Herald & lantern 24 November *82 The State We’re In ’ ^

Blazing the Trails in New Jersey

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, here in America’s most densely populated state we are blessed with a large and varied assortment of hiking trails which add up to many miles. Amazing too is the fact that most of those miles traverse private lands and, most amazing of all, that the trails are maintained by groups of volunteers. The New York-New Jersey Traif Conference is one such group which comes quickly to mind. Its members have worked hard over the years to assure hiking opportunities for thousands of us. There is also a state-sponsored group of trail users and proponents called the New Jersey Trails Council, which advises the state Department of Environmental Protec- / tion (DEP) in trail matters. If y6u are interested in either group, contact me here at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, 300 Mendham — Road, Morristown, N.J. 07960, and I'll pass your name along. \ In connection with this subject of hiking and trails, New Jersey recently observed a most important milestone. It is the first of 14 states from Maine to Georgia which has managed to get all of its share of the Appalachian Trail located on state-owned land. / THIS INVOLVED rerouting the AppalaAian Trail at some points in Sussex County where (offher woodland haunts had degenerated into streets through housing ►developments. The rerouting, where necessary, guarantees that a hiker- will enjoy wilderness surroundings from the Delaware Water Gap to upper Passaic County and the New York border, a meandering distance of more than 70 miles.

Capital Comments

fcv'eral weeks ago Governor Tom Kean, DEP Commissioner Robert E. Hughey, Assistant DEP Commissioner Helen Fenske and others journeyed to High Point State Park for the dedication, or perhaps rededication, of the New Jersey section of the Appalachian Trail. Governor Kean had a great day to make a speech at the park, and he said some very encouraging Words for us trail buffs. As a conservationist always concerned with the Sunfish Pond controversy, Kean declared that New ''Jersey should be known for the Appalachian Trail ratfier than its Turnpike. Sunfish Pond, for those wno have become conscious of such things only in recent years, is a pristine glacial lake beside the Appalachian Trail high on top of the Kitfatinny Mountain ridge in Warren County. Utility company plans to destroy Sunfish Pond in connection with a pumped storage electrical generating scheme rallied Kean and many thousands of others to the defense of the lake. IT WAS AN environmental battle which came at just the right time to catch the public's fancy, and in retrospect I think it did much to make New Jersey's one of the most environmentally sophisticated populations in the country Interestingly enough, the controversy that spawned ( the Sunfish Pond fracas was the,battle over whether or not to build the Tocks Island Dam in the Delaware River just north of the Gap. The battle was won by the no-huild advocates. yet the dam idea refuses to die. Recently, Commissioner Hughey told a group of Tocks proponents they were living in "a world of unrealistic expectations” if they continued supporting the dam. ”1 realy think we’re beating a dead horse," he added. Right on, Robert! As I walk the Appalachian Trail past'Sunfish Pond nowadays, I’m happy to reflect on the simple environmental issues we faced back in those day, less than 20 y«ars ago. when neither we nor anyone else had an idea of the coifiing onslaught of environmental bad news embodied in acid rain and the ugly heritage of chemical wastes afflicting this state we’re in. Those are the kinds of musings which occur as we walk a wdbdland trail. There’s something primitive in our reactions to the smells of wet,decaying leaves, mosses and rocks. We suddenly realize that values need to be reappraised from time to time. (David F. Moore is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation).

JLL

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Many Benefits From Litter Tax By State Senator James S. Hurley The litter tax I have proposed would be more effective in cleaning up our environment than mandatory bottle deposit legislation. I would like to explain why. All manufacturers of packaging containers would pay for the cleanup of litter they produce, not just glass companies. Although exact figures on the size and scope of the packaging industry are not available, initial indications are that up to $3 million in tax revenue»>could be collected the first year. I am confident this amount would be sufficient to launch an effective statewide litter patrol. A litter patrol would be far more productive in ridding our roads and parks of litter than requiring consumers to return bottles to redeem deposit^. - Glass accounts for only between 10 and 15 percent of the solid waste stream. Litter patrols would pick up all types of debris, not just glass bottles. MY LEGISLATION calls for the manufacturers of glass, metal, paper and plastic packages to pay a $150 tax on every $1 million in gross sales. It ii.modeled after a Washington law, which since enacted in 1972 has resulted in a 70 percent reduction in litter. The Washington tax generates approximately $1.5 million a year in revenues. Perhaps even more important my bill would clean up the environment without costing glass workers their jobs. In fact, it would create new jobs for the youth of this state picking up litter. In the State of Washington, up to 4,000 young people are employed on litter patrols. With unemployment at a post-depression high, we cannot afford to enact any legislation that will increase the unemployment lines. The glass industry is the prime employer in South Jersey. Workers rightfully are worried that a bottle deposit law would cripple the glass industry. ANOTHER BENEFIT of my bill is that recyclable material collected would be processed, sold and the proceeds deposited in the litter patrol fund. When litter control efforts such as I envision in my bill are combined with municipal curbside pickup of recyclables and county resource recovery program^ then we can all say the state has begun to manage our/solid waste problem. My proposal has the support of labor, management and state environment officials. / I also believe the general public would prefer my proposal to being forced to pay a deposit on beverage containers. Voters in four states defeated bottle deposit referenda this month. Foo< and packaging industries estimate a bottle law would cost consumers $126 million a year. My bill would reduce litter without burdening consumers or putting residents out of work. I am requesting that the Legislature hold public hearings on my bill so all interested parties can be heard. These hearings should enable the Legislature to deter mine exactly how much money can fc raised from the tax and how piany young people we can put to work cleaning up our state. v (Senator* Hurley represents Cape May bounty and

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