New Jersey Farm Bureau News

That fatal attack by a black bear in Passaic County should come as a surprise to no one.

Thanks to pressure from the anti-hunting crowd, New Jersey’s bear population has grown far beyond the capacity of our limited forests to support it. Look at a map of the northwest corner of the state and you will see that there are very few areas that aren’t within a few miles of roads and/or development. And most of that is older development, by the way.

The idea that humans are moving into bear country is nonsense. Fifty years ago, when most of those roads and houses already existed, there were almost no bears in the state. The bears moved into human country, not the other way around. And thanks to pressure from the animal activists, the state hasn’t been able to schedule enough bear hunts to keep their numbers down.

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Those who only pass through New Jersey may wonder why we residents would ever call it The Garden State. Our daughter learned this while introducing herself at a gathering of fellow freshmen at college; when she said she was from New Jersey, a snide questioner replied, “New Jersey, eh? What exit?”

Little do they know of the magnificent farmlands and woodlands and wetlands that lie beyond the toll booths. Little do they know of the parks both rural and urban, of the pinelands, of lakes large and small, of the bucolic shaded towpaths that line our sixty-six miles of Delaware and Raritan Canal, or the sometimes serene, sometimes tumultuous Delaware River the graces our entire western boundary. (And you are already thinking of your own cherished spots, wondering why I haven’t named them.)

We have a lot to be proud of. Pride not just in the amazing state we call home, but also pride in our own steadfast funding over the years for protecting and conserving what makes New Jersey so special. Those just passing through can’t possibly comprehend how serious we are about preserving what is lovely, and restoring what has been defiled.

Click here to read the rest from the Huffington Post.

By Ryck Suydam
The Star-Ledger’s editorial (“The Highlands Act at risk,” Aug. 10) and op-ed from the Highlands Coalition (“A decade later, Highlands Act still a good deal,” Aug. 10) ring hollow to us as farmers and local economic stakeholders in the region. Rather than paint those concerned about the Highlands program as good guys vs. bad guys, we see criticism of the regulatory program in the region in a different light.

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