Past GODSPEED Notes

Presents

A Promising Start or A Broken Promise?
At this time last year, Vernon Township was abuzz with the exciting tour by an international team of planning, environmental and professional experts sponsored by the Countryside Exchange. Specializing in assessing the social, cultural, economic, and environmental assets of a community with an eye towards developing a vision by way of making objective recommendations, Team Vernon as they called themselves, met a wide variety of local residents and stakeholders. It was not long before they understood the underpinnings of our community and the longstanding conflict about development and environmental issues.
They were keenly aware of the immense potential to rally the community around the issues. Reaching consensus on a set of goals would be achievable only if the entire community realized that working together is the only mechanism for success. Team Vernon characterized that Vernon was a “Township at the Crossroads”. Drawing from page 3 of their report published earlier this year, Vernon faced stark choices -
"either move forward with growth proposals of Intrawest at Mountain Creek (subject to stringent environmental safeguards and mitigation of environmental impacts) in a way which is complementary to the Town Center ..."
"Regarding Vernon’s natural features, Team Vernon was unprepared for the quality of the natural and historical assets Vernon possesses.”
The stage was set for Team Vernon to serve as a catalyst for a public process where the community of Vernon would pick up the mantle in planning Vernon’s future.
A list of recommendations were incorporated into Team Vernon's final report that served as a blueprint for the process. Following each recommendation will be an assessment of what needs to be done to successfully implement Team Vernon’s collaborative process.

* Team Vernon recommends the formation of the Vernon Stewardship Roundtable to bring the community together. The Roundtable must remain apolitical and its composition must be created by consensus with clear aims and objectives. Above all, it must be open to the widest and most inclusive participation
The Council’s appointments to the Vernon Stewardship Alliance represents a cadre of safe friends, special interests and political leaders. The choices were never subjected to a public review process. There was never a serious intention to provide for the widest and most inclusive participation since no representatives of the various units governing public lands were considered, no representative of civic, environmental nor community groups are present. With Vernon lying in an area of the Highlands with perhaps the greatest diversity of natural resources, the benefit of having representation of statewide conservation, tourism and economic development entities with technical expertise would be invaluable.
This process can only fall short since the political establishment and their allies have already decided who and what organizations can be included. Inclusivity has been sacrificed in order to minimize discourse, maximize a majority vote on a board filled with their chosen few and to trump for public consumption “safe” projects” like removing logs from Pochuck Creek instead of dealing with more strategically important issues like central sewers or resort housing.
Unfortunately for Vernon residents, these issues are off the table.

* we believe there is an overriding need to establish an 'environmental ethic' - the fostering of a new culture. High quality natural and cultural resources at the root of everything Vernon desires to achieve. The goal must be to nurture an appreciation of Vernon’s natural and cultural resources and the need for wise stewardship of those resources amongst community members, visitors developers and local politicians
Current leaders have only cemented their opposition to Vernon’s cultural and environmental resources by their sustained opposition to protect and preserve the 35 acres of the Fagan property that is archaeologically significant.
Fostering an 'environmental and cultural ethic' requires a recognition that these resources have value not only for posterity but also as community assets. Assets that can serve as attractions for tourism and "living museums" with proper planning. The technical expertise to assess and interpret the cultural and environmental resources lie in the community and in the region.
Assessing the resources and planning for its protection, while inviting tourism, requires a very candid acknowledgement that maintenance, management and use is the responsibility of the whole community.
Is the current leadership prepared to implement a 'cultural and environmental ethic' to the degree envisioned by Team Vernon?

* subject to a range of safeguards, particularly concerning the conservation of the natural environment, the proposed developments at Mountain Creek and Legends should be able to provide a secure future of the Township. But to achieve the necessary balance, sufficient time must be allowed for negotiation and stakeholder participation. Above all, decisions must be made with the benefit of technical knowledge of the implications of specific aspects of the development eg. traffic, environmental impact, sewage etc.
For years local advocates have wanted an updated natural resource inventory to identify the extent of fauna, flora and natural habitats in Vernon. Just like retail stores that shutter their doors to inventory what merchandise is on their shelves, Vernon needs to inventory its assets. Our fauna and flora, scenic views and historical sites are Vernon’s products poised for a marketing plan. More importantly, a stewardship plan that provides mechanisms to manage, maintain and endure these resources require technical studies by consultants with input from local and regional experts that results in proven safeguards. We have to be able to showcase our products to users and visitors but not to their detriment. For the Vernon Stewardship Alliance to succeed in its mission it must spearhead political acceptance of these studies and protection plans. There is no other way. Are they up the task? Are the political leaders prepared to embrace, market and protect Vernon’s assets unconditionally for Vernon’s welfare?

* there are enormous opportunities to develop eco-tourism, maximizing the use of farmland and the natural resources and developing the local distinctiveness of the area. The Township should not pass up these opportunities
Many aspiring and elected leaders have spoken positively of the benefit of eco-tourism in recent years, yet there have never been serious steps taken to catalogue our historic sites and natural areas in a marketing plan . My suspicion on the part of certain quarters in our community for the lack of movement is probably a reluctance to acknowledge that Vernon does possess natural and cultural resources of national significance. Such a recognition would be tantamount to admitting that these resources are indeed assets that deserve preservation ahead of an agenda that is decidedly pro-development and that comes at the expense of the environment such as Intrawest‘s Mountain Resort. A true change in attitude by the VSA is necessary to signal that they embrace these values. With practically all of the important advocates for natural and cultural values sitting on the sidelines of the VSA Board for obvious reasons, this process may be just window dressing.
For serious consideration, the VSA should retain consultants that possess the expertise in developing economic models for how a community can execute an eco-tourism plan that will increase ratables, tourist dollars, jobs and attract more compatible businesses. The township needs to strike up partnerships with private entities that are experts in setting management plans for natural and cultural resources. Unfortunately, they have alienated or waged war against these groups and individuals at some time or another. The maintenance of historic sites as well as trails from overuse, atv abuse and other problems will preserve these assets. Access to sensitive habitat and other natural areas should be limited to a specific number of visitors at any one time. This especially true during the breeding season; recent studies show that large increased human activities can disturb local wildlife. Meanwhile native plant life should be protected from trampling, removal and introduction of non-native invasives.

* the town deserves a Town Center creating a focus for the community and providing a diverse range of goods and services reflecting the natural assets of the locality to meet the needs of the local people and visitors
The main streets of Lake Placid, NY and Stowe, Vermont are synonymous with small town America. Ample sidewalks, parallel parking, slow moving vehicles, and attractive storefronts catering to residents and visitors alike. Laying the infrastructure, guiding future development into the center and stopping sprawl outside the center is crucial.
Instead, our town leaders and many of the VSA appointees support a decision to double the size of the proposed regional center from 2.3 square miles to over 5 square miles, stretching from the access road to the Evergreen Campground on Rte. 515 to McAfee.
This center snakes its way swallowing up plans for more than 3,000 new homes and hotel units within its community development boundaries.
Setting up central sewers for this development will require tapping our sole source aquifer for up to 800,000 gallons of water per day just for Intrawest, not including Legends nor Hidden Valley. A viable location for discharging the sewerage has not been definitively established. Roads will be widened to a great degree perhaps discouraging pedestrian traffic as experienced in Lake Placid or Stowe. Property taxes will surely balloon to shoulder the costs of growth, since the ski industry has been a feast or famine economic experience in Vernon for thirty years.
A small town feel with an economy of scale in a town center should be a priority for the VSA. Vernon cannot be a destination if it does not provide an experience that differs from Edison and is more like Stowe. Current plans and trends do not bode well.

* there is a need for a cohesive design philosophy to provide a framework and unity for all new development
The VSA should act as a guide and watchdog to ensure that the Vernon Planning Board and Town Council adhere to a design philosophy that reflects the recommendations of Looney, Ricks and Kiss.

