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Farmland Bond Issue Glimmer of Hope for the Garden State

hy JamM R. Hurley A friend of mine once fold me an interesting and very telling tale about farmland in New Jersey. He was attending a public hearing on a new master plan in one of thp developing rural townships in central New Jersey several yrafs pgo; he told me. when it occurred to him that there was something crucial missing from the map oh the wall. ) He ra^ed his hand, waited hislurn and, finally, stood up ;thd psked a question: H;| sec residential /.ones and commercial zones and indtuffial /ones on your map," he said, "but where is the farming /one' 1 The committee chairman gave him a puzzled look and replied _ There is no such thing as farmland under New Jersey zoning law Farming is not considered a ‘use’ in terms of zoning " MY FRIEND WAS ASTONISHED, and asked another quQgtkB ‘Wlvr. all the buildings and roads and homes and shopping centers you have. represented on your master plan are completed, where are you going to put the water when it rains:'’" ' The second reply was even more discouraging than the first: •’That's a very good question." said the Chairman, "and we don’t hav»-an answer for it. We hiave allowed for as much open space as we think we can get away withtfnder the law, and there is little else we can do from a zoning and planning viewpoint, without risking paving our master plan challenged and thrawnjuit in court. "If we could." he added, apologetically, “we would gladly zone farmland as farmland But we can’t.” What neither the planning official nor may friend realized

at the tim%, of course, is that to zone a piece of land as farmland would be to destroy its value as collateral for loans that farfhers frequently need in order to buy equipment, fertilizers and seed. IT APPEARS THERE are few in state government today who comprehend the quirky relationship between a farmer’s ability to continue farming and the value of his land as development real estate Without the development Value of the land, only tfie wealthiest of farmers and-fatTn-

ing corporations could stay in business. The Pinelands Managefnent Plan has, in effect, done exactly that sort of thing — created undevelopable zones that threaten to put farmers out of business. Other attempts by the state have had similar effects, and no attempt by the state to stop and galloping sale of farms to speculators. But in the $50 million Farmland Retention and Develop(Page 29 Please)

EARLIER THIS SEASON, a farmer reaps his winter wheat in Cold Spring, Lower Township. The township still has several old farms despite being the most populous municipality in Cape May County.

The State We're In , . f Farmland as Recreational Facilities

by David F. Moore It’s an unfortunate truth that while lovely scenery and agricultural lands go hand in hand, farmers don’t like the public tramping over their lahds to look at the scenery. And with good reason, because too often the public damages the property, either on purpose or accidentally. A likely answer todhis dilemma awaits legislative action in Trenton In this crowded slate we’re in — where we’ve got to preserve all the opeospace values possible, including both agriculture an^l recreation — the need is to foster a better relationship between farmers' and the walking, motoring, fishing, hunting and picnicking public. That’s a tough assignment, but I found on a trip to England a few years ago that -the problem has already been solved there. Leave itlo the logical British.^They reasoned that the answer is to pay, the farmer for the use of his land by the public, as well as for any resulting damage And they were quite right IN RURAL AREAS of Great Britain an agency called the Countryside Commission encourages farmers to develop viewpoint

trails, parking areas and even profit-making refreshment and camping facilities. Payments go to the landowners for allowing public us£, and the warden from the Countryside Commission, who oversees the operations, can make quick payments for any resulting damages. We at the Nqw Jersey Conservation Foundation thought that this is such a good system that we invited Reginald Hookway, the then-director of the Countryside.Commis- , sion for England and Wales, to New Jersey in June of 1980. He explained the system to leaders in Treriffcn, with the result that Assemblyman H. Donald Stewart of Salem County embodied the plan in a bill (A-3546) andnhtroduced it in the Assembly this year. y* Stewart’s bill, the Open Lands Management Act, would 'empower the Division of Parks and Forestry of the • Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to conduct a demonstration program in the Pirtelands. After a year the DEP Commissioner would recommend continuation or abandonment of the program, based on^the experience gained. (Page 3^Please)

Rights, Protection & Sand

hy Jane Ann Cunningham A*suit in Superior Court brought by a Pennsylvania man against the Borough of Stone Harbor demonstrates how little many people understand about the barrier beach islands on which they own homes. In this case, among other things, the man wants the dune ordinance declared unconstitutional, as he claims it violates his civil rights when he isn’t allowed to walk on the dunes in frbntpf his property As most island communities have siniilar ordinances, the outcome will have a momentous effect on the very existence of beachfront towns.

