opinion

The State We're In { Wetlands Rapidly Disappear

By DAVID F. MOORE S, Executive Director New* Jersey Conservation Foundation Just when one would think there is genuine interest on the part of folks in this state we're in to do a better environmental protection job. some special interest or another takes a shot at the good guys. I've got an example. For several years a lot of folks in New Jersey, concerned with keeping freshwater wetlands out of the reach of hungry bulldozers and filling, have been working on legislation to better regulate the protection of such wet places. In the last legislative session, Assemblywoman Maureen Ogden of Essex County and Senator John Lynch of Middlesex County introduced such legislation. THEIR BILL FAILED to undergo action by the end of the last legislative session, so it was introduced anew this year. This time it has some interesting amendments suggested by the home-building industry, such as changing regulatory responsibility from towns to counties. I have no argument at all about that. But now some big guns are being levelled at the wetlands bill, firing loud but specious arguments. That's because big industrial developers cherish being able to develop cheap land (such as wetlands) while using their influence to beat politicos into submission. Generally, that doesn't take much beating, what with lots of bucks being spread around. I'm not suggesting illegitimate bucks — I have no proof of that — but the old promise of lush new tax ratables and jobs seems to work fine for some large developers. WETLANDS ARE disappearing at a rapid rate. And it shows. For example, the three major storms this year (prior to this writing) would not have resulted in nearly as much damage if they had happened years ago. That was back when we had more wetlands out there to soak up rainfalls and buffer storm effects, and fewer'homes built . in wet places. A comparison of recent aerial photographs and seflT maps with older surveys, such as those done "By state geographers in the last century, shows us that we seem to have lost 65 percent of our wetlands in the last 100 years or so.

Those wetlands were lost not only by being filled in with dirt, but also by being filled in with water. Dams and their impoundments have some redeeming features, but providing a habitat for wetlands plants and animals isn't one of them. Neither is flood buffering, unless the design of the dam accommodates flood water storage. SO ITS NO WONDER that folks are getting wet nowadays who never got wet before. Not only are many of them living on top of filled-in wetlands, but that filling-has made water rise higher elsewhere, and water is running off the surface of the land faster than ever before. Maybe the best example of what happens when you fill a wetland is the fable about the thirsty bird ( I think it was a crow) that couldn't get its beak far enough into a container to be able to take a drink. Being smart, the bird kept dropping pebbles into the container until the water level rose higher to permit his drinking. I can only say that those birds now filling wetlands are not really smart, just greedy! We all pay for that wetland destruction later in the form of flood damage. WHILE THE ARMY Corps of Engineers has some responsibility to ensure that filling doesn't spoil wetlands, under terms of the national Water Pollution Control Act, the Corps has too frequently not done its job. And now a former Corps "enforcer" has gone to work for one of the developers eager to fill wetlands. He's earnestly telling one and all they don't have to worry about a thing because having the good old Corps of Engineers in charge means that wetlands are safe. If they are so safe, how come so many acres of set places have disappeared while the Corps has been minding the store? As a result of a recent court settlement, the Corps has agreed to do a better job of doing its wetlands protection job. Even if it does, which appears unlikely in view of the Corps' current record, we still need local control through yiiew state laws, as embodied in the Ogden-Lynch bills.

Salary Guide To The Editor: The Township of Lower governing body have not as yet decided on what level of salaries to set for themselves. The data herein is intended to apprise the taxpayers of what other New Jersey municipaliues' salary levels, operating under a council -manager form of government, as is Township of Lower since July first. It should also serve as a guide to the governing body. The data herein was obtained from publications on file at Township of Lower, which were made available to me. Source of the data is the latest New Jersey Municipal Salary- Report published by the New „ersey State League of Municipalities, of which Township of Lower is a member. ? Of some 22 municipalities in New Jersey operating under the Council-Manager form of government, averages are: Population 20,452, Mayor's salary $2,750; and $2,470 for the other governing body members. In some of the municipalities with populations in the range of Township of Lower, the mayors and other governing body members serve with no Salaries A. LEO JORDAN, North Cape May

hsxt Htralii 1

PnbU»h(4 Every H«lnr*d»v By The Beawavr t orpor bUoc

P.O. Box O* Hay Ceart Ho— «. NJ. mil — —— j . H'WI, nj. kui

Joseph R. Zelnik Bonnie Reina Gary L. Rudy John Dun woody DarrellKopp

Editor General Manager Advertising Director Special Promotions Director Publisher

Siowovl Corp. 1984. All riohtt rmivid. All pioporty tig hit (or lh* • ntir* contontt ol ihit publication thai! br th« property of th« S««wcvr Corp. No port hotoof may be leprodvted without prior wrHDEADLINES Newt & Photos Thursday Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. | 465-5855 For News or Advertising Information j Viihrriunlriieiuw ail.i-rli-.-r- ...» lb. pul.li-li.r- ..fib. IIM< Ml) Wll i Hill l» r.-|-»i-.l>t. m lialil. fur mi-iiifiirmatiiw ini-prim-. Itpuaraphi. al .mir*. ,1, . in aa« 4— «. Tb.- ,-ilii,,r r.-»-rtr— lb, richl an. Irllrr «.r artiri.-- .ul.niill.-tl fur pul.li. alirm Tomer loam ship * 95 LANTERN

r»bi*b*4 tvtrj WedonAat By

P.O. Box at **»? Comt Heme. NJ. J

Stuck No More To The Editor: As a year-round Avalon resident, I feel the Avalon Police Department deserves a note of appreciation. I occasionally have to work in the Cape May Court House area on Saturday mornings, and when coming back home to Avalon, I would get stuck in the massive 2-3 mile back-ups occurring on Avalon Boulvard as summer vacti oners headed for the Avalon beach. In the past few weeks, the Avalon Police Department has effectively and conscientiously controlled the incoming traffic by personally directing the traffic into and out of Avalon, thus averting any major back-ups on the causeway. Patti Brown c Avalon