* there is a need for sharper government including improving the efficiency of municipal services, transparency of decision making, openness and accountability, integrity and giving the community a proper stake in the decision making process
Nothing has changed in the last year to suggest that the current Council intends to implement the spirit and recommendations incorporated in Team Vernon's report. If anything, the community climate has worsened.
The Council does not want to recognize and respect the cultural values of the Amerindian site on the Fagan site. Efforts to reach a compromise by a variety of sources in the community has fallen on deaf ears. The Council is intent on continuing their campaign to use the entire Fagan site for ball fields. The only line of defense of the Fagan property are lawsuits by courageous local advocates and a likely successful petition to place the Amerindian site on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
The community still does not have a role in the decision making process. Opposition to the Intrawest has resulted in demonstrations and protests which has only entrenched the Council further with a seige mentality unwilling to acknowledge that Intrawest's plans maybe unraveling. Recent legal decisions favor the conservationists in preserving the deed restricted lands. The desperation by this Council to advance Intrawest’s development resulted in a Planning Board approval of the Appalachian Lodge even though the Block and Lot it will sit on was set aside as restricted open space previously.
The Vernon Chamber of Commerce appears to be the stepfather of the Vernon Stewardship Alliance. It is neither a new group nor a neutral organization. The Chamber have been enthusiastic supporters of the current agenda for excessive resort developments. The VSA board is dominated by the rank and file members of the Chamber. As they are completely interchangeable so are their policies. Perhaps not seamless, but not sufficiently distinct to satisfy the spirit and intention of Team Vernon.
Interestingly, page 16 of Team Vernon’s report acknowledged the urgency of the moment with Intrawest’s fast paced approvals of last year. "The immediate priority is to regulate the pace of development so there is sufficient time to fully understand the impact of development on the natural and cultural resources of Vernon and put in place appropriate measures to ensure that an acceptable balance be achieved."
On this issue and many others, the community of Vernon are still waiting.
Meanwhile, we strive to preserve our cultural and environmental assets using all the tools that our democracy affords us.
I prefer to implement Team Vernon’s recommendations, its easier and healthier!
- Godspeed
June 4,1985 seems like a long time ago. I was an unmarried young man of 24 working on Wall Street, convinced that I was a Yuppie. But the events of that summer shaped my life in ways that I could never know. Today, I savor the wealth of observations and enjoyment that I have been fortunate enough have experienced. The following recollection is as vivid as if I experienced yesterday...
I was a budding birdwatcher living in Bergen County with a growing enthusiasm for learning all about the birds of New Jersey. Back then, discovering a Common Yellowthroat in a woodlot in Haworth was a thrill or seeing a Red Tailed Hawk wheeling off the Palisades at Greenbrook Sanctuary in Tenafly was amazing. But birdwatching in the early stages is easily a growth avocation. Drowning in the "Peterson Guide to the Birds of the East" wondering when I would see a Barred Owl, Hooded Warbler or a Winter Wren seemed beyond my grasp. My ability to distinguish bird calls by ear was virtually nonexistent then.
Martha, my wife today, my girlfriend at the time was very eager to feed my growing avocation. Over the course of several months she gave me a subscription to National Audubon Magazine, a new pair of binoculars, and my first pair of Timberland hiking boots! As a member of the Palisades Nature Association which ran the Greenbrook Sanctuary, a150+ acre natural area along the Palisades. In 1985, I would take my new binoculars and boots and spend many early mornings an evenings learning about the birds that lived there. The Sanctuary Director John Serrao, a gifted and enthusiastic naturalist always offered encouragement and tips on how to identify birds. I learned all about the Ovenbird, Red eyed Vireo and Wood Thrush. More importantly, the Palisades Nature Association had kept careful observations of the breeding birds of the Sanctuary for since the late 1940's. In reading their observations, I learned how the number of species that bred there had declined or disappeared since the construction of the Palisades Parkway. As a result, my yearning to see more warblers,owls and hawks was not satiated by going to the Palisades. I felt that I had learned all of the birds that bred there and I was ready for more!
John Serrao, spoke glowingly of an area called the Highlands of New Jersey that had over twenty species of breeding warblers. Being a beach bum in those days, I wondered did he mean "Atlantic Highlands"? "No"! Serrao referred to an area out in western New Jersey beginning in Bergen County with the Ramapos Mountains. Curious, intrigued and excited to discover this Highlands area, John suggested that I buy a map of Sussex or Passaic County and just go exploring!
I picked a Saturday that Martha would be working at a store at the Paramus Park Mall, so I planned a trip. I bought a Passaic County map and spread it out on the kitchen table in my mother's apartment in Union City. Being raised in a city where all your daily needs are found simply by walking a couple of blocks down the street, I was more than just a little bit intimidated by the thought of traveling to a wooded area in the middle of nowhere in search of birds that I have never seen or heard before! As I pored over the map, I could not decide where to go. Every location was completely unfamiliar to me. I quickly had a plan, I would close my eyes turn around once or twice then point my finger to any place on the map. Feeling like a fool, I awkwardly, did so then crashed my finger on the center of the map.
The point on the map appeared to be a sparsely settled area in the heart of Passaic County; a town called West Milford. The road I picked was named Clinton Road, a north to south road north of Route 23. Yep,I did it! I picked a place I had never been to!
On June 4,1985 I started out of Union City just past 5:00 in the morning. I bagged a lunch, put on my Timberlands, made sure I had my compass and road map and I was on my way. The day began with morning mist and temps in the sixties. Getting on the Turnpike north, I proceeded on Route 80 west and then Rte.23 north. Rte.23 was only vaguely familiar to me. After driving for about three quarters of an hour, I sped past Dairy Queen in West Milford. Admiring the views of the reservoirs and the mountains beyond were breathtaking. I was struck by the beauty of the area and wondered how New Jersey could hide such a great natural area! Soon I turned on Clinton Road. The road that greeted me was lined with single family homes that belied what I would soon find ahead. The road headed north straight like an arrow, when all of a sudden the paved portion ended as did the houses. A woods road, pock-marked and dusty, slowed me for sake of my car. Forests enveloped the road, interspersed with glints of sunshine that dappled through the vegetation. I shut the air conditioning down and rolled the windows to a cacophony of bird songs, calls and other forest sounds. Passing the junction with Van Orden Road, I was amazed at the conifers - hemlocks and norway spruces that comprised the forest here on both sides.
Coming upon a gentle rise on the road, I could see an extensive body of water to the west; Clinton Reservoir spanned across a vast area. The outflow of the dam - Clinton Brook roared as it cascaded through a series of rocky ledges and underneath Clinton Road. Avoiding potholes and uncertain of the sharp curves and bends, it was difficult to drive through this terrain. As I passed a sign said, "Unimproved road, drive at your own risk", I wondered if my car can survive the road!
For nearly two miles, I followed the curves until one last sharp turn to the right, all the while, the reservoir was to my west. Now, the road turned to the north, climax hemlock forests mixed with white pines were abundant on both sides. Mossman Brook gurgled on the eastern side underneath the hemlocks. Tall rhododendron draped near the water's edge creating a lush understory. Softer hillsides were studded with Mountain Laurel, Deciduous azalea and various viburnum species. I wanted desperately to park and wander aimlessly into the woods but where do I start? The road did not have much of a shoulder nor formal parking areas. I did not quite understand if this area was a public park or private property?
I was growing increasingly confident that this wilderness area must have many warblers,vireos, owls and hawks! Clinton Road crossed over Mossman Brook where upon a hemlock a sign read simply "P4". There was an informal shoulder area where it appeared that people can park their cars. Instinctively, I did the same. Grabbing my backpack with my provisions, I made sure it contained "Peterson's Guide to Eastern Birds". This was truly an idyllic place to park. Hemlocks towered over Mossman's Brook and the road. Rhododendron stands beneath the forest canopy were in complete shade for as far as the eyes could see, except for a narrow band along the brook that looked very much like an unworn trail. My feet sank in wet hummocks. Squishing sounds emanated every time I raised my trusty boots. Sure enough these Timberlands are waterproof!
Mossman Brook is a classic trout stream with rocky bottoms, deep shade and cold waters even in the hottest period of summer. Near P4, Mossman's Brook's powerful currents drowned most other forest sounds except for the myriad of bird songs that were unfamiliar to me. Leopard and Green Frogs leapt into the water to avoid capture even though I had no intentions. The stream veered to the west and then north against steep slopes strewn with boulders and large rocks. The first bird I saw was a brown streaked creature that walked along the stream edges and logs pecking with its beak between the crevices and fissures on the ground looking for insects. Occasionally, it would bob its body forward to reveal a buffy breast with lighter streaks. This one I knew without even looking in the book - Lousiana Waterthrush!
The hemlock forest here created a cathedral like atmosphere. Tall conifers affectlvely prevented the sun from penetrating the forest floor. Old hemlocks were scattered around. Moss, ferns and sometimes new hemlock saplings would take root in the dead trees. This shaded terrain had few things growing except for hemlocks. Many others in various stages of growth normally await the collapse of older trees, when the new openings fill the floor with sunlight that provide sustenance to the young trees poised to take their places in the canopy.
Mossman's Brook would widen in places to become several rivulets broken by large boulders and small islands of Yellow Birch and rhododendron. I enjoyed hopping on the rocks to explore these smalls islands. At other times, the stream would open up into small wetlands of alder, highbush bluberry, and arrowwood viburnum; an impenetrable mix of thickets and shrubbery that concealed Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler and Alder Flycatcher.
A brief clearing with a view of the stream surrounded by hemlocks, offered a view of another first time warbler, Black Throated Green Warbler. This handsome bird perched itself long enough to offer a glimpse where its black throat, yellow face and black streaked sides made identification easy. It decided to sing," zeee,zeee, zee-zo-zee." As I learned the song, I realized that there were many Black Throated Green Warblers in the area. Their favorite habitat is a hemlock forest mixed with deciduous trees.
Eventually I found a sturdy log resting against another tree that suited me with great views of the stream. This location was a perfect place for lunch. As I sat, a pair of birds flew in to a nearby rhododendron scolding me with their chip calls. Peering through the binoculars, I was excited to see my first male and female Hooded Warbler. The male's black hood with olive backed and yellow breast were obvious markings. The Hooded Warblers suddenly flew away; spooked by another large bird that I caught from the corner of my eye. Motionless, I carefully scanned the treetops from where I had seen the movement. The hairs in the back of my neck rose as I realized that I was in the company of a large owl perched at a height of nearly fifty feet. It alighted and landed not more than thirty feet above me, apparently curious at my presence. Heavily barred across its chest with large roundish rings around its its deep, brown almost humanlike eyes and a lack of ear tufts pointed to an obvious Barred Owl! But, I needed to confirm it but not now!
I decided to risk making some movement, I slowly sat on the log without making any quick gestures. Resting against another hemlock I was able to observe the unfrightened Barred Owl without my binoculars. Soon there was rustling in the canopy above the perched Barred Owl. Not one but two additional Barred Owls alighted awkwardly upon some thinly stemmed branches well above the first bird. Appearing somewhat smaller and with some residual fluffy feathers left on top of their heads, it was apparent that these were first year birds which would make the first owl one of the parents! The owl closest to me began calling," Who cooks for you? who cooks! The other two watched intently, more wary than the parent bird, but not necessarily ready to fly away. I settled in for awhile, emptied out my lunch and ate it with my guests!
For an hour, I enjoyed the company of my feathered hosts; the Barred Owls peered curiously and called frequently. While I do not believe that wild creatures including Barred Owls possess the cognitive faculties to communicate, , their behavior reflected a fearlessness that comes from instincts that can discern the difference between dangerous and benign creatures. Barred Owls are gregarious raptors which mate for life. Unlike other owls which are only active in the nightime, Barred Owls are often active by day, often calling to each other, especially in the springtime.
It was about noon when I finished my lunch and decided to return to my car. I stood up slowly, but the owls continued unperturbed. I began hiking back along the shores of Mossman Brook, when I heard the ethereal song of the Hermit Thrush. Still the owls remained stationary as I walked away from them. It was then that I realized that I was the visitor; a guest to a natural wonderland right here in New Jersey, in the heart of the Highlands. My experience on this date broadened my appreciation of God's greatest gifts. It further strengthened my belief that if Man stands to benefit from his gifts, then we must act as stewards to ensure that we sustain our natural heritage for future generations.
The experiences of June 4,1985, taught me that New Jersey was much more than just cities. Preserving our natural heritage in New Jersey for others to marvel meant saving the birds and the places where they live; the Highlands. This odyssey to protect these areas continues to this date, in Vernon, West Milford and beyond for all the Hamburg Mountains, Black Creek marshes and of course the Pequannock Watershed!
- Godspeed
The Status of the Eastern Forest in Vernon
During the Intrawest general development plan hearing in the summer of 2000, we repeatedly heard the arguments posed by the applicant's natural resource experts that the forest on Hamburg Mountain was not a virgin forest. That in fact, the mountainous landscape of Hamburg Mountain has been altered by Man since colonial days. The Highlands of New Jersey has indeed been at times logged, farmed and grazed.
Today, the Highlands are for the most part, especially north of Rte. 80, a good representation of the Eastern Forest, even on Hamburg Mountain. The recent decades with the decline of logging and farming has allowed the mountains of Vernon to revert to a mature stand of deciduous forest with some extensive groves of Hemlock, White Pine and even Atlantic White Cedar, a tree more common in the Pine Barrens. Despite history we have experienced in the last three hundred years, an entire ecosystem exists with the requisite fauna and flora minus notable exceptions like the Eastern cougar and Timber Wolf.
We tend to think that the greatest threat to the forests of the New Jersey Highlands is suburban sprawl which fragments the forest, destroys the habitats and degrades the water in our watersheds which are so vital for millions of residents of this State.
An insidious invasion of non-native plants, insects and other organisms are inexorably changing our landscapes with impunity. The radical change in our flora is altering the composition of plants practically overnight. A benign looking perennial flower from Europe - purple loosestrife - is creating real strife in our marshes, swamps and other wetlands. Purple Loosestrife has found a natural home in these habitats. These woody perennials have been outcompeting cattails, cordgrass and even phragmites in our wetlands. Many local wetlands have vast mats of purple loosestrife. Such changes may accelerate the conversion of open swamps and marshes to a forest condition by drying the wetlands to a point where other trees take root like dogwoods, alders and red maples. The losers are American Bittern, Least Bittern and Bog Turtle - all species either in decline or on the State or federal list of endangered and threatened species.
Another European import, the garlic mustard has gone from nowhere to everywhere. This rather unremarkable single stemmed plant with tiny white flowers has the ubiquitous habit of coming out in the spring ahead of native plants especially perennial flowers and ferns. In various areas of the Pequannock Watershed where a trail, old woods road or paved street occurs this plant grows vigorously in good soils, poor soils, steep slopes and in wetlands. This pest can cover a forest floor in one season! This spring I led a Girls Scout troop up the Appalachian Trail up to the summit of Wawayanda Mountain. Garlic Mustard has marched up the trail all the way to the top! We took some solace in uprooting as many Garlic Mustards as we could, but I am afraid that the "Garlic Mustard Busters" as the Girl Scouts proudly called themselves didn't really put a dent to the problem.
Among the least popular of Japanese imports is the Knotweed, a prolific sun-loving vine that can grow inches per day. Normally, where there is a forest edge along a road or trail you would expect cedars, birches and dogwoods to take root, until now. Japanese Knotweed will outgrow anything on a forest edge, twisting and suffocating any other plant that dares to emerge. Even worse, it has no natural resource value, either as a food source or for habitat.
Insects are wreaking even greater havoc. The woolly adelgid, a Japanese scale no larger than a pinhead, multiplies rapidly in the Hemlock Forest. Attaching itself underneath to the needles of a defenseless hemlock tree in a protected shell, the scale sucks the photosynthetic nutrients of the tree. Millions of these scales can occur in a few trees, killing the host trees swfitly, sometimes, in as little as a year. Since the introduction of the Woolly Adelgid in Virginia in 1950's, the scale has been spreading northward at a rate of 12 -35 miles per year. The hemlock forest in New Jersey will be extinct in a few short years despite scientific efforts to introduce a previously undiscovered beetle that feeds solely on woolly adelgid. Unfortunately, the beetle cannot be bred quickly enough in laboratories to make a difference in the environment. The hemlock blight is so devastating that an entire habitat may disappear. The Barred Owl, Red Shouldered Hawk numerous warblers , mammals and understory plants depend upon the hemlock forest for its cool, moisture ladened micro-habitat. Even the wild trout populations in our streams are vulnerable. As the hemlock forest dies, increased sunlight shines on previously perpetual cold waters. Wild trout cannot stand warmer temperatures beyond 68 degrees. No other native conifer can replace the hemlock tree.
A mysterious fungus is attacking our native dogwoods. Usually, dogwood trees grace our forest understory with the first signs of spring with their dainty white or pink flowers on an otherwise barren landscape. Today, there are no longer any dogwood trees growing in the shade. Thety are probably all dead. The only ones remaining are the ones in direct sunlight. Apparently this fungus dies when exposed to directly to the sun's rays. An important element of the forest understory which provided vital habitat to interior loving birds as well as fruit in the summer is missing.
A recent trip to the heart of the Catskill Mountains proved that no wilderness area is beyond the reach of exotic plants and insects. The lower elevation of the hemlock forest on Slide Mountain, the highest summit in the Catskills are in the early stages of the hemlock blight. When a phone call was made to a NY Department of Conservation official, they told me that New York has no policy regarding the hemlock blight or any other non-native infestation upon our landscape. There is clearly no national policy regarding the proliferation of exotic plants and animals upon the American landscape. Just visit any local nursery. Roses of Sharon, Scotch Broom, Purple Loosestrife and many other benign looking plants beloved by neighbors and ourselves are unwittingly contributing to the radical alteration of the eastern forests in Vernon and elsewhere.
Meanwhile in my own private Idaho, I am desperately removing all undesirable plants as I go native. Various species of viburnum, sweet pepperbush, highbush blueberry, mountain laurel, rhododendron, local ferns, perennials have all been planted in the hope that I can make a difference locally as I worry gobally. If I were you I would do the same if you care as I do!
- Godspeed
PS. The deer will eat just about all the native stuff I have planted. I am now investigating how I can bring the Timber Wolf and Eastern Cougar to take our the deer. However, I have no answer for the bear cubs up my cherry tree going for the fruits of their labor!