. 'ir ■ CAPE M AY COUWTV

Heralit

John II Andrus II William .1. Adams Bonnie Iteina Darrell Kopp

Editor Advertising Director General Manager ■Publisher

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It is a fact that the barrier beach islands are moving westward at an average of 4‘i feet a year. Nature, if left to itself, would eventually have the islands join the mainland. Man has developed the islands, and is in a never-ending battle to slow down the inevitable process of erosion. ONE OF THE BEST WAYS to protect the people and their homes from the worst force of the ocean is the building of dunes. Before the islands were developed, most were covered by high dunes held by grass, bayberries, cedars and other trees and plants. Tod^mly a few natural high dunes remain in Avalon. ^ Realizing the value of the dunes in protecting the land behind it, resort towns have made great efforts to create new dunes by installing snow fences and other measures to trap the sand. Dune grass has been planted and fertilized. and the long roots serve to hold the dune together. As time goes on other plants and even trees appear, all of which give the dune more stability. UNFORTUNATELY. DUNE GRASS is very fragile. When a boat is put on it, or a car drives over it, or if it is stepped on a few times—it dies. When a path is made through a dune, this path becomes a natural conduit for the ocean to breach the dup<& during a storm. An oceanfront homeowner makini^is own path through the dunes to the beach is jeopardj/ng his own safety, as well as that of others Dune ordinances aren't passed arbitrarily to prevent people from walking a few less steps to the beach. They are passed and enforced in a serious effort to protect lives and property. It may not matter if you ignore a Keep Off The Grass sign in central Pennsylvania, but even a little damage to dune grass could be potentially dangerous. There are chapters in a fascinating book by Philip Hopper, The Wild Edge: Life and Lore of the Great Atlantic Beaches, which explain clearly the status of the barrier beach islands. Every resort homeowner should be aware of the reality of their land—and the water around it. Jane Ann Cunningham is former publisher of the Herald. 1

British Seagull 387 Birdbrain Economics ^ by Ima Byrd A lot of birds really object to the use of the word bird brain when humans talk abou' some stupidity that other jiumans do. Personally, I like the title because I’m realistic enough to admit that birds certainly have much smaller brains than some other species on Earth. But I will teli you this — if huhrans really had birdbrains, they would be very intelligent creatures. HoweVer, since I am discussing a human subject and obviously read sometimes by humans, I will let the term birdbrain stand in its purest human meatiing — that of stupidity. And in so doing, I will humbly apologize for such poetic license to all of my bird friends who might happen upon this bit of writing. I was talking to some people friends of mine and they were talking about Reagan's birdbrain economics. I’m sure they had no intention of offending me, but sometimes humans aren't too careful of how their words affect others. No matter, the issue was so important, that I overlooked the slur against my brain. THESE HUMANS HAD JUST been laid off from their jobs. These jobs were under a program called CETA designed—not to put people out of work—to give them work. They had been given no notice that their jobs would be termiflftted and they were in shock as to what to do to support their families. CETA jobs usually went to people who were unable to find work anywhere else. "Why would a president cut jobs?" I asked. The three men shook their heads. They couldn’t answer that. "But," I presisted, "isn’t that the same president who gave millions of dollars to bail out the Chrysler Corporation?" "We only have one president," mumbled one flian. (Page 29 Please)

"The Crop Has Failedj'The Crop Has Failed!"