Our Readers Write Public Service To The Editor : On behalf of the more than 100 neighbors who signed the petition demanding action on the. pollution problem surroundind the Cox Hall Creek outflow, we would like to thank you for ( 1 ) calling the problem to our attention and (2) your continued support in the follow-up that is necessary if the problem is to be corrected. We would like tq apprise all who signed the petition and^ those who are interested but were not reached, of the results of our correspondence with' state and local officials. Pertinent points discussed and agreed upon, outlined in NJDEP's letter to the LTMUA are as follows; l. IMMEDIATELY make preparations to secure a pump capable of removing sludge from the lagoons as an interim measure to control sludge build up and odors. This method of sludge removal wiU continuemjtil long-range measures are implemented. / \ 2. Submit to NJDEP within eO days of receipt of this correspondence a conceptual report for rehabilitation of the lagoons and aero-accelators.V \ / 3. Submit to NJDEP within 90 Bays ol receiptajfthis-dor-respondence a final report for rehabilitation of the lagoons and aero-accelatore. The final report shall include a time schedule for implementation and the LTMUA shall proceed with rehabilitation only upon NJDEP approval. Again, many thanks for bringing a problem that has been in existence since 1978 to light so that appropriate corrective action may be taken. Best wishes for continued success in providing 'this kind of public service and especially for E.J. Duffy's detailed coverage. MARILYN A. LAMBERT ANTHONY M. JURVIC Town Bank

rNervous, Insecure and Paranoid — -

Who Misses the Bulletin?

By JOE ZELNIK I'm insecure about everything, but especially about jobs. My history may have something to do with that. My first newspaper job a million years ago was with my hometown weekly. I was supporting a wife and a year-old daughter on $75 a week. My publisher sold the paper right out from under me to his competitor. In 1975, 1 was employed by the Delaware County (Pa.) Daily Times and vacationing in Sanibel, Fla., when I got a phone call telling n* I was on strike. The less said about that strike the better, but I will tell you it lasted five months and I never went back to that paper. I WAS WITH the Philadelphia Bulletin in its last five years and the main thing I have to show for it is a blue tee shirt with the white letters: "Nearly Everybody Misses the Bulletin." Maybe, but I'll bet if I walked down Market Street wearing that shirt, no one would offer to buy me a beer. I went from. the Bulletin to the Buffalo (N.Y.) CourierExpress. Five months later I had a red tee shirt with yellow lettering: "I Used to Work at the CourierExpress." Yep, they folded that one too. When I tell these stories to people, they invariably excuse themselves and run to the nearest Herald-Lantern outlet to see if we're still publishing. Who can blame 'em? After all, if an oil company can buy an institution like the Philadelphia Bulletin and kill it for a tax write-off, what's safe? SO I STAY nervous. It help6 me write better — as if my job depended on it Some people would say I'm paranoid. I came to work the other day, found the door locked, and not even Gary Rudy was there. I sat on the steps and cried. It was at least 15 minutes before I realized I'd read my clock wrong and showed up an hour before starting time.

Journalism is an insecure profession because it is so competitive. I once worked for the Bath (N.Y.) Steuben Advocate. That tiny town, where the birth of a calf was front page news, was covered by the Advocate, a local weekly, and daily newspapers .in Corning, Elmira and Hornell. I remember one day the post office put new pens in the outer lobby and five reporters showed up to cover it, honest to God. THIS COUNTY'S not so bad. There's only one daily a couple weeklies, a couple radio stations and a TV station. Although none of them claim to cover the entire county the way we do, the competition is almost war-like. Did you read the other day where Iraq offered political asylum if an Iranian would bring over a U.S.-built F-4 jet and two Iranian pilots did it? We've made similar offers to our competition We don't want to see their hardware, but we're seeking kev information like how fast their reporters type. NONE OF THE PRINT competition worries me, but I am a little concerned about the TV station. Tell you why You can talk back to your TV. I had friends visiting a week ago and they tuned in the local channel by mistake In no tune ooe friend was shouting at the newscaster * "She can't hear you, dear," his wife told him, but he kept on muttering until the show was over. It's difficult for us in the print media to combat that kind of viewer participation. My normal insecurity has eased a bit in recent weeks For ooe thing, we published an 84-page paper two w eks ago. That was a record size and I understand a retired fireman in Villas is suing us for giving him a hernia But my greatest sense of security came this week when circular t*irooni at *** office reading a Murphy Mart I glanced into the shower stall and saw a case of toilet tissue. It looks like we're here to stay, at least through 96 rolls. , /