N'anipauwi...
My daughter, Ariana and I stepped out of the car on a dust-strewn parking lot burgeoning with cars from other states and Vernon too.
Behind Jamie Rickey's large red barn, about seventy five people were gathered as Urie Ridgeway and Santos Hawkblood, Lenni Lenape Indians, bellowed instructions to the hastily gathering marchers. It was decided that we would now march peacefully to town hall instead of the Fagan property .
To the sound of native chants and drum beats, Ariana wondered, "Where is the Fagan property? Why is it holy for the Indians? Explaining that the native Americans lived here in Vernon, perhaps for thousands of years and that ancient artifacts were found there was relatively easy. Trying to sort out why we were marching was a little more difficult.
"The town has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars for ball fields. People were hired to design the location and size of the fields. Ariana asked me,"Is that bad?" I answered, " No not really... The problem is that our leaders have made a decision that would uncover more Indian arrows, flint and, maybe even the bones of native Indian buried here. Her eyes widened in wonderment. "How do you know?", she inquired. "I did not, really! But no one really knows for sure. The Indians leading the march are afraid that the careless digging could result in disrespecting a site they consider holy in their religion. Ariana insisted, "Why would anyone want to do that?" I hurriedly switched the subject, since I did not know the answer to that question.
I reflected for a moment. The last time I marched in protest was in the late 1960's, when my family along with fellow Cubans protested Fidel Castro's speech at the United Nations. I remember repeating Cuba si! Russia no! The indelible mark that that march left on my psyche would forever be etched in my mind. We stood then for our rights and values. Because, we too had lost our homeland, like the Lenni Lenape before us. My father was a soldier who fought against Fidel Castro's revolutionaries, got shot, eloped with my mother and fled to the US in 1959. Never to return despite years of denial. Whence, I was born here with my parents passionately teaching us never allow anyone else to trample our rights. Stand up for your beliefs! Rise up against future Castros!
We had marched about a mile and a half along Rte. 94, when Ariana announced that she was tired and was ready for a ride to Town Hall. We flagged Laura Blanks who whisked us to our car and off we went to Town Hall. Among several press representatives, fellow residents held signs wanting their field of dreams. Ariana read the signs. She said they are against the Indians. I said no, they just prefer their fields for the children. Ariana exclaimed "I have an idea. Let's have both!" Good idea!
The drum beating Lenni Lenape Indians were closing in upon the steps of the town hall. The march had swelled to over a hundred people. Many kids were present; some held placards proclaiming their desire to save the Indian site! As the marchers circled Mr. Ridgeway and Mr. Hawksblood upon the steps of town hall, there was a seeming unity of purpose among us. The notion that the simple act of building ball fields could risk a sacred place of a culture, especially an American Indian site made me angry. The Lenni Lenape were also "N'manuxi".("I am angry!")
Many speeches followed, describing the hunter gatherer culture of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape. The struggle for the very survival of a disappearing culture in the 21st century. The intentional desecration of the Indian archaeological site by town leaders served as a reminder, that even though hundreds of years have elapsed since the Indians lived peacefully in Vernon Valley, they are still persecuted by society.
Ariana was enamoured by the various Indian speeches and song. She fidgeted somewhat as she stood closer and closer to the speakers, drawn by the curiosity of the moment as well as the spectacle before her eyes. A steadfast silence overcame her. Unsure whether she was tired or feeling sick, I asked "Are you okay?" She said "yes, I just want to stand here with the Indians". While, she probably meant just stand in the literal sense, I suspect that she may have meant, "N'anipauwi" ("I stand!").
I agreed, we are standing together against another immoral, unethical act against native Americans. We are standing up for our right to express our views, to protect the Lenni Lenape archaological site for present and future generations. We urge the earth moving equipment and their short sighted leaders to "palli aal!" ("Go away!")
Godspeed
New Jersey Audubon Society 's World Series of Birding and Sussex County
Much has been said of the economic benefits of eco-tourism in the future tense. However, little has been studied or chronicled of present experiences of eco-tourism especially in Sussex County. New Jersey Audubon Society's World Series of Birding has just concluded last Saturday, May 12, 2001. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) won the statewide contest by amassing the largest number of species at 214. Both hailed from outside New Jersey, members of their respective teams were barracked at the High Point Inn and other local hotels for all of the preceding week traveling throughout Sussex County in search of the breeding and migratory birds that are typically found here during mid-May. Corporate sponsors like Swarvoski Optics and Nikon bankrolled the Cornell and the DVOC teams, by donating thousands of dollars for their respective teams and subsidizing the costs of the scouting members. Provisions such as car rental, hotel stays, food and other supplies were all purchased at local establishments in Sussex County, almost unnoticed by local Chambers and other economic stakeholders.
The truth is that Sussex County is the starting point for dozens of teams competing in the World Series of Birding. The Limited Geographic Area category where teams compete on a county level had no less than four teams in Sussex County - the Brooklyn Boiders from where else? Brooklyn. The Allegheny Plateau/Waterman Bird Club from Pennsylvania and our own Vernon Civic Association's Orioles among others. The Orioles ticked off 164 species in a 24 hour period. And while the Orioles did not win the category, the species total reflects the great diversity of habitats still to be found in Sussex County. The potential to add many species is the very modus operandi of why so many teams start in Sussex County.
May 12, 2001 produced many rare and state endangered or threatened species. American Bittern, a nocturnal heron that resides in marshes, was a rare sight when a pair were flying over a beaver marsh near Beemerville. Goshawk, Cooper's Hawk and Red Shouldered Hawk were observed in area of Bear Swamp, an environmentally sensitive wetland complex opposite Stokes State Forest. With farmland fast disappearing, the protected farms of Wantage yielded Vesper, Savannah, Grasshopper Sparrows, along with Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink. The forests of Hamburg Mountain held many species of warblers and vireos. With the exception of Cape May County, Sussex County is a haven and a stopover point for over 150 species and the birdwatchers that follow them.
Many areas of the United States recognize the economic benefits of birdwatching too. Public festivals and celebrations are sponsored by private interests in concert with municipal and county governments. The Cape May Spring Weekend hosted by the New Jersey Audubon Society features field trips to many local birding hotspots and butterfly tours. Local merchants occupy kiosks and hold workshops on landscaping, optics, bird identification and related activities. In Ontario, the province sponsors a series of festivals to coincide with the fall migration of raptors. The Festival of Hawks is now an annual event.
Sometimes, an area recognizes the value of protecting and marketing the presence of a federal endangered species. The Kirtland's Warbler is the subject of the Kirtland's Warbler Festival sponsored by the Oscoda County Chamber of Commerce of Michigan. Occupying thr jack pines of Huron National Forest, the Kirtland's Warbler enjoys celebrity status where auto tours, bird watching tournaments and presentations of local ecology attract visitors from throughout North America.
Do these festivals represent justifiable economic activities or misguided businenss interests? Recent surveys and marketing studies prove that birdwatching is a powerful source of tourism dollars. According to a 1991 survey conducted by USDI SURVEY, 1993, 24 million Americans took trips for the express purpose of birdwatching versus 14 million hunters. In the United States in 1991, $5.2 billion was directly spent on expenses related to watching and enjoying birds, with $300 million infusing direct state revenues and creating 190,000 jobs. ( Southwick Associates, 1995) Even more startling, twice as many vacationers preferred to watch birds than play golf according to Fortune, 1990 article. In one community, Grand Island, Nebraska, a rural community on the edge of the Great Plains, birding tourists spend more than $15 million locally while providing the region with $40 million worth of "rollover " benefits. (Lingle, 1991)
In New Jersey, a study of the Economic Impact Birding Tourism on the Edward B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Area, New Jersey 1993-94 conducted by Paul Kerlinger Ph.D. revealed a more accurate profile of the birding tourist and their spending habits. A total of 616 questionnaires were completed from a total of 130,000 visitors of which 98,000 are birdwatchers that year. The average birding tourist tended to be middle aged (30-40's 51.9%), well educated (80.8% attended some college), had incomes that were well above the national family average (55.3% had family incomes in excess of $50,000), and men and women were roughly equally represented.
Visitors to the National Refuge located outside of Atlantic City came from 31 states and 20 counties in New Jersey. Nearly one half (49.8%) were from out of state while 39.4% stayed more than one night.The average amount spent on their entire trips to and from Forsythe averaged $273 and totaled $26.76 million. The economic impact on the local communities were estimated to be $4.01 million in that year with $1.60 million was spent in lodging, $0.65 million on spent on meals, $0.21 million on gas, and $1.56 million for other purchases. The average visitor was worth between $25-42 directly to the local economy.
Sussex County possesses a great concentration of public open space, farmland and extensive wetlands that are protected in New Jersey. Planning for ecotourism activities to capitalize on the wonderful birdwatching opportunities found in the County has never received serious consideration.Moreover, most local land use decisions that encourages sub-divisions, industrial parks, and converts farmland to development does not have in its discourse or policy even the acknowledgemewnt of the economic benefits of open space.
In fact some of Sussex County's best habitats is not even protected, instead are threatened by development despite ample evidence of thepresence of sensitive habitats and endangered species. Hamburg Mountain in Vernon, Rockport Marsh in Wantage, Bear Swamp in Frankford and farmland south of Sussex Airport are some examples of areas that are visited by birdwatchers, hunters and anglers with little knowledge of their cumulative economic benefits to the local economy.
Contestants that participate in New Jersey Audubon Society's World Series of Birding recognize that winning the contest requires traveling through Sussex County. Considering their economic muscle should come natural to businesses and merchants as well as local leaders and planners who look for alternate, more sustainable sources of revenue that can be a veritable shot in the economic arm. When do we embrace such economic activities and plan for more of them?
- Godspeed
The Real First Signs of Spring....It is universally accepted that the arrival of the American Robin upon a snow melting lawn will soon translate to warmer temperatures and budding tulips. As January turns to February, the days become longer and longer. The sun rises closer and closer to its zenith in the sky. My drive from Far Hills to Vernon no longer begins in darkness.
Nature is a constant evolution of cycles that advance inexonerably from season to season. Winters may colder and there may be be more snow like this year, but ultimately the temperatures will rise even this year!
Early February finds some days temperatures finally cracking 32 degrees fahrenheit. With this rather modest warmup, one may be startled to find flocks of Grackles and Red winged Blackbirds raiding their bird feeders. The cacopohony of trills and creaky calls usually attracts your attention as dozens of birds will hang out near the feeder station and loiter along your lawn.
Red tailed Hawks rise in the sky using the thermals which are soft breezes heated by the sun's warmer rays. It is not unusual for one to witness male and female red tailed hawks do their tumbling acts as part of their mating ritual. Interspersed among the hawks, Black and Turkey Vultures can be seen floating in the air as they circle in small groups looking for carrion and dead road kills. Returning to their summer haunts by late February, many vultures cast their shadows in the McAfee section of Vernon suggesting that this is an important staging area for further migration to more northern destinations.
In the forests, skunk cabbage protrude from ther wet soils with their unfurled purplish leaves, sometimes while there is still snow and ice on the ground. Dogwood and redbud trees prepare to show off their flowers to be, on crimson buds. In my garden, courageous perennials tend to ignore the cold air; phlox, lupine.lily, peony and others are flexing their photosynthetic energy stored from last year's season.
Amphibians, despite being cold blooded, venture out from their winter chambers in search of vernal ponds. The first night where temperatures hover above freezing, frogs can be heard shrilling and chirping in search of mates. Salamanders emerge slithering ever so slowly on snow and thawing earth until they find safe haven in a vernal pond. Recently, I joined several herpetologists as we donned hip waders and flashlights in search of mole salamanders along the Pochuck Creek. We found Tremblay's Salamander, a hitherto unknown type salamander not found outside the Passaic river basin. Along with Blue Spotted Salamander, Jefferson Salamander ad Silvery Salamander, these salamanders are large; measuring up to 8 inches long. Tremblay's Salamander and Blue Spotted Salamander are actually listed on the NJ Endangered and Threatened Species List.
Even mammals wake up from the winter doldrums with renewed vigor and become very active. Black Bear males wander great distances looking for a mate ( and destroying bird feeders like mine in their path!). Restless raccoons, skunks, opossums and foxes, warmed by the higher temperatures, are scurrying across roadways if not blinded by car lights that usually make those crossing unsuccessful. Squirrels and chipmunks chase and fight each other for territory and mates.
Indeed spring is a time of renewal, where the cold chill of winter evolves to the warming fragrant breezes of April and May. Not too warm nor humid, spring is a comfortable period that cannot come too soon after the winter of 2000-2001!
Godspeed
Vernon's Old Growth Trees
Robert Speiser and Tom Bosakowski had informed John Benzinger, a friend of mine and fellow naturalist, in the winter of 1985 that in the heart of the Pequannock Watershed, there indeed was an old growth forest unlike anything found in New Jersey. A hemlock forest with trees averaging 9-10 feet in girth and towering nearly 100 feet could be found in a remote area of Vernon. In fact, one hemlock tree was measured at 13 feet 6 inches. A mammoth tree whose size easily exceeded anything I had seen until that point in my life.
The spring of 1986, Watershed Watch had launched a breeding bird survey of the entire Pequannock Watershed. Encompassing 35,000 acres, this little explored region represents the wilderness core for any future Highlands preserve. Speiser directed us to follow the Cherry Ridge trail off of Canistear Road. Just before the gun range, we would find a well worn trail cordoned off by a ranger employed by the Newark Development and Conservation Corporation, the city agency responsible for securing and managing the Newark Watershed.
In early June of that year, John and I headed out for the day long hike at 4:30 in the morning. Since wildlife and birds are most active in the morning, we were going to have our best opportunity to observe and identify all sorts of species. We parked our cars along a grassy pulloff on Canistear Road, took our day packs and binoculars and began our march down Range Road. Just shy of the gate, we cut right or south along a trail.
Mountain Laurel was just beginning to bloom along the trail. Hemlocks, yellow birch and beech trees were common. A cacophony of morning song enveloped the early mist. Acadian Flycatcher uttered pi-tsa! while Black Throated Blue Warbler sang zur, zur zur zeee. With checklist in hand, we started the slow process of checking each and every bird that sang. We were careful not to count the same bird twice. The trail went deeper into the woods passing an old foundation surrounded by tall European larch trees, apparently planted by whoever lived here decades ago. Along a bend in the trail, a portion of the hillside had been gouged by a mining operation sometime in the past, leaving behind a sandy substrate. Here a group of young European larches capitalized on the disturbed soils and were growing vigorously.
Speiser instructed us to go past a small alder swamp on the left. Golden winged Warbler and Canada Warbler chimed in to be counted from within the swamp. And, where Pacack Brook flowed under the trail, we were to veer off the trail and follow the streambed. Instead we decided to climb a rhododendron covered hillside to get a better view of the valley ahead. The morning dew coupled with the heavy leaf litter made the uphill climb slippery and slow. Practically on all fours, we crawled underneath the gnarling branches of the rhododendron and overhanging tree limbs to the top.
As we peered to the valley below, we were met by what appeared to be a row of giant hemlocks rising elegantly to the sky. Each looked identical to the hemlock tree on its left and right. Like sentinels guarding a treasure trove, these hemlocks stood at attention. They measured between 8 and 11 feet in girth. Giant rhododendron, nearly 8 and 9 feet high hugged the trunks over the flooded swamp below. One hemlock that had fallen decades ago sprouted new shoots. We descended to the valley below, clearly in awe with the spectacle before us. Ferns covered the forest floor so thickly that we could not avoid stepping on them as we made progress.
With compass, topo map and binoculars at the ready we followed the gurgling sound of Pacack Brook as we reconnoitered with the waterway to guide our hike into the valley. Unsolicitedly, a pair of Barred Owl traded calls "who cooks for you, who cooks"; taking turns alerting us as to their presence. Hemlock and mixed forest are the best habitat for the Barred Owl. Like the Endangered Spotted Owl of the west, Barred Owl are deep forest dwellers.
We followed the streambed which was filled with hopping frogs and fidgety trout reacting to our footsteps by seeking cover. After a short distance, we headed away from Pacack Brook and onto dryer conditions. Under a cover of a full canopy of hemlocks, this narrow valley was barren of any understory. With permanent shade, little can grow here. Shorn needles from the hemlocks provided a soft mat for our feet. Otherwise, we were climbing over rocky ridges and outcroppings and traversing narrow finger streams that flowed into Pacack Brook.
To the east, a rock wall strewn with giant sized boulders rising nearly 200 feet delineated the edge of this valley. To the west, beyond Pacack Brook, this old forest encircled the stream. The canopy was broken only over the stream itself. Daylight reached in far as it can be guided by the rays of the sun before it is abruptly stopped by the immovable shadows of the hemlocks. In the clearings, arrowood viburnum, high bush blueberry, alders, rhododendron and mountain laurel created a rich understory lush with greenery providing cover for bird and wildlife.
Here, the trees of all types were very old. A yellow birch was measured over 6 feet in girth, huge for a relatively smallish tree often associated with hemlock forests in wet conditions. The State record is about 5 feet in circumference. As we pushed deeper, we were startled by the cries of a Red Shouldered Hawk. Keeerrr, Keerrr , the raptor called as it cast its silhouette over Pacack Brook against a sunlit sky. A porcupine munched on some new shoots about thirty feet up a beech tree. We moved on.
Heading north we followed Pacack Brook as it reduced itself to a trickle. Fed by neighboring springs and ground water that seeped to the surface, the origin of Pacack Brook was a massive rock slide interspersed by giant hemlocks whose crowns barely entangled with each other to create dappled sunlight. Talus slopes were composed of boulders so large that crevices and fissures could easily hold several man size figures in them. As we descended deeper in the valley, the average size and width of the hemlocks became larger. One grove of hemlocks, we called the cathedral grove because the minimum girth was ten feet!
We counted in amazement at the density of interior nesting birds; Black Throated Green, Blackburnian, Hooded and Magnolia Warblers made themselves known on good numbers.Several male Hermit Thrushes sang their ethereal melody in blending one song with another. Considered by many birders as the most beautiful song in North America, any listener stops dead in their tracks; mesmerized by the unique range of sounds emanating from this drab brownish cousin of the American Robin.
Reaching the end of the narrow trail, we were puzzled at not finding the elusive tree. John and I decided to break up in search of the "Speiser" tree. I paused to view at the hemlocks in the distance. A glimpse of a grove of trees seemed unusual. I removed the glasses briefly and placed the binoculars in front of my eyes again. That grove of trees appears to be fused. Sweat was profusely causing me to tear, making my ability to focus my vision without squinting impossible. I made my way towards the trees.
As I drew closer, my attention was broken up by the kaack, kaack, kaack sound of a Goshawk. Knowing the dangerous greeting habit of a marauding Goshawk with a penchant for attacking interlopers that happen upon their nest, I crouched close to the ground as I scanned the treetops for the Gos. These fierce hawks are known to defend their nests by relentlessly dive bombing hikers and birdwatchers with their sharp beaks and strong talons until they are driven away. Considered Endangered in New Jersey, very few pairs nest in the state, always far away from civilization.
As the unsuspecting Goshawk flew past me, I re-focused my binoculars upon the target or were they multiple targets? I smiled as as I immediately recognized what I was seeing. The three largest hemlocks in the valley were in my sights, but because they were being viewed from a perspective as if they were in a row, they appeared to run together.
John quickly re-joined me as I yelled for him. These trees could easily be overlooked, tucked in a corner of the valley. Unlike "wolf trees" which settlers left standing in the colonial past to demarcate their homesteads, these trees preceded the colonists because their inaccessible location made it nearly impossible to log except under modern clearcutting methods. Neither John or I could put our arms around these trees.
These giants were huge at the base. All of them exceeded 12 feet in girth. The "Speiser" Tree had several huge forks in the trunk which were massive themselves. We stood in awe for what seemed like hours. It was a riveting, emotional experience being dwarfed by these trees that were centuries old. While we watched the Barred Owl, Red Shouldered Hawk and Goshawk called at different intervals as if they shared in this solemn moment.
We departed in dead silence clearly moved by this creation from God. Still, in New Jersey nothing last forever. The woolly adelgid, a japanese insect that relies on hemlocks for food have infested our native hemlock forests. Sucking on the host's photosynthetic nutrients, these buggers multiply until their collective effort hemorrhages the tree to death. Thousands of hemlocks in New Jersey are dead or dying, including the Speiser tree.
I have not been back there since 1998 because I want to remember the tree while it was healthy.
Godspeed
Footnote: A state botanist speculated that the tree indeed was very old. Without conducting a boring sample, it is difficult to age, however, it probably was alive before Christopher Columbus discovered America!
Another Intrawest Resort: Mammoth Lakes Ski Resort and its Implications for Vernon Township
On November 16, 2000 the California Supreme Court denied the town of Mammoth Lake's petition to review the 3rd Appellate District Court's ruling in favor of Friends of Mammoth. With the appellate court's decision upheld, Mammoth Lakes' re-development plan was invalidated and its environmental impact report de-certified.
In March of 1996, the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the Town of Mammoth Lakes Re-development Agency started the process allowed by California Law to adopt a redevelopment plan. A requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is the preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR). On June 18, 1997 both the Agency's governing body and the town council certified the EIR. The redevelopment plan was approved by the governing body on July 2, 1997 with the adoption of Ordinance #97-08.
The proposed redevelopment plan would have affected 1100 acres including much of the existing town center, an airport and two discontiguous areas in the region. Intrawest persuaded the town council to classify the traditional downtown as a blighted area to make way for their massive development plan. Derided by locals as an attempt to convert Mammoth Lakes as a playground for the rich, Intrawest-Mammoth Lakes Ski Resort envisioned a massive development with 2000 new units of housing, new commercial villages and retail establishments. Prepared to invest $500 million; even the local airport was going to be expanded to allow light jet aircrafts to land and takeoff. Along the way, the town of Mammoth Lakes even agreed to pay Intrawest $15 million for the initial improvements financed by the Vancouver based corporation for things such as road improvements, road widening and other traffic related projects.
Snuggled in the high Sierras of north central California, Mammoth Lakes is the epitome of what is true wilderness. With snow capped mountains, volcanoes, and extensive forests, this region is just a stone's throw from Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, one of the few areas left in the lower 48 states where viewing stars is still unfettered by the light of man-made cities. Mammoth Lakes is the perfect quiet exurban town just waiting for Intrawest's near perfect strategy of developing cities in the country. Predominantly inhabited by retirees, Mammoth Lakes could have seen their population increase dramatically from the current 5000 to see 10,000 more visitors per day!
Intrawest implemented a strategy in Mammoth Lakes that Vernon has grown all too familiar with. The town of Mammoth Lakes was persuaded by Intrawest to adopt the re-development plan. Yet, the California Supreme Court found that Mammoth Lakes was not suffering blighted conditions as set forth in state statutes. No unsafe or unhealthy buildings, economic distressed areas or underutilized businesses were evidenced.
The trial court found and the California Supreme Court upheld that the environmental impact report violated the California Environmental Quality Act by failing to analyze the indirect and secondary impacts (impacts can be defined as:non-point pollution onto local waterways, erosion, loss of critical habitat, strip development, traffic congestion contributing to degraded air quality, etc.) by each of the proposed 72 separate projects. The trial court found that a redevelopment plan with all its projects were to be considered as one project under the California Environmental Quality Act. Furthermore, as much environmental review as possible should occur at the beginning of the redevelopment process according to the trial court, not later which Intrawest and Mammoth Lakes leaders wanted. The town failed to analyze the impacts caused by each proposed project to the extent information was known or reasonably could havew been known about each project constituted a failure to proceed in a manner consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Striking a similar tactical position in Vernon, Intrawest's lawyers successfully argued during the Vernon Planning Board process as they did earlier in Mammoth Lakes, that deferral of more extensive environmental reviews should wait until later with individual site plans. Fortunately, in California, Intrawest could not prevail in skirting environmental reviews. Avoidance of these laws is important for Intrawest for two reasons; 1. their development plans in wild areas of North America can never pass muster without running afoul of environmental degradation and laws intended to protect natural resources and, 2. gaining local approval for a general development plan or a redevelopment plan grants Intrawest vested rights for years to come with the benefits of raising capital, executing ambitious marketing strategies and holding sway over the local jurisdiction with their sophisticated public relations machinery.
Intrawest portrays themselves as a community-oriented and environmentally friendly corporation that promotes sound development with the allure of four season resorts. However, what Vernon is witnessing is a well-oiled strategy that has benefitted Intrawest the uncanny and successful ability to overcome political, jurusdictional and regulatory barriers to develop real estate in North America's last great wild places. They are almost always successful. They did not fool them in California and we are not fooled in New Jersey!
Godspeed
The Case for the Cerulean Warbler and Protection of Hamburg Mountain

In 1986, I was exploring the Dunker Pond region of the Pequannock Watershed with John Benzinger. Under the auspices of Watershed Watch, a local environmental watchdog group created to raise public awareness of the need to preserve the Pequannock Watershed, we were conducting a breeding bird survey of the whole property. Searching for Barred Owls and Red Shouldered Hawks became the holy grail of our searches, but rather by serendipity, we came upon a songbird with a high buzzy song along an abandoned road from Canistear Rd. John immediately identifed the bird as the Cerulean Wabler, Dendroica Cerulea. With its high buzzy melody and a penchant to sing from the canopy of the forest, getting a sight of this bird was unlikely. After carefully canvassing this woods road and the neighboring forest, two more singing males were found. We even caught a glimpse of one in a giant tulip poplar!
Over the years, we would discover additional small colonies of Cerulean Warblers scattered throughout the New Jersey Highlands. Often found in remote forests with a large number of mature trees, these inconspicuous birds arrive on New Jersey by early May, carve out a territory and seek a mate. Nests get built in the tallest of trees with a clutch of four eggs being the common total. The young are raised by mid-June and the family moves on, thereafter. Since they spend their entire lives in the higher reaches of a forest, they rarely descend onto lower branches, except when foraging for insects. It is at this time, that one may get a sneak peek.
What was troubling about the status of this species, even in the 1980's, was their relatively low density over a large geographic area. Even then, Cerulean Warblers we would discover in a certain location one year, would disappear the next. At first, there was no obvious explanation for this, except, perhaps that the whole population was already paper thin. We speculated that wandering males searching over a large area for females could give rise to the perception of the "spontaneity' of their re-discovery at a different locations. We wondered what was the health of the global population and how it may undergoing drastic declines?
In 1997, the Cornell School of Ornithology undertook a national census to ascertain the extent of the existing population of the Cerulean Warbler, and to identify where they were concentrated. Simultaneously, John Benzinger was hired by the NJ Non-game Program to conduct a similar survey in New Jersey's forests. At the time, I volunteered for Cornell to survey for Cerulean Warblers. So I returned to my old haunts where we had found them breeding in the Highlands, Since, I was in the midst of my third year of completing the New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas, I figured it would be easy to do both searches in the woods of Vernon and West Milford.
John found that that the biggest population of the Cerulean Warbler in New Jersey, was in the Delaware River National Recreation Area. Being partial to waterbodies, it came as no surprise that over a 100 pairs would be found in this protected area. In the Highlands, however, they had disappeared from the few places we knew them to exist, except for one region, the Hamburg Mountain ridge. John and I did a careful census, from the Rte 23 access to the Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area to the former holdings of the Great American Recreation Corp, now owned by Intrawest, in 1997-98. We conducted our search over the course of two years and avoided repeat visits to same locations twice, a population of 25-30 pairs were counted thoughout the Hamburg Mountain area. W found them at Danny's Pond; 3-4 pairs, on the Morford Conservation Company property; 3-4 pairs, the old Hamburg Turnpike ( today an anonymous trail cutting east to west in the Pequannock Watershed) 6 pairs and others scattered throughout the ridge. Why are they here in such high numbers?
Some theories can be considered. The Hamburg Mountain region is composed of nearly 6000 acres of contiguous forest with many streams and small ponds. The forest here is mature averaging in age between 70-90 years in places. And where older deciduous stands occur with a closed forest canopy, the Cerulean Warbler thrives.
While the Cornell School of Ornithology is still collecting information from volunteer ornithologists and naturalists, at a recent gathering of scientists, the School estimated that there is not less than 6000 pairs in the world and perhaps not more than 10,000 pairs in the world! The rate of disappearance is apparently accelerating in its core range of West Virigina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and the Mississippi River drainage. Additional impacts may be affecting the species throughout its migratory route along the Eastern seaboard where ocean front development is fast replacing natural areas. Even in the wintering grounds of South and Central America, deforestation is occurring indiscriminately and more widespread. Clearly, the future of the Cerulean Warbler is very clouded.
It is against this backdrop that 28 national, regional, statewide groups and organizations initiated a petition to place the Cerulean Warbler on the United States Threatened Species List on October 31, 2000. The Vernon Civic Association enjoined the petitioners, given the threat of large-scale development on Hamburg Mountain. Intrawest's experts has disregarded basic science in avoiding siting development near Danny's Pond where several pairs of Cerulean Warbler are consistently found every year. (Intrawest's experts claim that the 125 condos and 6 lodges of 3 and 1/2 stories slated for the Danny's Pond area will not impact the habitat because they will save the biggest trees).
Now, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the administrative unit that protects the species and the habitat of federally protected species, will have 90 days to produce a detemination supporting or declining the petition. Given the composition of the petitioners, including the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and other well-heeled organzations a denial will not end this process, I hope. Like the Spotted Owl controversy of the 1980's, scientific evidence unindisputedly demonstrates that of all the songbird species today, the Cerulean Warbler is sliding towards extinction if steps are not taken to ensure its survival.
Whatever the outcome, Vernon Township hosts another species whose global population is in peril. In most other communities, it should be a source of civic pride and a proposed economic asset for Vernon's budding eco-tourism initiatives. That will not happen anytime soon in Vernon, however. Vernon's current leaders and Intrawest's agenda to place large-scale, indiscriminate development on Hamburg Mountain are paramount to their interests. It is misguided political decisions like these, that prove that home rule can run awry of the public trust. Fortunately, in the United States, certain land use decisions must undergo state and federal scrutiny, especially when the local jurisdiction acts with flagrant disregard to the rule of law and what is in the best interest of the public. The United States Endangered Species Act with its provision for citizen petitions based on sound science can theoretically list the Cerulean Warbler and ultimately, overrule local home rule with respect to habitat protection. Unless, Vernon's leaders and Intrawest find ways to create sustainable development by avoiding the destruction of sensitive habitat for rare or listed species, they will continue running afoul (afowl?) of the public's desire to protect open space and our natural heritage.
PS. Here it is the proof. Vernon voters approved their open space referendum by 5750 to 3013 votes (now that's a real mandate!). In Sussex County the count was more convincing; 40,304 to 14799. Imagine if they ALL voted for leaders that reflected their will?
Godspeed
Imperiled Places...The Sandhill Road Farming District....
Vernon Valley probably possesses the best examples of our aging, agricultural heritage.
Small clusters of farms continue to survive. Some of them, now farms in appearance only, serve as reminders of a time when Vernon was a very important dairy-producing region. Today, preserving these family farms would benefit Vernon by maintaining its fiscal, ecological and cultural advantages that traditional development would deny.
Preserving farmland with taxpayer dollars would slow the growth of residential development. In contrast, residential development would be likely to increase municipal service costs and generate more school age children.
Farmland is open space whose landscape contributes to our bucolic viewsheds and provides a break between the growing man-made landscape and natural conditions.
Some of the farms in Vernon have been in the same family for over a century. With little change in landowners, these properties harbor rare habitats such as Limestone fens and grasslands as others disappeared for extractive industries and suburban development. These micro habitats usually allow rare, Threatened and Endangered Species to cling on in small populations, almost unnoticed by nature enthusiasts and local planners.
Some of the more important farms in the Sandhill Road area:
The Drew Farm on Drew Mountain Road is still tilled today for corn. Encompassing 110 acres, the fields, some overgrown and others manicured, is dotted with scattered wetlands and is crisscrossed by small streams that empty into the Black Creek. A well kept farm house with a wrap around porch sits across Drew Mountain Road from an aging barn that has seen little use in recent years.
With the passing of Mr. Drew, the future of this pretty farm is uncertain.
Sandhill Road from McPeek Road is mostly a straight shot north with panoramic views of Hamburg Mountain in the background and with the expansive Vernon Marshes in the foreground. This critical wetland complex is buffered by the fields and hedgerows of the Walker Farm. The antebellum style farmhouse with its tall pillars and raised gable roof, is one of Vernon's dramatic buildings, but easily overlooked, since it is surrounded by old maples and other ornamental trees. With numerous fields straddling the east and west side of Sandhill Road, the Walker Farm is a one of the least heralded of Vernon's cultural assets, that deserves more attention. Since this farm has the greatest common border with the Vernon Marshes, preservation of these fields, forest and shrubland is indispensable. Such preservation would protect water quality from excessive non-point runoff and encroaching development. Corn is raised and cattle often are seen lolling along in the fields.
At the corners of Rte. 517 and Sandhill Road, sits the Baldwin Farm; until recently one of the last dairy farms in Vernon. Several heads of steer are seen near the old barns, amidst the gurgling stream that bisects this small area. Formerly the farm included a 56 acre series of pasture and limestone fens that have since been sold to the Vernon Board of Education.
These farms provide hundreds of acres of natural open space that buffers the Vernon Marshes. Providing habitat for a diverse fauna and flora, these farms could easily be lost to residential development. If we wait long enough, this will be the inevitable result.
With the Vernon Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, we may have a chance to preserve these important farms and perpetuate farming in Vernon for generations to come.
Godspeed
Imperiled Places - Pochuck Ridge Connector with Lounsberry Hollow
Often the most important places are the ones everyone overlooks, but is right under our noses. As one drives north along Sammis Road, we view numerous schools dotting the gently sloping hills and grassy knolls. Behind, the schools to the west lies a heavily forested slope and ridgeline that runs north to the New York border. The ridge was the subject of a joint purchase by the New Jersey Audubon Society and the State of New Jersey 1998. Over 250 acres are now protected from development, creating an opportunity to blaze a trail system for students as a open air natural resource lab.
Until the 1950's, Lounsberry Hollow was a narrow neck along the Pochuck Ridge with a woods road meandering from east to west towards the Wallkill River. In recent decades, single family homes occupied the road frontage, but long stretches of road are still undeveloped. Extensive forests, rocky promontories, steep slopes, pristine streams and wetlands are commonly found in the Lounsberry Hollow area. Wildlife abounds with Bear, deer, wood turtle, Barred Owl calling this forest home.
All throughout the 1980's, Pochuck Mountain saw the development of many residential sub-divisions which fragmented the forest and replaced the woods with the conical roofs of larger, stately homes such as those found in Old Orchard, the Summit and Glen Harbor Estates. The underlying zoning like R-2 and R-3 has not changed in recent decades. Hundreds of acres in this region are owned by a few entities in several large parcels; vulnerable to future residential sub-divisions.
These dormant development threats, if realized, would add a sizable number of children to our already overburdened schools system. The current zoning would allow the same cookie cutter approach to development which is increasingly unpopular with planners and land use experts. Moreover, with Vernon's progressive land use sub code which seeks to protect scenic vistas and ridgelines by ordinance, these types of developments do more to destroy the natural integrity of Vernon's hills and mountains, plus threaten the last remaining vestiges of open space on Pochuck Mountain.
Lowering the density of zoning in this region could slow the speculative growth of sub-divisions. Already an inappropriate development on the western slopes of Pochuck Mountain may end up as a new 20-home sub-division proposed on steep slopes with plenty of wetlands. But the ultimate recourse here may be the purchase of development rights or fee ownership,especially if Vernon lacks the political resolve to change the zoning.
The preservation of the Pochuck Ridge, especially the critical Lounsberry Hollow connector, affords Vernon the opportunity to develop a municipal trail system that can connect the scattered developments. It can intersect with the Appalachian and other maintained trails in our state parks and wildlife refuges, further enhancing Vernon's rich assets that appeals to ecotourists and residents alike. With the trail system, Vernon can establish natural corridors surrounding the trails, ensuring that wildlife can migrate from one natural area to another.
Lofty goals require lofty vision, we need to seize this opportunity soon before it is lost forever.
- Godspeed
Another reason to support Vernon's Open Space and Farmland Preservation Referendum
on November 7, 2000.
For years, the rolling hills of forest and overgrown fields surrounding the Legends Resort and the Shinnihon Golf Course have stood still, except for a local walker, hiker, biker or hotel guest using the weathered and abandoned trail system that ring the hotel and golf course. Stretching from McPeek Rd south to the aging hotel and bounded by Rte. 94 to the east, and Rte. 517 to the west, hundreds of acres have seemingly been earmarked for development many times in the last twenty years.
In the mid-1990's, Joyco, Inc. received preliminary approval to build over 500 condominiums and townhomes on this vast property.
But a legal struggle emerged as to who owned the property; the Shinnihon USA or Legends Resort. As the unresolved question became lost in the legal proceedings, the threat of this development as many others before.
Now, however, the word on the street is that the legal wranglings have been resolved. Joyco has won control of the remainder lands and with that, the massive development is likely to get revived.
While the original preliminary approvals expired on the land in question, the underlying zoning has not. It is still found in the Commerical Development Zone which allows 1.5 units per acre. So far, there has not been the political will to change the zoning, therefore, the only recourse to prevent the development is to either purchase the property in fee or in easement.
Environmentally these lands are not the most sensitive in Vernon, but they have great value left in public open space. First, the property includes a great amount of floodplain for the Black Creek. Development in this area with impermeable surfaces will only aggravate flooding conditions in McAfee, Sandhill Rd. and Vernon Crossing Rd. Two, Vernon is already a bedroom community where the addition of hundreds of year round housing units can only increase the school and municipal tax rate at the expense of the existing taxpayers. Three, the large development will depend upon the existing sewer package plant that the Legends Hotel uses for treating its effluent. This plant is poorly operated; previously it has been cited by the NJDEP for discharging untreated waters onto the Black Creek, a waterway that is already impaired by high levels of fecal coliform and phosphorous. Four, locating the new development adjacent to the Black Creek will cause a significant increase of runoff into it. Finally, preservation of this important piece of open space would be enhanced by providing for public access of an upgraded trail system, as a natural wildlife corridor between Pochuck Ridge and Hamburg Mountain and prevented from the generating the sort of large scale housing development that does not improve Vernon's fiscal health.
If approved, the Vernon Open Space and Farmland referendum can raise funds to preserve this strategic stretch of open space at the heart of Vernon Valley. We need to ensure that the bucolic setting that our four season resort is found in will remain the lure for future generations.
- Godspeed

In a rather stunning fashion, Governor Whitman has shifted gears on the bear hunt. On 9/5/00, our Governor called upon the New Jersey Fish and Game Commission to cancel the Bear Hunt. Instead, she offered a number of remedies including more State dollars to educate local communities in bear country not to feed the bears, increased training for local authorities in handling bear calls and an immediate transfer or eradication of any nuisance bruins.
This policy reversal of the bear hunt was the culmination of a marathon advocacy campaign whose origins began with the BEAR Group. Often dismissed by local elected leaders as a bunch of extreme animal rights activists, they succeeded in cranking out a grassroots uprising that grew both in numbers and in diversity. They employed all the tools of public advocacy; letter writing, bumper stickers, ads, public messages on local cable stations and more. They visited town after town garnering resolution after resolution opposing the bear hunt. When that did not work, they courted legislators in the NJ Assembly and Senate who wrote legislation banning the killing of bears. When the bill passed the Senate and was effectively stalled in the Assembly, advocates began sit-ins at key legislators' offices and overnight stays in front of their homes. Meanwhile, countless newspaper articles and tv news reminded the public at large almost daily of the struggle to save New Jersey's bears.
At some point the conservation organizations weighed in on the issue. It was both awkward and appropriate. Rarely, if ever, do statewide or national groups actively oppose hunts in New Jersey. But this time, the BEAR advocates struck a chord with the community.
Since we have long known that the Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) stands on top of the food chain in the Highlands, we recognize that protecting the bear can translate to protection this region of national significance. Our mountainous region has enjoyed a resurgence of its forest at the close of the twentieth century. With the mature forest plentiful again, the habitat has improved for the Black Bear. They thrived and once again they are very common in the local mountains.
It was inevitable for encounters between Man and Bear to increase. You see, suburbia has grown in the Highlands also, cutting down forests for new homes and strip malls. What was once forest and remote areas has been opened to bring closer contacts between Man and Bear. There was widespread concern that NJ Fish and Game did not want take into consideration alternative methods like aversion techniques, expanded public awareness campaigns, closer coordination between local and state authorities to relocate or destroy problem bears and the mere objective of culling the bear population by 75% was just to much to bear!
The Sierra Club and NJ Conservation Foundation and other groups raised their concerns or openly opposed the hunt. West Milford joined the BEAR advocates to initiate a lawsuit against NJ Fish and Game. That may have been the last straw. Perhaps, the science as advanced by NJ Fish and Game for justifying the hunt was suspect. Finally the Governor acted decisively.
Nevertheless, the textbook grassroots campaign serves as proof that regular citizens of New Jersey are capable of educating themselves on an issue and organize in opposition to the Bear Hunt. Regardless of how insurmountable the political hurdles may have been, the tenacity, resolve and commitment of the BEAR campaign is a rousingly inspiration story. It underscores the fact that people do not have to be policy wonks to recognize that their most celebrated wildlife in the State of New Jersey is beloved and cared for by all, whether you live in the city or in the country.
For me, it dramatically demonstrates the willingness of New Jerseyans to assert themselves in the name of preserving and protecting our natural heritage. This experience may forever shatter the myth and the confidence in our State's ability to act as stewards in ensuring that our natural heritage for future generations by itself. It must be a shared responsibility.
We must take individual responsibility in fighting for the present and future preservation of our natural heritage in our communities, especially here in the Highlands. The BEAR Group proved you can take the message to Trenton. Are we prepared to take it to Vernon, West Milford, Jefferson, Ringwood, Wanaque etc..? That is the challenge... As Dr. Seuss said in the Lorax "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better, It's not!"
- Godspeed
With Vernon's Open Space Referendum firmly in place for fall, Vernon's taxpayers will often ask," Okay, what are we going to buy with this money? I will describe in the forthcoming months, my choices of Vernon's Imperiled Places. Lands that are rich in cultural and natural features. Parcels that can serve as pocket parks. And of course, farms that need preservation.
As you leave Vernon Center, along Rte. 94 north to the New York stateline, one has a tendency of opening up the windows as you pass the Van Dokkenberg Farm. With its vast stretchs of pastures, fields and orchards and panoramic views of Wawayanda Mountain as a backdrop, the views are truly breathtaking. Once numbering nearly a thousand acres, over time, the acreage has been bought by the State of New Jersey to protect the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail, but their work is not complete.
The Van Dokkenberg Farm actually begins at some point behind the Ames Company on Vernon Crossing Road Encompassing all the of the floodplain of the Black Creek on the eastern side, the fields here which can be seen as well by the Maple Grange Road. These fields act as important repository for the Black Creek during the winter snow melts and spring rains. The Creek swells to cover a wide area as it flows north towards the confluence with the Wawayanda Creek to form the Pochuck Creek. Underlaying the Van Dokkenberg Farm and the other farms in Vernon Valley, is our sole source aquifer, a massive reservoir of freshwater that contains hundreds of millions of gallons. The farms with their porous surfaces provide a natural condition for rainwater and runoff to re-enter and restore our aquifer.
Until the mid-1990's, a major Great Blue Heron rookery with up to 40 nests was found here. The hundreds of acres of fields provide a special habitat fast disappearing for grassland birds. Along with the Rickey and Baldwin Farms, nearly a thousand acres of farm pastures and fields are breeding areas for NJ Threatened and Endangered Species such as Savannah, Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrows plus Bobolink and Northern Harrier, a hawk that enjoys open landscapes. Interspersed between the fields are limestone fens, a wetland complex that are seepages of springs that bubble up from the ground whose ph are very acidic. In limestone fens, the federally Threatened Bog Turtle may occur plus a whole suite of rare plants that love acidic conditions. The Van Dokkenberg Farm provides a natural corridor for wildlife traveling from the Wawayanda State Park to the Pochuck Ridges. Black Bear, Deer, Bobcat and other wildilfe probalby traverses the farm in search of food, shelter and available mates.
From the rocky promontories of the Hamburg, Pochuck and Wawayanda Mountains, the Van Dokkenberg Farm provides the visual break between clustered development of Vernon Center and farms of Vernon Valley. The sweeping scenery is well known to hikers of the Appalachian Trail who recognize Vernon Valley as on of the most spectacular viewsheds of the entire Appalachian Trail system. In fact, Vernon should make a priorty in declaring Vernon Valley as an agricultural district to gain additional state dollars to preserve the character of the region.
The Van Dokkenberg Farm represents a link between Vernon's agricultural past and the growing suburban present. While the Kadish, Gerard, Martin and the Rickey farms have either entered the State's farmland preservation program or sold their land for preservation, the Van Dokkenberg Farm is still vulnerable for development. Ringing Vernon Center it could be the next property that falls victim to suburban sprawl. Owned by the Maple Grange Realty, a company representing the interests of the Van Dokkenberg family, the farm is no longer run by the family but leased out to neighboring farmers who grow hay and corn instead of the dairy herds that used to be easily seen from Rte. 94.
If the Vernon residents agree to tax themselves an average of $35 per year this fall, Vernon can raise up to $250,000 per year. While this amount will not be enough to acquire the Van Dokkenberg Farm, Vernon can apply to Green Acres and Sussex County for funding. The best course for preserving the Van Dokkenberg Farm is a purchase of the development rights so that the farm stays in agriculture and continues to pay property taxes The Van Dokkenberg Farm deserves another generation of farmers to continue the tradition that is central to Vernon Valley and that town we're in.
- Godspeed
In a rare display of civic and political compromise, the Vernon Town Council passed a resolution placing an open space referendum on the ballot last week. In early spring, the Vernon Civic Association went into action collecting signatures in a petition to place a referendum on the ballot that would ask Vernon taxpayers to approve a trust fund derived from their property taxes. Averaging about $25.00 per household per year, the dedicated tax would raise a quarter of a million dollars to buy open space and preserve farmland in Vernon.
Faced with a grassroots campaign that could steer the open space agenda outside of the control of the governing body, the Town Council also decided to pursue placing a referendum on the ballot. To their credit, they invited Elizabeth Herland, Manager of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and Greg Romano, the head of New Jersey's farmland preservation program to speak before them about the nuts and bolts of preserving open space and farmland and how a program could work in Vernon.
Deputy Mayor Janet Morrison and Councilman Ira Weiner reached out to the members of the Board of Directors of the Vernon Civic Association to explore the possibility of merging the referenda to everyone's satisfaction. Over the course of several weeks, various meetings and telephone calls concluded in a compromise agreement that resulted in a modified resolution by the Town Council that the Vernon Civic Association could support.
An open space trust fund can be created that will preserve the future Basswood Drives, protect farmland by buying development rights from willing landowners, make acquisitions of land for the development of the Pochuck Creek Greenway, invest in recreation facilities and set aside open space for conservation purposes.
This stable of source of funding will require the creation of an Open Space Advisory Board by the Township Council. The Advisory Board will have the responsibilities of identifying open space in Vernon, ranking the parcels in order of natural resource value and recommending to the Town Council which projects should be funded first. If the Advisory Board develops an open space plan that is then given to ther New Jersey Green Acres Program under the Planned Incentive Grant, Vernon may gain up to $1 million in grants per year to preserve open space!
This referendum, if it were to pass, would accomplish several public policy goals that Vernon has wrestled with for years. We will preserve farmland. As of 1996, there were over thirty farms left in Vernon. Ranging from several acres to over 500, these farms are the last vestiges of our agricultural past. Much of their acreage is vulnerable to sprouting more houses which in turn increases the number of children that goes to our schools- the root cause of our rising school and municipal taxes.
We will preserve open space. Good news for our streams, forest and wetlands as well as our fauna and flora. Here in the western reaches of the Highlands, Vernon possesses the greatest diversity of wildlife and plants in the region. Protection of open space in Vernon Valley will ensure that natural corridors will allow wildlife to move between public lands where they live.
We will have resources to invest in recreational infrastructure needs. With the growing clamor for more ballfields and the like, fund dollars can be more wisely invested here than bonding. We will pay the debt for years to come on the $2.2 million we bonded for the Fagan piece in 1999.
Historic preservation can move forward in a meaningful way! Vernon can now actively work towards preserving and improving our historic structures and archaeological sites through acquisition, improvements and education materials.
In the next several months, this column will periodically dedicate space to discuss the advantages to Vernon in voting in favor of this historic referendum.
The Vernon Civic Association through their efforts, demonstrated that civic groups can take a leadership position on a popular issue within a community. More importantly it is very encouraging that our Town Council can be sensitive and responsive to its electorate by showing that democracy still works at times! Once again, we thank Deputy Mayor Janet Morrison and Councilman Ira Weiner for leadership on this issue.
- Godspeed
For most of us, open space is land that does not have a house, a business nor a parking lot. We call open space by many names such as vacant land, unimproved property, an unbuilt lot, or, the woods, fields, swamps, marsh, etc.. Rarely does such references conjure up images of bucolic scenes unless we mention open space in a different context.
For me, open space represents the unending tapestry of nature with interwoven colors of forest types, mountain slopes, wetlands and lakes meshed together without boundary, demarcation or delineation except for what man intends as a parcel, a lot or a subdivision. Nature knows no boundaries when we look at the landscape. For those who know these things; a forest can be riparian (river corridor), palustrine, alluvial (forest growing on sandy or clay soils) or emergent (forest composed of small saplings). To the untrained eye, one cannot see the difference in the forest for the proverbial trees!
The interconnectedness of forests, wetlands. mountains, fields etc. in Vernon are a reflection of our biodiversity-the greatest variety of living things in anyone place. Locals who argue against preserving open space in Vernon will claim that we have enough with 52% of our landscape composed of parkland, watershed and agriculture. But that 52% does not begin to describe the real biodiversity of Vernon. In the State of New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the United States, sprawl has reached every corner. We are without frontiers.
Getting back to open space, why should we care whether we save another acre in Vernon? Because in many ways, the open space in Vernon is rich in fauna and flora that is gone in the rest of New Jersey. For instance, Hudson County's largest forest is a mere 26 acres and there is no deer. There are no Bobcats in Essex or Union Counties. There are probably no Barred Owls nor Red Shouldered Hawk in Bergen County. Has anyone seen a river otter or porcupine in Middesex or Monmouth Counties? I do not believe you can find bears taking up residence in Paterson, Jersey City, Elizabeth or Hackensack. Neither will any waterway in these cities possess naturally occurring populations of trout. There aren't that many hummingbird feeders with humminigbirds in Cliffside Park and Roselle Park. When was the last time you saw a red fox in Pennsauken or in Weehawken? Have you seen any beaver dams lately in Green Brook, Bound Brook, and Saddle Brook?
Vernon has all the above and much more. And I am not talking about a relict animal or plant. Vernon has populations of many critical organisms that require large protected areas of open space to preserve whole populations of the creatures that have disappeared everywhere else in New Jersey. Whole populations that need many individual plants and animals of the same species to live in harmony without the threat pose by suburban sprawl and broken forests which tranlate into lost habitat. People commonly believe that when a parcel is converted to a subdivision that all the critters and plants somehow migrate someplace else or survive elsewhere!
Some habitat requirements include: a single bear needs 10 sq. miles, a pair of barred owl's territory is at a minimum 500 acres, and a lone bobcat may range up to 20 sq. miles. For the Golden winged Warbler, a fast disappearing songbird, there maybe 50-60 pairs in New Jersey. The majority confined to the Hamburg Mountain ridge and Wawayanda State Park of Vernon. For many species found in New Jersey, merely being in attendance does not guarantee their existence by the time our children reach our age. Many will have become extinct in New Jersey decades before. For those who follow such things, Vernon maybe a footnote where the last of a species was reported or the last place in New Jersey where you can reliably find a bear, a barred owl or a Golden winged Warbler. Vernon's open space are already occupied by non-human tenants that cannot afford to go anywhere else in New Jersey and they cannot survive any more development like the rest of the State!
Godspeed
During a recent Environmental Commmission meeting, I was impressed by the crowd that gathered to clamor mostly against the proposed bear hunt that NJ Fish & Game Division wants to get started.
With 75+ people in the audience from throughout the region, we heard Patrick Carr present a slide show. He estimated that with about 1,000 bears in the northwest part of New Jersey, it was time to orgnaize a hunt to cull the population by 3/4 or 750 bears. Meanwhile, we heard Linda Smith of The Bear Group and Steven Searles of Bearffairs.com discuss a wide range of alternatives to a bear hunt. Expanded education programs, strict enforcement of food in the out of doors and aversion techniques were offered instead of pursuing the hunt.
We learned that in the United States, New Jersey bears are among the best nourished, the largest and the most prolific- mothers commonly have two, three and sometimes four cubs! Our bears live in the Highlands with its rich diversity of northern and southern forests with understories filled with berry producing shrubs and thickets. Bears have also learned to take quick meals at the local garbage cans and the foodstuff from an occasional, careless picnicker.
What was really astounding to me is that a bear's home range averages 10 square miles. And, bears' ranges will overlap, confirming the often reported occurrence of several bears in a smaller land area. Bears are omnivorous-meaning, they will eat plant as well as animal matter. They are opportunistic and smart; will climb trees and dig up a yellowjacket colony in pursuit of the honey.
A point that Patrick Carr made did resonate with me. In recent years, the number of encounters between man and bear have increased dramatically. While the encounters have ended often without incident, at times bears will kill and/or eat livestock, pet dogs and domestic fowl.
Indeed, the bear population has increased in northwest New Jersey, but so has the human population. Sussex County is growing significantly as a bedroom community. The growth is indiscriminate. A farm field here, a forest there, a slope, a mountaintop and near wetlands. Where there was once expanses of open space with forests and fields; the hills of Sussex County are sprouting single family homes. The bears with their invisible home ranges are finding the new homes with their new neighbors in their neighborhood. They probably do not mind, since Man is just another source of food for them. For us,we perceive bears in wildly various ways: at times they are cuddly, cute, menacing, lovable, threatening, dangerous but always WILD!
Today as in the past, especially in the Colonial days, our most hasty solution is extermination. Whether for sport, for fun, out of expediency or just because there are too many. The calculus is almost never, we are too many, we are in their way, we are all over the place or our children cannot play in the woods while there are bears out there.
As the Environmental Commission meeting drew to a close, I wondered. Vernon is forging ahead with plans to allow Intrawest to build 2,000 more housing units mostly to be built on Hamburg Mountain, mostly in forested, near wilderness areas. It is there on that mountain where the bears belong and can be found. I wonder where the bears will go once the condos, townhouses, and roads are built. And, with the proposed development, it will surely bring the arrival of thousands of people to hike those woods, ride mountain bikes, motorized vehicles, jump in the "lakes" and whatever. While everyone in the world is on Hamburg Mountain enjoying nature, where is nature going to go? The bear, the bobcat, the Barred Owl, the Red Shouldered Hawk, the Brook Trout, and many other critters will be displaced.
I have an idea, Vernon should build a zoo at Mountain Creek, right in the Valley. We will call it the Vernon Valley Retreat for all the animals that need a home as we displace them from their natural home. Maybe, Intrawest can subsidize the housing since they will be responsible for the human influx on Hamburg Mountain. Who knows, maybe the NJ Commission on Affordable Housing will chip in, after all, I do not know to many bears with a nest egg.
Finally, I am hopeful. With 75 people filling the meeting room in defense of the bear, they were really defending their connection with the natural world. They understood implicitly, intellectually or just morally that hunting 75% of the bear population was just too much and plain wrong. They are afraid that it could lead to their extinction in New Jersey. They are angry, upset and will not tolerate a feature of their natural surroundings to be hunted like this.
I hope that they understand that as the bears go so goes our natural heritage. There are literally hundreds of species of plants and animals that are fast disappearing in New Jersey. Many world renowned biologists consider this accelerated loss of fauna and flora, the sixth mass extinction earth has experienced, but the first one wrought by Man.
I am hopeful because for those 75 people that showed up, they understand and are willing to stand up and do something about protecting our bears and our natural heritage.
I am not alone after all!
Godspeed
Strange how silent I have been while a cavalcade of people choose to express their opinions regarding my thoughts, beliefs and then some! Controversy or popularity? I do not know the answer, but I am amused by some of the fiction I am reading.
Since April 12, I traveled to Cuba to meet my 94 year old grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. Finding them enriches my sense of being an American and enjoying my familial and cultural roots. It is a pity that a world as rich as ours can allow the folks in Cuba go without those items we take for granted like toilet paper and running water. Despite their poverty and lack of daily essentials, Cubans are for the most part, friendly, warm and always willing to help anyone else.
I went on a two day jaunt to my family hometown in Rodas, a country town surrounded by farmland fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Driving nearly 200 miles from Havana to Rodas, through the lowlands of Cuba, I realized that there were no longer any forests to speak of.
Later, I learned that the last vestiges of forest left in Cuba were in the mountains and the swamps, scattered as pockets of wilderness throughout the country, disconnected from each other.
On our way back from Rodas, we stopped to explore the Zapata Swamp, a world famous wetland complex, home to three species of bird found nowhere else in Cuba nor the world. With the help of a professional guide that works for the Zapata Swamp National Park, we found the Zapata Sparrow and Zapata Wren along with a whole host of other Endangered endemic birds like Fernandina's Flicker and the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest hummingbird in the world. Among the birds we saw, we identified some very familiar Vernon residents like American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush, 2 species of warblers that actually nest in our woods. They, like the 100 other species of birds that nest in the Highlands of Vernon, the majority migrate to Latin America to escape our northern winters.
Cuba like Vernon has long cleared the lowlands for agriculture and development. While Cuba lost the Cuban Macaw in 1844 to extinction due to deforestation, New Jersey and the United States lost the Carolina Parakeet to hunting and clearcutting from the last century.
At both ends, our biodoversity continues to remain under assault due to a bevy of man-made threats and destruction of habitat. Much has been lost already, but we still have time to preserve our natural heritage.
In an absurd twist of fate, the Communist government of Cuba preserves open space for conservation because an authoritiarian regime makes it easy to do trample on peoples' ownership of land. A fate that is my opinion, morally and ethically repugnant and unacceptable. But the government responds to the advocacy of their scientists by protecting from development the best of what is left. For the Bee Hummingbird and Fernandina's Flicker theres may be a bright future. In Vernon, some view the mountains as the economic future for an upscale village replete with a preserved natural environment. We too, have our own threatened and endangered species like the Barred Owl and the Red Shouldered Hawk. With them you will also find the Redstart and the Northern Waterthrush; and a whole suite of species that are not spoken for whose habitat will be irretrievably changed. And what of the environment that gets preserved?
A patch of forest here and there with a Robin or a Mockingbird or two. For me, I prefer the wildness of our mountains with the Redsart and the Waterthrush and the Barred Owl. As for the Robin and the Mockingbird, they will do just fine on my front lawn and in my garden.
In early March, Vernon's Town Council saw fit to enlist the assistance of Senator Littell to amend Senator Schluter's bill in NJ Legislature on funding open space, in order to strike the Vernon Marshes from being preserved; we recognize the depths of their commitment to supporting development on Hamburg Mountain.
