabins, which are never locked, have been used by the families that own them and passing hunters, fishermen and pleasure boaters for a respite and even refuge from storms.

Hajna said Mount Construction of Berlin will be paid just under $65,000 each to raze the cabins, which are only accessible by water. Demolition is scheduled to begin the week of Jan. 22, weather permitting.

Vehicles though, thought to be related to the project, have already been seen parked along a road that would provide access to the waterways where the targeted cabins are.

The state bought the land with the cabins slated to be razed along Hope Creek in 1985 and 2001.

"There's no documented record in the acquisition file about pre-existing cabins on the property," Hajna said this week. In an earlier email he said the DEP had not conducted any additional research about whether they existed before the complaint was lodged.

But the owners of the doomed cabins are adamant their buildings have been there for generations.

Bradbury said in papers filed in support of his claim to save his cabin that it has been in existence since the early 1970s, when the land was owned by the federal government. Larry J. McKelvey, whose cabin is also set to be demolished, said his has been in the same in spot on Hope Creek since at least 1962, and the land was leased from the Army Corps of Engineers.

According to Bradbury, after the terrorist attacks of 2001, he went to a regional DEP office to be sure it was still OK for his cabin to be located not far from the nuclear generating station. He said the DEP said it was OK.

"It's sad that the cabin owners were able to provide documented evidence that the cabins existed for many years prior to the Department of Environmental Protection purchasing the land," Bradbury said.

The pleas of the cabin owners don't appear to have been championed by many officials.

Liber said a letter he sent to then-Gov. Chris Christie about the plight was never even acknowledged. He says state and local officials -- except for the Salem County freeholders -- have not shown much interest in the cabin owners' cause and the part of New Jersey's history they represent.

He said he's contacting new Gov. Phil Murphy and incoming DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe.

"I just think the DEP were caught with their pants down. They didn't know the cabins were there 50 years," Liber said on Wednesday. "They just want them to go away because it's an embarrassment they didn't know they were there."

Cabin owners say they want to work with the state to "grandfather" the cabins in, correct violations and even perhaps enter into lease agreements so their cabins can stay.

"The DEP refuses to acknowledge that the cabins existed prior to their purchase, or provide a list of their current concerns to the owners allowing them the opportunity to address them," Bradbury said.

The state-owned Mad Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area encompasses thousands of acres that stretches from the mainland to the Delaware River. Once there were scores of tiny cabins used by those who made a living working the local waterways.

As time changed the number of cabins dwindled to the handful left today which are used by owners, passers-by and even emergency responders.

The cabins contained log books with hundreds of signatures and notes from visitors.

As for the four cabins on private land, including Liber's, each has a different story. Liber and one other owner are determining whether they can afford the expensive permitting process with the DEP to see if they can come into compliance.

One of the private cabin owners has decided to demolish their structure and the fourth structure was actually a cabin houseboat which has since been moved.

Liber said he hopes the new DEP commissioner shows "some understanding and a sense of fairness."

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips