IMPORTANT ATTN: NJ Landowners - Proposed Highlands Region Restrictions

[Livesintrees]

Everyone Please Share this information. Landowner or not. 
 

Got this email from my forestor this morning. Please read this as many I’ve asked with different forestors are not aware. It applies to any and all portion of lands (farms included) that have some form of forestry program implemented. It’s copy and pasted from my email. 
 

“Friends,

 

I don't ever want to sound like an alarmist.  And I respect your time and don't want to waste it.  BUT, as your consulting forester and a fellow landowner, I feel it is my responsibility to provide you with my thoughts on a very dire situation.  The NJ Highlands Council is working to adopt what are being referred to as “BMPs” – so-called “Best management practices for forestry and wetlands.” These RESTRICTIONS will impact more than 90% of all forest properties in the Highlands Region.  FYI, below I’ve included a list of the townships within the Highlands Region; if your land occurs in one of these townships, you will be affected.      

 

While BMPs already exist at the state level, the restrictions and impacts in these ‘new’ BMPs go far beyond anything you could imagine.  The restrictions will impact forest and non-forest properties – in both the Highlands “preservation” and the Highlands “planning” areas.  With respect to forest properties, the restrictions of the ‘new’ BMPs will eliminate virtually all active forest management in the Highlands Region.  A few of the items being proposed - 

 

• require landowners to pay for a monitor programing to count deer on the property
• require landowners to reduce the number of deer on their property through hunting, fencing, and other means 
• severely limit landowners from building woodland trails through their property
• require landowners to pay for expensive soil testing if any forestry activity will disturb soil
• require landowners to control invasive species on their property
• severely limit landowners from harvesting firewood and other forest products from their property
• severely limit landowners from using heavy equipment (tractor, skid steer, side by side, ATV) on their property
• require landowners to pay for application to the Highlands Council before executing most traditional forestry activities  

I have produced maps for several of our clients who own land within the Highlands Region, and on average, more than 93% of their land will be affected by these new restrictions.  Property values, already severely impacted by the Highlands Act, will no doubt be further diminished by the ‘new’ BMPs.  The distance restrictions of the ‘new’ BMPs will impact the majority of the Highlands Region and potentially restrict all forms of land use, including land uses permitted under most, if not all, of the exemptions to the Highlands Act.

 

 

There are seventeen express and hard-fought exemptions included in the Highlands Act.  While these ‘new’ BMPs will impact other exemptions, I draw your attention to Exemption 7, exempting activity under state-approved Woodland Management and Stewardship Plans, as well as normal harvesting approved by the NJ State Forester.  Those plans are already subject to approval by the NJDEP and there have been processes in place to apply Exemption 7 for many years.  These ‘new’ BMPs effectively render Exemption 7 void and eliminate virtually all active forest management in the Highlands Region.  In addition to the long-term detrimental effects upon our forests, this will restrict landowners’ ability to conduct the required forestry activities, forcing them into non-compliance with their NJDEP approved plan.  That combined with the inability to generate the required income under the Farmland Assessment Act, will likely subject them to the loss of farmland assessment and possible roll-back taxes.

  

To make matters worse, the Highlands Council is trying to push this through before the public and landowners fully understand the ramifications of these regulations.  The best course of action is to attend the next Highlands Council meeting on Thursday, December 14 at 4pm in order to voice your displeasure with the direction they are taking (location listed below).  During the public comment period of the meeting, you will be afforded three minutes to speak.    

 

If you have any questions, or need further information, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.  I created these links to a few documents which will help to better inform you about the situation (they're included as attachments below as well).  

 

Highlands Council Draft BMPs

NJ Forestry Association Letter to Highlands Council Regarding BMPs  

 

Your friend,

Andy Bennett

 

 

 

Highlands Council Meeting –            Thursday, December 14, 4pm

 

Location -                                          https://maps.app.goo.gl/gmt7QLjFDCRfAGFa8 

                                                          Highlands Council Office

          100 North Road

          Chester, NJ 07930

 

 

Townships occurring within Highlands Region (in whole or in part):

 

Hunterdon County

Alexandria Township
Bethlehem Township
Bloomsbury Borough
Califon Borough
Town of Clinton
Clinton Township
Glen Gardner Borough
Hampton Borough

High Bridge Borough
Holland Township
Lebanon Borough
Lebanon Township
Milford Borough
Tewksbury Township
Union Township

 

Morris County

Town of Boonton
Boonton Township
Butler Borough
Chester Borough
Chester Township
Denville Township
Town of  Dover
Hanover Township
Harding Township
Jefferson Township
Kinnelon Borough
Mendham Borough
Mendham Township
Mine Hill Township
Montville Township
Morris Plains Borough

Morris Township
Town of Morristown
Mount Arlington Borough
Mount Olive Township
Mountain Lakes Borough
Netcong Borough
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township
Pequannock Township
Randolph Township
Riverdale Borough
Rockaway Borough
Rockaway Township
Roxbury Township
Victory Gardens Borough
Washington Township
Wharton Borough

 

Passaic County

Bloomingdale Borough
Pompton Lakes Borough
Ringwood Borough

Wanaque Borough
West Milford Township

 

Sussex County

Byram Township
Franklin Borough
Green Township
Hamburg Borough
Hardyston Township

Hopatcong Borough
Ogdensburg Borough
Sparta Township
Stanhope Borough
Vernon Township

 

Warren County

Allamuchy Township
Alpha Borough
Town of Belvidere
Franklin Township
Frelinghuysen Township
Greenwich Township
Town of Hackettstown
Harmony Township
Hope Township
Independence Township

Liberty Township
Lopatcong Township
Mansfield Township
Oxford Township
Town of Phillipsburg
Pohatcong Township
Washington Borough
Washington Township
White Township”

[BowhunterNJ]

You should add the Event to the Events calendar so it has a countdown and a map to the location automatically included with it.

[Livesintrees]

13 minutes ago, BowhunterNJ said:

You should add the Event to the Events calendar so it has a countdown and a map to the location automatically included with it.

Thank you for making this a sticky. I appreciate it. 

[Mixbaghunter]

This sucks for most land owner. When I own 25 acres this would have kill me . Definitely time to move out of this state . Telling people what they can and can't do on own property.  

[swamprat142]

What goes around comes around. You bastards voted for the Pinelands Comprehensive Management in 1980, destroying the lives of farmers and landowners. Most of us down here in the Pinelands were against it but the snowflakes up north out voted us because it didn't affect them.

Edited December 7, 2023 by swamprat142

[tpr1921]

I already deal with most of the same stipulations in Gloucester County.

[Rusty]

I'm curious (reads REALLY FREAKING CONCERNED) how this will impact the work being done on WMAs in the Highlands.  Where the heck is Brian when you need him?  

[mike033089]

I don’t know how anyone can actually defend their vote for our current politicians pushing the crap in this state. 

[kohunter]

54 minutes ago, swamprat142 said:

What goes around comes around. You bastards voted for the Pinelands Comprehensive Management in 1980, destroying the lives of farmers and landowners. Most of us down here in the Pinelands were against it but the snowflakes up north out voted us because it didn't affect them.

Um, they like to be called Taylor Hammers, not Snowflakes, Just sayin

[Bucksnbows]

35 minutes ago, Rusty said:

I'm curious (reads REALLY FREAKING CONCERNED) how this will impact the work being done on WMAs in the Highlands.  Where the heck is Brian when you need him?  

As I texted with you earlier, I am not in the loop and my first thought was someone confused Highlands “Coalition” for Council. The Coalition is now all far left tree huggers that all know better than you (just ask them) that works very hard with staff to thwart forestry and eliminate deer from NJ’s Highlands region. I was part of the Coalition at one time as were other conservationists.  This group is now only preservationists. They want to tell you how to live and what you can’t do with your property. The irony in all of it being how much they want deer eradicated. Fences erected around forests, etc. 

But the link and the PDF look like a document from the Council, and if so, they have gone too far even in their thinking. Hard to imagine them trying to implement many of these so-called BMPs. It’s like a page out of the Coalition handbook. I’d expect better from the Council staff. 

[electric10162]

Although my farm is not in the region, it's only a matter of time if this nonsense passes. What is incredible to me is that these same politicians allow developers and townships to mow down forests and woodlots to build but want to "preserve" my land as they see fit. Not gonna happen without a fight!

[TDietz]

Let the revolution begin!! I am so tired of this shit

[TDietz]

They want landowners to control invasives!! . Every piece of government owned land that I’m aware of is FULL of invasives!!

[Livesintrees]

3 hours ago, Rusty said:

I'm curious (reads REALLY FREAKING CONCERNED) how this will impact the work being done on WMAs in the Highlands.  Where the heck is Brian when you need him?  

Spoke with 3 different forestors today. That work will grind to a halt as well. In fact there is already suggestion/organization of a large scale lawsuit. Forestors who work in this region only will be out of business.  And certainly individual suits to follow as the plans approved are already extremely scrutinized by county and state forestors. Another conversation being had is those with specialty mortgage companies like farm credit East for example. Some require the properties to have farm qualifications and or be enrolled in such programs. If the changes knock the woodland management portion off of qualification, what does that do to currently held loans? New mind diminished property values with land that is otherwise useless. What gets me is that to have healthy and sustained forests, you need to cut timber. There is no way around it. Closed canopy forests are wildlife deserts since other then man made disruption/management there is no significant natural event (wildfires used to do this) that will create forests regeneration and successional growth. It’s ok to develop the land, but not properly manage it. Go figure. 

[Livesintrees]

1 hour ago, TDietz said:

Let the revolution begin!! I am so tired of this shit

Agreed. So they don’t want me for example to follow a plan to sustain the forest. But the highlands act still allows me to build 11 homes on the same property? Hmmm