The Vernon Marshes, 600+ acres of wetlands, shrub-filled pastures and bottomland forests could have been acquired by a land trust. But Vernon's Town Council felt that the potential acquisition threatened its plans to build sewers or pipes in the wetlands, information that the public of Vernon has not been privy to. Since Governor Whitman's Garden State Preservation Trust approved the Vernon Marshes for funding, the public process was complete, or so we thought. The preservation of open space never envisioned municipal review because towns like Vernon could oppose the acquistions to promote their plans for inappropriate sprawl. In this case, the need for sewers, especially for the thousands of units that Intrawest will dot on Vernon Valley and Hamburg Mountain, required the assistance of powerful politicians like Senator Littell. His intervention was countered by a steadfast Senator Schluter who scuttled his bill instead of allowing Senator Littell's hostile amendment from undermining the integrity of open space preservation. As a result, many open space projects are now in legislative limbo, thanks to Vernon's Mayor Logan, his allies and Township Manager Meredith Robson.
Many other land trusts like the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land are negatively affected by this delay because the landowners that donated or contracted to sell their properties will be unable to do so.
Mayor Logan's defense of Intrawest's development plans; plans that are neither approved by the Planning Board nor any agency of this State, is clearly reflected by the reckless and irresponsible nature of his policies,decisions and leadership. His extraordinary intervention in the State of New Jersey's legislative affairs does not bring him fame nor Vernon, civic pride. He has drawn a line in the sand not just for Vernonites who do not share his values but for the citizens of New Jersey. He has undermined the public trust, run afoul of an immensely popular open space campaign, and even worse, galvanized a greater number of opponents throughout the State, both in and out of government.
Vernon deserves better!
More Realities about Intrawest.... Donald Ross, lifelong resident of Vernon Township, and former Planning Board Attorney is now the Vice President of Resort Development of Intrawest's Mountain Creek. I personally respect and admire his professional contribution to Vernon; he wrote the Vernon Township Land Use Ordinances himself which includes many references of the need to protect the cultural, natural and aesthetic values that Vernon possesses.
It is because of my perception of his good character and values that leaves me at a loss to figure out how to respond to 'Intrawest's Response to Godspeed's Notebook" dated on 3/8/00. Everything I wrote was based on recent fact based events that I feel the residents of Vernon need to know.
Once again, I will not challenge his veracity nor his understanding of the facts or even his motivation, although, it is apparent that casting doubt on my factual claims due to my environmental concerns somehow should color my judgement as the 3/8/00 piece attempts to prove.
The facts as I know them: I am the environmentalist that met with Lorne Bassel, Senior Vice President of the Resort Development Group for Intrawest. Early on in 1998, I met with Lorne to express to him, the long, sordid history regarding Hamburg Mountain, Great American Recreation Corporation, the fight to protect the mountain from overdevelopment by the Evergreen Campground and the eventual demise of the ski company into bankrutpcy. I stressed the importance of reviving the ski industry in Vernon without repeating the same mistakes of the past. Of particular concern was my personal desire to avoid the divisive, heart-wrenching struggle that pervades the community in the name of protecting the public trust-the laws, regulations and the deed restrictions designed to protect Hamburg's natural resources. But, I also soberly informed Mr. Bassel that if necessary, the conservation community and Vernon Township would defend Hamburg Mountain as before!
Eventually, I was invited to join Lorne with a team of land use specialists, engineers, and other experts to tour Hamburg Mountain. Along with former Manager Robin Smith and Engineer John Lehman, we often met to deal with issues. We deftly crafted an agreement that allowed an expansion of the ski runs. Intrawest agreed to conduct natural resource inventories of the affected areas in the summer of 1998. Subsequently, the relations deteriorated when in the fall of 1998, they failed to seed the new ski runs on the mountain. The result was the pollution of adjacent FW1 streams from the runoff of heavy rains which carried enormous amounts of silt, dirt and debris into the waterways. When the consultants, Wander Associates made the same observation to the press, they were condemned by Mountain Creek officials. Then, Mountain Creek refused to retain Wander Associates to conduct the natural resource inventory; all because they called it as they saw it!
Donald Ross forgot that the spring of 1999, we met in Warwick NY. He was excited to describe the architectural theme that was being considered. So was I! The Village theme could satisfy the long standing village/town center Vernon really needs. We discussed at length the legal, practical,environmental and contentious implications of developing Hamburg Mountain.
In our conversations, Donald Ross was candid and straightforwardly concerned about how he could deliver on the promise to develop a resort that envisioned the hundreds of condos that would be constructed on Hamburg Mountain without compromising the environment. He seemed personally torn between satisfying the Board of Intrawest in Vancouver and creating negative impacts in his native Vernon. He asked me if the State of New Jersey would buy back Hamburg Mountain. I reassured him that Jim Hall, Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources of the NJ Department of Natural Resources had approached Great American Recreation Corp. with offers before, but was spurned. I was sure if the opportunity presented itself, the NJDEP would purchase the mountain.
That thought seem to reassure Donald Ross. I am the "ornithologist" Mr. Ross refers to as I guided their experts through the mountain as we discussed the natural resource values of Hamburg Mountain in June, 1999.
Meanwhile, the Vernon Environmental Commission was monitoring the conditions of the streams that flow downslope on Hamburg Mountain. Three of the streams that eventually flow underneath Rte. 94 and towards the Black Creek are classified as FW1. That classification represents the highest protective measure given to a body of water. Back in the 1970's the NJDEP had a commission with former New Jersey Conservation Foundation Executive Director David Moore among them. He recalls that these streams received their classification because they were pristine and in some cases, with natural occurring populations of native trout. Repeatedly, the Environmental Commission reported the erosion of the ski slopes and the runoff of silt into the streams. Equally as often, Mountain Creek could not implement controls that could effectively protect the integrity of the streams.
Finally, in September, 1999, I personally observed and photographed Mountain Creek workers dumping cut stone and raking the material while standing in the stream bed. This activity was done without a NJDEP permit which they later admitted did not have, although at first, when I asked the workers, they insisted they did!
By August, 1999, Mountain Creek and the NJDEP had spent a year crafting a Letter of Interpretation which is an agreement that mutually recognizes the location and extent of wetlands. Sources told me that the location and extent of specific wetlands were challenged by Mountain Creek because they would conflict with the location of their proposed ski in and ski out lodges on Hamburg Mountain. Princeton Hydro was brought in to redo the mapping. Remember, in the summer of 1999, we were experiencing an extended drought and an unusually hot period. Isolated wetlands, those that do not have streams flowing into them and vernal ponds typically dry up by the summer time. It is these types of wetlands that are sprinkled throughout Hamburg Mountain. Despite their dry conditions in summer, soil logs and vegetation on the site will inexorably tell the truth of the wetlands. The NJDEP professionals toured Hamburg Mountain countless times to locate and assess the wetlands. I hope the NJDEP has the will to hold the line and protect the integrity of the wetlands found there.
Former Mountain Creek Planner George Carfagno in a meeting before the Planning Board in January, alluded that Intrawest lawyers did not feel bound by the deed restrictions. This claim was made in the context of justifying the need increase the density of condos on Hamburg Mountain. Mountain Creek wants a new zoning ordinance that gives them carte blanche to increase the density well beyond what the mountain area can absorb.
Hamburg Mountain lies at the edge of two watersheds, the Pequannock and the Pochuck Creek. An unnamed stream that is the origin of the Pequannock River was illegally dammed in 1988. Today, Danny's Pond stands where a wetland complex once occurred. The Pond has no outflow because the dam is too high. In 1998, I met with John Lehman and Lorne Bassel in the hope of restoring the stream as a condition of the minor site plan that was approved by the Vernon Planning Board for the ski trail expansion. To this day, the stream has not been restored. Worse still, the NJDEP lacks the political will to enforce their own regulations that could compel Mountain Creek to restore the stream.
The bulk of the other streams flow into the Pochuck Creek, a tributary of the Wallkill River. All of these streams that was found within the former Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area received the FW1. While Mr. Ross can now claim that these streams lack the characteristics that made FW1, that does not mean that we must now downgrade the classification of the streams to allow them to be impacted by development. The whole purpose of the classifications is a goal of the Clean Water Act. In other words, we should be striving to improve water quality not writing them off because they cease to have the natural resource values that made them pristine. A challenge of their FW1 status seems in the offing. Another challenge that will not go unanswered.
The Highlands of New Jersey have been recognized by the US Forest Service as an area "of national significance". The New Jersey Planning Commission are on the verge of designating the Highlands as an "Area of Critical State Concern".
Possessing two headwater areas, home to several NJ Threatened and Endangered Species, having thousands of acres of contiguous forest from Vernon Center to Route 23, Hamburg Mountain will be irreversibly impacted by deforestation and large scale development if Intrawest proceeds with their golf and housing plans. It is hypocritical to claim support of the values of preserving open space in the Highlands while creating the vehicles for bringing large numbers of people to this near wilderness without admitting it will destroy wildlife habitat, degrade streams and despoil wetlands with runoff from cars, golf courses and other man-made material.
Mr.Ross invokes other ski operations scattered throughout the country. To their credit, Intrawest has managed to acquire in fee or lease thousands of acres of wilderness areas in Canadian Provincial Parks to US National Forests for their resorts.
At Tremblant, they destroyed habitat for Bicknell's Thrush, a migratory songbird that nests in high elevations. In Vail, Colorado, Intrawest along with other ski companies and pro-development interests fought the conservation community over Canadian Lynx habitat (a northern cousin of the Bobcat)in the montane regions of the Rockies.
Consistent throughout the successful expansion of resorts is the inevitable conflict between protecting the last wild places and the rush to bring people to these places along with the sprawl that forever changes the landscape. It is just another type of sprawl!
Now, Vernon Township has the leadership that fully supports Intrawest's development plans. They believe and are committed to investing tax payer dollars to provide the necessary infrastructure that Mountain Creek needs to develop their village and 2000 units of housing. This close alignment does not suggest impropriety on anyone's part, it merely represents the political support Mountain Creek enjoys and needs if it to overcome the real obstacles posed by the legal,practical and environmental considerations.
It is this political support that may end up short changing the nearly 23,000 people who call Vernon home.
Meanwhile,a sophisticated company like Intrawest knows to employ an effective public relations campaign that conjures up warm fuzzy family oriented activities. It is these values that they pin their hopes will build support in the community. Yet, striking a real balance is imperative not illusory.
As the battle over towers, Basswood Drive and previously radon scares show is that Vernon is first a bedroom community. The folks who raise their family here would like some amenities and controlled growth. Regular citizens of Vernon have demonstrated recently their unflagging support for their environmental quality of life. It is priceless to them and their family to preserve our environment.
Ours is a shared responsibility. I hope Mountain Creek share the same values and recognize the crossroads.
Just like an Army scout looking ahead to determine where is the path of least resistance, Intrawest finds itself searching for the safest route that will lead it to the fulfillment of their objective- the massive development of a resort community in Vernon. Yet Intrawest is clearly caught in the middle of a minefield and looking to Mayor Logan to extricate them without injury. What is the minefield? And is the safe passage assured?
The "minefield" in mild mannered terms, is the existing laws,regulations and nascent opposition to development of Hamburg Mountain that present themselves as environmental, economic, and political hurdles. These hurdles inevitably girdled the previous owner/operator Vernon Valley/Great Gorge, sending Great American Recreation Corporation into financial oblivion. Today, that "minefield" bristles with new traps and legal barriers that are even more insurmountable and imposing than ever before.
Intrawest proposes to build a "village" along Route 94 with a Main streetscape dotted with fancy restaurants, stores and residential units. Nestled at the foot of Hamburg Mountain, it would have charming appeal and it would be modeled after other successful Intrawest developments out west. Various residential sub-divisions of residences are contemplated for upscale would-be homeowners, which is anticipated would attract ski enthusiasts from the tri-state region. Finally, an 800 unit residential development would be retrofitted on top of Hamburg Mountain to "avoid" sensitive open space and water resources. We heard that one before! Remember the 1,000 unit "Evergreen Campground"?
Despite repeated, discreet efforts by local environmentalists to dissuade Intrawest's top brass from considering developing the top of Hamburg Mountain, Mountain Creek is poised to present a zoning ordinance that looks to change the density of the commercial recreation zone to suit its own needs. The current density of 1.5 units per acre is insufficient for Intrawest, because it would only yield an estimated 560 units. Intrawest claims it will build about 2,000 units and that at a minimum they need at 2.5 units per acre.
Recent actions and public comments made by Intrawest and their employees suggest that they intend to challenge any and all environmental regulations intended to protect the natural resources of Hamburg Mountain. Capping a year's worth of negotiations with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Intrawest officials walked away from a "take it or leave it' Letter of Interpretation (LOI)in 1999. After exhaustive surveys and tours of Hamburg Mountain by NJDEP regulators and Intrawest's consultants, Intrawest could not accept the State's delineation of wetlands as to the size and extent of swamps, streams and vernal ponds. They cried that some wetlands would "get in the way" of their mountain development plans.
While Intrawest tries to refute the existence of wetlands or the extent of them, it is even unlikelier they can challenge the criteria that makes them "exceptional value wetlands". Exceptional value wetlands are accorded 150-foot buffers from human disturbance. On Hamburg Mountain, several wetland-related species have been reported as breeding in the area that occur on the NJ Threatened and Endangered Species List. Red Shouldered Hawk, Barred Owl and Goshawk, all require extensive forested wetlands for survival. Development on the scale proposed for this area would end up destroying critical habitat and the organisms too.
Well-placed sources claim that Intrawest intends to challenge the classification of the FW 1 streams on Hamburg Mountain and seek a downgrade in their classification. A stream with a FW1 designation possesses the highest classification with the strictest protection measures. For example, state regulations prohibit encroachment within 150 feet of the stream, the placing culverts, bridges, roads and other man-made structures. An FW1 stream's surface water cannot be diverted nor dumped into. There are numerous streams on Hamburg Mountain that are protected by this regulation. Man-made construction of roads over these streams requires a permit to be issued by the NJDEP. Gaining such a permit in light of the environmental threat is unlikely, especially on Hamburg Mountain, since the area was once part of the Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area, a public park and still possesses a wilderness character.
In 1986, the State of New Jersey sold 1257 acres of the Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area to the Great American Recreation Corporation. Spearheaded by local politicians such as Senator Robert Littell and over the objections of local residents and conservationists, Governor Kean agreed to sell the property for nearly $800,000. At the time of the deal, a deed restriction was placed on the property to prevent the land from ever being converted to development by overzealous landowners. The restriction also stipulated that the acreage could not be used for density calculations for the development of non-deed restricted property commonly owned by the same entity elsewhere. In early January, Intrawest Planner George Carfagno while presiding over a Planning Board Meeting in Vernon, claimed that Intrawest does not believe that the deed restrictions prohibit them from building on the environmentally sensitive lands.
Meanwhile, sewerage is an issue for any scale of development at Mountain Creek. Allocations are scarce and most wastewater treatment facilities in the region are operating at their permitted capacities or severely constrained by environmental limitations. For Vernon and Intrawest, amending Vernon's sewer service area requires approval from the Council, Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the State of New Jersey.
While these due processes are fraught with plenty of opportunities for the public to organize and oppose en masse, Governor Whitman's recently issued an executive order requiring new or amended sewer service areas to first undergo an environmental assessment on existing water resources. By raising the bar on what can be feasible, we know that that Wallkill River and Pochuck Creek are already impaired waterways containing too much fecal coliform and phosphorous, thus, cannot absorb more treated waters. Vernon's sole source aquifer might lend itself for in-ground discharge but the technology is expensive and the impacts are not clear for neighboring homes and businesses.
Meanwhile, the State Plan, the Garden Preservation Trust and conservation groups are all united in working to preserve the Highlands. Soon, the State Planning Commission will designate the Highlands as an "Area of Critical State Concern" increasing the effort to protect and preserve the natural resource values of this region. At this awkward time, Intrawest is forging ahead in an an effort to turn back the hands of time to a period when pie in the sky development was percieved as the panacea for a ratable hungry Vernon. Time has truly changed. Vernon's residents are fighting the excesses of development at every turn. From cell towers to filled wetlands at Basswood Drive, genuine apolitical homeowners are eager to express their collective angst at anything that threatens their rural quality of life.
Against this backdrop, Mayor John Logan and Deputy Mayor Janet Morrison have boldly promised to lead Vernon by giving Intrawest what they need to succeed in Vernon, meddling with the composition of boards and commissions that invite lawsuits as they try to level the political playing field for Intrawest. While Intrawest tries to wend their way through that minefield I wonder if John Logan is leading them by the hand?
History serves as a lesson for all of us to avoid the mistakes of the past. However, for Vernon if we do not learn from recent history, we are doomed to repeat it! I urge our leaders on the Town Council to heed this advice and not take us down the road of division, polarization and enmity in pursuit of misguided policies, poor judgement and soon to be failed leadership. The public trust will be defended and defended vigorously!
As the first month of the new Millennium draws to a close, Vernon is swirling with issues that are more reminiscent of the last century. Regardless, the Administration of John Logan and Janet Morrison have embarked in new direction that is a striking departure from the leadership of Jim Kilby and Dan Kadish.
One of Kilby's greatest contributions was his commitment to constituting the boards with volunteers from diverse backgrounds. He also encouraged the boards and bodies to function independently with no interference from the elected leaders. This created an environment where remarkable debates led to real consensus decisions-achieved without political implications.
Logan and Morrison wasted no time in attempting to change the makeup, personalities and the philosophical leanings of the Boards.Clearly, their commitment to strike a "balance" between environmental interest and development arises from the perception that the boards were not sufficiently pro-business.
At the reorganization meeting of the Town Council, Andrew Borisuk was appointed to the Environmental Commission. This despite, the fact that holdovers E.L Emerson and Fran Boltz had submitted letters expressing their wish to be re-apppointed. Andrew Borisuk is a respected farmer and supporter of farmland preservation, but he is also an outspoken opponent of open space preservation, natural resource protection and sees nothing wrong with suburban sprawl. Being suspicious of the State Plan, Highlands Coalition, and his hostility to environmentalists in general does not bode well for the Environmental Commission.
Carol Gunn-Kadish was summarily removed from the Planning Board under the leadership of Mayor John Logan. The excuse cited was that the previous Council appointment was illegal since Deputy Mayor Kadish voted for his wife. Both Mayor Kilby and Deputy Dan Kadish sought counsoel from Council Attorney Brian Laddey who opined that the decision was not illegal. Logan relied on newly appointed Attorney Ragno to render a legal opinion that laid the groundwork for Kadish's removal.
Local reporters consulted the NJ Department of Community Affairs, Logan and Morrison did not have the authority to invalidate the prior Council's action.
The end result, Carol Gunn Kadish was purged because her studious, analytical and objective approach in ferreting out the facts coupled with her genuine concern for the environment was too great a risk on the Planning Board. And maybe, her successful opposition to the development of Hamburg Mountain in the mid-90's as Co-Chairperson of the Vernon Civic Association could threaten Intrawest's similar plans in 2000!
The most recent event reflects where this regime is willing to take the rest of Vernon in their search to achieve "balance". At the behest of Andrew Borisuk, the Town Council considered and passed a resolution in opposition to designating the Highlands as an 'Area of Critical Concern". Forget that Vernon is surrounded by mountains, public open space and thousands of acres of wetlands, pasture and forest. Forget that in 1992, the US Forest Service in a study of the Highlands chararacterized these foothills as an area of national significance!
In this political environment, cellular towers are waiting in line to rise from our ridges. Intrawest does not feel confined by the deed restrictions of the former public lands of Hamburg Mountain to propose 800 housing units in the destruction of this important natural area.
By mid-February, the Vernon Town Council is poised to vote in favor of a temporary plan to send sewerage to the SCMUA. Yet, we still do not know what method of sustainable sewerage system can be developed.
The failure by Logan and Morrison to reconstitute the Historic Commission according to the intent and commitment of its members and existing ordinance is a deliberate effort to gut the historic nomination process by making it voluntary. The clear direction here is a major victory for right-wing property rights activism in defiance of what is in the best interest of the community. No historic structure can be permanently saved in Vernon thanks to a few outspoken individuals. The rest of Vernon can thank Logan and Morrison for this abdication.
As I write this article on 1/30/00, I am amazed how swiftly people are reacting to the "change" in government. I know that many Vernon residents are organizing to protect their neighborhoods from unwanted intrusion brought by inappropriate development. My phone rings nightly from regular homeowners seeking my advice on how to oppose towers and the like. Even the Vernon Civic Association has seen their board become reconstituted with new leaders and committed to protecting our environment in Vernon.
New leadership cannot gallop ahead of its constituents, trampling their values and ignoring basic expectations of fair and a just due process. For Vernonites, protecting the environment and our rural quality of life is perhaps more important than even property taxes and ratables. For Logan and Morrison what price political prosperity?

On 1/12... when George Carfagno approached the Planning Board microphone Wednesday, I had just taken a seat in the public. Because of my continued opposition to development on Hamburg Mountain, it is ethically correct for me not to participate on matters related to Intrawest.
My mind wandered to 1994.... The Vernon Civic Association (VCA) had just won a lawsuit against Vernon Township and Great American Recreation Corp.(GAR)regarding the poorly approved Evergreen Campground. As the months dragged on, the Planning Board would eventually approve a plan that satisfied the local ordinance and the Municipal Land Use Law that governs how applications are approved. The struggle did not end there. What was once a 1000 unit development was now scaled down to 300.
The struggle shifted. The Evergreen Campground plan would if realized, occur at the heart of the former Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area lands. This property was sold in 1986 to Great American Recreation Corp. by the State of New Jersey when they gave up trying to get lease payments from the ski operators. The State sold the acreage for just over $600.00 per acre with a deed restriction which,it was hoped, would protect the land as a natural area. Consequently, this land was too irresistible for Great American Recreation Corp. not to develop.
The Campground needed sewerage. Former Mayor Mark Nelson tried to get sewers approved for the Campground, but the process would take years.Instead, GAR tried to use portable toilets.But the VCA protested the plans to the NJDEP and the Vernon Health Department. The VCA proved though clandestine pictures that the portable bathrooms were on wheels violating NJ State Law governing Campgrounds.
GAR insisted that the wetlands surrounding the Evergreen Campground were not very important. However, when NJDEP field inspectors were identifying wetlands they found a pair of NJ Threatened Barred Owls nesting in a cavity next to a recently built cabin! As a result, all the wetlands received 150 foot buffers by the NJDEP.
Later, GAR subdivided properties within the Evergreen Campgrounds to avert NJDEP rules governing septics so they could build multiple disposal fields. The VCA and others alerted the NJDEP and they re-wrote their regulations to close the loophole and prohibit the construction of multiple septic sites in an environmentally sensitive area.
Before long, GAR was in financial ruin and the properties when into bankruptcy. What began as a family oriented ski operation grew too big and when it wanted to expand at the expense of the environment, the public opposed and the environment was protected.
At this point, George Carfagno had just announced that Intrawest lawyers "felt" that the deed restrictions on Hamburg Mountain did not necessarily prevent them from building 800 units on the mountain.
Neither do they feel that the deed restriction disallows them from calculating housing densities from the former Hamburg Mountain lands. It seems that Intrawest is challenging the legality of the deed restrictions more alarmingly than anything GAR ever did!
Hamburg Mountain and especially the former Wildlife Managment Area lands still belong to you and me, the public.
Every one of us has an inalienable right to clean water, clean air, wildlife and open space. License fees from hunters and fishermen made the protection of Hamburg Mountain decades ago. A real estate juggernaut like Intrawest should know better than think that a smooth public relations machine that generates warm fuzzy, family oriented values cannot sacrifice our natural heritage for profit. Americans, especially New Jerseyans, have other important values than just to allow a Canadian concern spread suburban sprawl into the hills of Vernon at our expense. Home rule works in many ways.
For now, Hamburg Mountain is viewed by Intrawest as a mountain of gold. For me, I hope when the smoke clears it will be "FOOLS GOLD"!
Millenium Musings...As we approach the end of the 20th century, I wonder about the state of the environment, globally and locally.
The human population has burst through the 6 billion mark with 250 million in the USA. The global economy has reduced the interconnectedness and distance of the world's nations and peoples. We are enjoying more prosperity than we have experienced in generations if ever. What price humanity?
The environment maybe suffering a long term illness from this point of view. Is it terminal? Not yet... here are the symptoms...
Global warming increasingly is proving to be the real deal. The Arctic and Antarctic ice caps are melting at an alarming rate; fueling the fear that rising oceans will eventually change the world's coastlines. Glaciers are melting also in mountainous regions throughout the earth.
The world's tropical and temperate forests are being cut at accelerated rates. Acting as the "climate control" for the earth, the loss of forest cover leads to a decline in clean air, loss of fertile lands that are quickly converted to desert or savannah and an increase in the overall temprature.
Potable water especially from rivers like the Colorado, the Yellow in China and the Euphrates hugging the borders of Iraq and Iran are going dry as Man diverts them for consumption.
Biodoversity; the overall species of plants and animals found on earth are experiencing the most massive extinction in centuries. A combination of loss of habitat and Man's dependence on animals for food are the culprits.
It is not coincidental that as Man's economic successes expand it is usually translated into a worsening of the environmental threats worldwide.
Locally, Vernon is 42% preserved as public open space and growing. Even though nearly 25,000 people live here, there is still opportunity for growth as well as opportunity for further protecting our forests, fields and wetlands.
Vernon, in my experience, has the greatest diversity of plants and animals in the Highlands, an area stretching from Connecticut to Pennsylvania. The mountainous areas still have trout filled streams, bobcat and black bear. The oldest hemlock forest in Wawayanda State Park has specimen trees tha are as much as 1,000 years old. Pochuck Mountain has an old growth black spruce and cedar swamp that is a relict from a cooler age.
A rare habitat not found except in the Adirondacks and further north. In the valley, Bog Turtle, Blue Spotted Salamander, Vesper Sparrow and Barred Owl still occur; all either on the State or Federal Endangered and Threatened Lists demonstrate that we still have the opportunity to protect our natural heritage.
In 2000, Vernon will decide its future in ways that will forever determine what we choose to pursue.
The question of sewers, a renaissance in the resort industry thanks to Intrawest and the continued growth of residences will require town leaders and the community to make decisions very quickly.
For the pundits, the perception could be either all out development, all out preservation or a carefully planned, scientifically based balance of growth that achieves the best of all worlds.
The following recommendations, in my opinion, can help ensure that we have a community that can be a world class resort as well as possessing the natural heritage in perpetuity.
1. Develop an in ground sewer discharge system that will not compromise the quantity and quality of our sole source aquifer. If true, objective studies are conducted that abide by the Clean Water Act, we will have a finite number of gallons. We must never exceed the sustainable level for short term economic gain.
2. Recognize that Vernon's mountains are the last redoubts for New Jersey's great natural resources. It's near wilderness of contiguous forest, wildlife habitat and extensive wetlands still contain much of the biodiversity that the first pioneers discovered. For these reasons and more, Hamburg Mountain should never be developed for housing or extensive infrastructure. Bought by the State of New Jersey with the funds from hunting license and fishing permit fees, the deed restrictions coupled with today's environmental laws make it very unlikely that such ill-advised development can be won. It would take years of struggle with the public and the conservation community and in the end, it maybe the next Great American Recreation Corp. debacle.
3. Place a referendum on the ballot to protect and purchase the development rights of the thirty odd farms left in the township. Partner with the State Green Acres Program and Sussex County to achieve a strategic alliance in order to preserve our agricultural heritage.
4.Plan and implement the Pochuck Creek Trail System with Hardyston and Hamburg. Start a dialogue with Warwick to do the same in Orange County.
5. Implement the recommendations of Vernon's buildout analysis. Reducing density in residential zoning, create a voluntary program to transfer density credits to the town center and protecting farmland will slow the growth of residential development.
6. Charge the Environmental Commission to establish an update of the Natural Resource Inventory. Assemble a panel of experts and source documents that assesses the present status of Vernon's biodiversity and implement strategies to protect the future of our natural heritage through zoning and other land use tools.
7. For the town leaders to acknowledge that Vernon is in the Highlands and an area of national significance according to a report published by the National Park Service. The importance of this region and its resources cannot solely be determined by the misguided expectations of home rule since the federal and state governments have an obligation to protect the public trust. The public trust includes our waters, wildlife, open space and clean air. No local municipality including Vernon can ever be the final arbiter of all its intended land uses.
8. Leadership and vision that is self effacing, democratic, community oriented and willing to act locally to protect and preserve our natural heritage is the remedy and the hope for the future. It can be the model for New Jersey, the United States and perhaps elsewhere.
Robert F. Kennedy once said," Some men see things as they are and say ,"Why?" I dream of things that never were and say,"Why not?"
Happy New Year and Godspeed!
Airways and Airwaves.... Cellular phones, new television technology and other high tech communication are making wires and cables a thing of the past.
Throughout the United States, towers are sprouting like dandelions. The airways are now filled by incalculable new phone numbers for the booming cellular phone industry.
In the town we're in, the hills and valleys create natural dead zones where frequencies cannot bounce from a source to the intended recipient. This results in the need for towers.
In Vernon, the clamor began for the essential services of emergency, police and paramedics unable to communicate within the northern reaches of Vernon. A one hundred foot tower nestled in a residential zone triggered opposition from those living there, fearing loss of property values and perhaps health risks.
Despite the urgency of the situation, the tower became a political football of different sites and different opponents. The latest failure; the Gennaro site on Pochuck Mountain, died at the hands of a unanimous Zoning Board.
The death was not due to the commercial nature of the tower, which had now become 195 ft in height and was going to bristle with up to 60 antennas, but for other reasons.
At the proposed height, the tower could be seen from the Appalachian Trail. Vernon Valley is considered the second most spectacular viewshed in the entire Trail. The tower would spoil the aesthetic and still natural landscape of forests, farmland and pastures. Trail supporters and hikers had organized against the tower.
Even more alarming, a body of scientific evidence proves that towers above 150 feet are responsible for the death of millions of migratory songbirds.
Flying at night, songbirds use the stars as their navigational map. A tower studded with bright lights to ward off man-made aircrafts are suspected of attracting songbirds that collide with them in confusion.
Vernon needs a tower for emergency services desperately. Minus the commercial interests, a tower for local communications is a wise investment.
The tower can be built to a height of 100 feet and it can be disguised as a tree. The viewshed can be preserved, the environmental threats removed, and our emergency services can do the business of saving lives and protecting our community.

The Impact of Impact Fees... Much as been written of the New Jersey Senate's passage of a bill that will allow municipalities to extract fees from developers. For years developers have gained approval for subdivisions that in some cases bring thousands of units to a small community with horrendous consequences.
A tidal wave of new school age children requires the construction of new schools within a short time inflicting great tax increases upon the existing homeowners and businesses. Roads and local streets never destined to accommodate the new traffic all of sudden are widened and new ones built.
Central sewer systems and municipal water supply are upgraded or installed where there was none before. Farmland and open space, the cheapest tax ratable because it does not require infrastructure, disappears as man changes the landscape.
Now the municipalities can make developers pay for things they claim they are not responsible for. As the bill heads for the Assembly, the New Jersey Builders Association and their allies are ready to pump soft money and wheel out their lobbyists in the hope they can weaken or scuttle the bill altogether. In this writer's opinion, the bill can be either a godsend or an even more effective tool for sprawl.
The Hovnanians, Toll Brothers, Baker Firestone and perhaps Intrawest have very deep pockets. Unlike the smaller developers who surely will not afford to pay impact fees and turn a profit at the same time from their projects, the big boys will certainly cough up the big dollars.
The real root causes for sprawl and overdevelopment are inadequate zoning & master plans, mythical ratable chases and in some cases the coziness of political leaders with developers.
In Vernon, the commercial recreation zone as it affects Mountain Creek only allows about 550 units. However, they are looking for up to 2,000.
Our least dense zone only limits one unit per three acres. Some towns such as East Amwell and Bernardsville have gone to 1 unit to 10 acres.
A buildout analysis for Vernon was conducted in 1998; the study showed that existing zoning would generate over 5,700 additional housing units. Imagine if they all got built at the same time?
For the pro-development local leaders, impact fees offer another excuse to allow inappropriate development by justifying all the great projects the additional moneys can pay for. The loss of farmland, open space, and sensitive wildlife habitat could accelerate to sprawl in the pursuit of impact fees. Excuses can be made on how it will keep your taxes down but will they 5, 10, 20 years down the road? I doubt it!
The truth about impact fees is that it is another tool for the land use tool kit or the master plan. Vernon like other towns need impact fees as well as the political will to discourage sprawl. But you also need lower density zones, a farmland preservation fund, a transfer of development credits program among other "tools". Vernon has none of the above.
For me the jury is still out over the benefit or liability of impact fees for municipalities except for one condition, ask your elected leaders what they think of impact fees.
Get back to me!
-Godspeed
Vernon Valley sits atop a sole source aquifer; a natural reservoir of water perhaps in the hundreds of millions of gallons. The mountains surrounding the Valley have water varying water levels but certainly not the quantity. For most of us, the most recent drought is a distant memory. The issue then was water quantity. But what about water quality??
In my opinion, the conclusion is not quite so clear. Take, for example, the Wallkill River and Pochuck Creek.
The Wallkill River from its source Lake Mohawk, meanders through old pastures, little hamlets and some active farms until it reaches the Wallkill River National Refuge boundaries in Hardyston.
From there it passes the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority Plant which discharges 1.2 million gallons of treated water per day.
Somewhere in this vicinity, a large amount is siphoned for irrigating local golf courses, further reducing the baseline water flow at the time that the SCMUA makes their discharges.
Today, the Wallkill River is on the US Environmental Protection Agency's 303D List of Impaired Waterways. The cause is due to high counts of fecal coliform (human & animal wastes) and phosphorous (runoff from lawns, golf courses etc.).
The SCMUA is permitted to dump up to 3 million gallons once those developments come online.
The Pochuck Creek at its source just north of Maple Grange Road, is the converging of the Black Creek and Wawayanda Creek. While the Black Creek flows through the remarkable wetland complexes known as the Vernon Flats, it originates in Hardyston from various streams that flow out of Hamburg Mountain.
All three waterways are also on the USEPA 303D List for excessive fecal coliform and phosporous counts.
The Rivers and Creeks are impaired despite Federal Clean Water Act. The goal of the Clean Water Act is to improve water quality to highest degree possible. These waterways are relatively small. The lowest forms of aquatic life-insects are severely impacted by phosporous and fecal coliform.
Why should we care about aquatic insects? Without aquatic insects, the food chain in the ecosystem is disrupted. Populations of many species of fish and fresh water amphibians fluctuate with some disappearing altogether. This negatively impacts larger organisms such herons, bitterns, minks, otters and others. Local fishermen bemoan the disappearance or reduction of game fish.
The natural balance for the Wallkill River,Pochuck Creek, Black Creek and Wawayanda Creek has already been upset.
Now comes proposals to expand sewer discharges. Among several conceptual plans for Vernon developed by Killam Associates calls for the construction of a 700,000 surface discharge plant onto the Pochuck.
Meanwhile Sussex County is laying down pipeline to increase the effluent flow to the maximum allowed by law.
The federal government has transferred to the State of New Jersey certain responsibilities of the Clean Water Act. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is now responsible for permitting, enforcement and planning for sewers.
But the goals are supposed to stay the same - clean up the rivers and creeks.
How can the State DEP, in concert with Sussex County and the local municipalities, develop plans for sewers? Because the booming economy has convinced the ratable chasers that sprawl is good!
Planning for capacity based and sustainable development has gone out the window. In other words, we should not be dumping more effluent in our waterways until we have restored the natural systems. And then we should only discharge effluent that does not upset the natural balance of that waterway!
One final note: every waterway that flows through a National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey is classified as C1. Forget the jargon for a moment. The intent of the classification is to protect the natural system in the waterway; to preserve the ecosystem intact.
The Wallkill River within the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge is C2. The lower designation enables it to receive sewerage, C1 does not.
The NJDEP and Sussex County have collaborated to deny the Wallkill River its rightful designation and protection. Despite efforts by the state conservation organizations and the United Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency responsible for managing the natural resources of the Refuge, to persuade the DEP to change the designation, they have utterly refused.
Soon I will post the names and addresses of important elected and bureaucratic officials that need to hear from you. But before I do that, please e-mail me with your opinions. I would like to answer questions anyone might have.
In Vernon Township, the majority of the good folks who live here go through the normal routine of life; raising children, commuting to & from work and coaching soccer on the weekends.
Occasionally, something happens that forces one to stop and question,"What the hell is going on here?"
Along bucolic Basswood Dr.; an off the beaten path hugging the edge of Pochuck Mountain, you find a string of small ponds and a connecting stream. For decades the families that live in the neighborhood, fished, ice skated and watched the wildlife come and go. To them, this was their shared nature sanctuary.
One morning, the neighborhood was awakened to the sound of construction. As groggy-eyed homeowners peered out, they were shocked to see trucks filling the pond edge.
By the time the construction was completed, a 7' wall was built to solidify a septic system. A new lot was born and was now for sale!
The neigborhood mobilized with a vengeance. Led by Dan and Fran Boltz, dozen of local residents with their children in tow, flocked to the Planning Board and Township Council demanding to know how a landowner could gain permission to fill wetlands.
Despite their pleas, our elected officials could do nothing. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection had issued a permit to the landowner to build a lot in a pond!
Yes, the same NJDEP that is supposed to protect our wetlands and natural resources. Yes, the same agency that is expected to enforce the landmark 1988 New Jersey Wetlands Protection Act, prohibiting the destruction of wetlands!
Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus, North America has lost half of its wetlands. As a result, the egrets, herons and ospreys have declined. In Vernon, we still have wonderful open space, wetlands and herons. Unfortunately, for the Boltzs and their well intended neighbors they are witnessing a quiet crisis. The loss of their sanctuary has been transformed to another bump in the road of life ( or a septic mound!)
To our leaders, I say... BUY IT! Every neighborhood deserves a local park. The pond and the wetlands are not expensive real estate. At most $20,000 when compared with the $2.2 million being spent for 200 acres of recreation fields.
It would be a good investment for the Basswood Dr. residents and the future families to come!
Reflections on Recent Statements from Vernon Leaders...
The facts:
Vernon will get an economic, cultural and popular boost if the development of a town center is implemented carefully with continued support from all quarters of the community.
Sewers are necessary to provide the necessary infrastructure to intensify construction in a smaller area that will be confined to the town center. The sewers should be capacity based; meaning they will not further degrade water bodies that are already polluted like Pochuck Creek or negatively impact our aquifer such as the one in Vernon Valley.
Mountain Creek will develop a class one village with all the amenities that both Vernonites and tourists deserve. Development in sensitive areas at higher elevations that will destroy wildlife habitat, fragment the forest and degrade streams and wetlands should not be allowed.
It is time to dispel the notion that creating the town center and the proposed village will lower taxes. However, if the future council is pragmatic and open in dealing with each of the substantive issues that will challenge this community, I am sure the taxpayers will support the growth even if costs us a little bit more.
But, that growth must be confined to the town center. The jury is still out as to whether the new Republican leaders know what smart growth really means. It is a whole different ethic; if they intend to implement smart growth land use tools such as farmland preservation, down zoning, transfer of development rights etc., they will probably need support from environmental advocates, who know those issues well.
I hope when our leaders use nice buzzwords they are not just trying to sound "Green..."
So what is so important about the Highlands? ALOT!
The Highlands is a geological region running from Danbury, Connecticut to Reading, Pennsylvania. Defined by the type of rock and soil found here, it is one of the oldest formations in the world.
The greatest area of the Highlands is found in New Jersey. There are 87 municipalities and 7 counties in the region. From the Ramapos in Mahwah to the Pochucks in Vernon, these "mountains" are really numerous north to south ridges averaging between 1,000 to 1600 feet in elevation.
Because of the steep ridges and sharp valleys, water flows through cool hemlock filled ravines and gathers in ponds, lakes, swamps and marshes.
At the turn of the century, the State of New Jersey allowed the cities of Newark, Jersey City and others to acquire property to build systems of reservoirs to catch the water for the growing urban centers. Then this sparsely settled region of impoverished farmers, miners and mountain people were forced off their land to create land banks that created buffers along streams and other waterbodies in the watersheds of the Pequannock, Wanaque, Passaic and other local rivers. Thousands of acres of logged land cover and farmland converted to forest.
The Highlands of New Jersey recovered from centuries of mining, farming and logging. The forest grew and matured; allowing for a remarkable diversity of wildlife to occur within an hour's drive from Manhattan.
A whole ecosystem returned with the bobcat, black bear and coyote at the top of the food chain. Nearly gone at the turn of the century, porcupine, beaver, mink, river otter, deer and turkey are plentiful again. Deep forest loving birds can be found. Over 70 species that migrate to Central and South America breed in New Jersey's Highlands.
More warblers nest in the Highlands of New Jersey than anywhere else in the world. Twenty eight species of these small songbirds nest in our near wilderness from April to July.
The forests of Vernon, Jefferson, West Milford, Rockaway and neighboring towns possess 15 species of hawks and owls. Numerous NJ Threatened and Endangered Species are found here. For the Red-shouldered Hawk and Barred Owl, the Highlands represents their last viable strongholds in New Jersey. Everywhere else they are declining or disappeared due to suburban sprawl and destruction of their habitat.
The fast disappearing and Federally Threatened Bog Turtle apparently have their healthiest populations in the world in the Highland portion of Sussex County. Other rare salamanders, turtles and snakes still lurk our natural areas.
Perhaps, the most compelling importance of our region is the fact that the water resources of the Highlands are relied upon by 4 million people of New Jersey. In 1992, the United States Forest Service characterized this region as "one of national significance".
What do you think?
Biophilia - the love for nature drives thousands of people into the country from the cities.
A love that is so great that we threaten to consume the very quality of life we cherish so much.
Here in the Highlands, the struggle to preserve our natural heritage for generations to come is driven by regular people like you and me. Against the backdrop of Governor Whitman's bid to preserve 1 million acres to Vice President Al Gore's smart growth initiatives, Americans recognize that the whole domestic agenda for growth is unsustainable.
In Vernon, the Vernon Civic Association fought successfully against an upscale campground on Hamburg Mountain.
In Ringwood, Skylands Clean opposes a council bent on weakening a steep slope ordinance for more housing.
Wanaque REACH speaks out against building 1,100 adult assisted housing on the Powder Hollow tract that threatens a trout stream and bottomland forests.
West Milford 2000 and the Pequannock River Association opposes another adult assisted housing on Idylease; the last of the turn of the century hotels.
Friends of Holland Mountain fights a public relations war versus Baker Firestone and Mesalic over thousands of acres slated for development in Jefferson.
Friends of Sparta Mountain managed to persuade the State and Morris County that preserving open space is better than suburban sprawl.
The campaign to preserve last vestiges of open space in the Ramapo Mountains is being led by the Sierra Club.
All these groups are composed of regular taxpayers, homeowners and community leaders. And yes they are all members of the Highlands Coalition, struggling to preserve our Highlands every day.
Throughout the region the common theme is we cannot hope to preserve our mountains, forests, wildlife and pristine water if continue to let developers and their friends in government make life easy for them.
We cannot bestow upon our children an earth less beautiful, less diverse, and with fewer sights, smells and awe inspiring scenery.
We urge everyone to join the cause in the town we're in!

Vernon resident, planning board member and full-time environmental protection advocate Dennis Miranda is the author of
GODSPEED'S NOTEBOOK
Email (FWD) Godspeed
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Vernon resident, planning board member and full-time environmental protection advocate Dennis Miranda is the author of GODSPEED'S NOTEBOOKEmail (FWD) Godspeed

Vernon resident, planning board member and full-time environmental protection advocate Dennis Miranda is the author of
GODSPEED'S NOTEBOOK
Email (FWD) Godspeed