wes_von_papineäu
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DAILY RECORD (Parsippany, New Jersey) 07 September 07 Salamanders need 100 pools to call their own, council says - Workshop session deals with preserving habitat as part of Highlands plan (Colleen O'Dea)
Chester TWP: The following is not a riddle but an issue the Highlands Council discussed at its Thursday meeting: If a family can live on an acre, why does a salamander need 72?
The question of the protection of vernal pools, seasonal wetlands that support amphibians, was back on the table as the New Jersey Highlands Council began considering revisions to its 250-page draft master plan for the 860,000-acre region that includes most of Morris County.
The council's executive director and planning consultant outlined 15 areas that are under revision in response to public comments.
Among those will be new protection standards for lake communities, estimated growth capacities for tracts of land and slightly reduced water availability in many areas.
Also discussed was the issue of recommended standards for siting new septic systems, which will be part of the revised draft plan but still are not ready.
No decisions were made during nearly four hours of discussion. Much of it centered on water and septic issues, at this first of a half-dozen meetings scheduled to revamp the plan, and that was by design.
"This is a workshop; we are most interested in your ideas and concerns," said Charles Siemon, the Florida-based planning consultant whose firm is helping revise the plan. "We have a very aggressive work program to move the next generation of the plan by mid-November ... We've got to start moving forward."
Released last November and now 15 months late, the plan is undergoing some major revisions, as the discussion made clear.
There is still a lot to do in the next two months -- the growth areas, septic densities and mapping of karst areas, irregular limestone areas with fissures and sinkholes, are all incomplete. And consensus also will need to be gained on a number of issues, including the vernal pools.
The draft plan now essentially would prohibit new development within 1,000 feet of a vernal pool, that's more than three football field lengths in all directions or the equivalent of 72 acres, in that half of the Highlands known as the preservation area that will be bound by the plan and in any other towns that agree to follow its rules.
A rough mapping file released by the council shows about 100 pools in Morris County, mostly in Mount Olive, Roxbury and Rockaway Township.
Eileen Swan, the council's executive director, said the recommendation is to keep that buffer in general, but allow for a tiered system that could allow construction closer to pools -- as close as 100 feet away -- depending on specific circumstances.
That didn't sit well with the strongest environmental voices on the council.
"We need the buffer to be the line in the sand," said Tracy Carluccio.
"Are you saying a family can live on five acres but a salamander needs 72 acres?" asked Kurt Alstede, a Chester Township farmer. "This thing is nuts. I support the tiered approach."
He said later that deer have adapted well to suburban life and he's sure the salamanders can, too, and have -- he said he found one in his basement the other day.
Council Vice Chairman Jack Schrier, a Morris County freeholder, agreed: "If there's a scientifically valid way to reduce that for the benefit of the private property owner, I think we ought to do that."
But Wilma Frey of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation told the council it would be difficult to manage if they set different protection levels.
"The terrestrial habitat of the salamander can range from 400 to 4,000 feet, so 1,000 feet is already a compromise," she said.
Like several other issues, the vernal pool buffers will likely come up again before the revised draft is released, scheduled for Nov. 19.
In other business, the council voted to name its newest member, William Cogger of Chester Township, as its new treasurer to replace Debbie Pasquarelli, who resigned the position.
The next council meeting, to discuss the plan's "vision," is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. at the council's headquarters.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/COMMUNITIES/709070326/1203
Chester TWP: The following is not a riddle but an issue the Highlands Council discussed at its Thursday meeting: If a family can live on an acre, why does a salamander need 72?
The question of the protection of vernal pools, seasonal wetlands that support amphibians, was back on the table as the New Jersey Highlands Council began considering revisions to its 250-page draft master plan for the 860,000-acre region that includes most of Morris County.
The council's executive director and planning consultant outlined 15 areas that are under revision in response to public comments.
Among those will be new protection standards for lake communities, estimated growth capacities for tracts of land and slightly reduced water availability in many areas.
Also discussed was the issue of recommended standards for siting new septic systems, which will be part of the revised draft plan but still are not ready.
No decisions were made during nearly four hours of discussion. Much of it centered on water and septic issues, at this first of a half-dozen meetings scheduled to revamp the plan, and that was by design.
"This is a workshop; we are most interested in your ideas and concerns," said Charles Siemon, the Florida-based planning consultant whose firm is helping revise the plan. "We have a very aggressive work program to move the next generation of the plan by mid-November ... We've got to start moving forward."
Released last November and now 15 months late, the plan is undergoing some major revisions, as the discussion made clear.
There is still a lot to do in the next two months -- the growth areas, septic densities and mapping of karst areas, irregular limestone areas with fissures and sinkholes, are all incomplete. And consensus also will need to be gained on a number of issues, including the vernal pools.
The draft plan now essentially would prohibit new development within 1,000 feet of a vernal pool, that's more than three football field lengths in all directions or the equivalent of 72 acres, in that half of the Highlands known as the preservation area that will be bound by the plan and in any other towns that agree to follow its rules.
A rough mapping file released by the council shows about 100 pools in Morris County, mostly in Mount Olive, Roxbury and Rockaway Township.
Eileen Swan, the council's executive director, said the recommendation is to keep that buffer in general, but allow for a tiered system that could allow construction closer to pools -- as close as 100 feet away -- depending on specific circumstances.
That didn't sit well with the strongest environmental voices on the council.
"We need the buffer to be the line in the sand," said Tracy Carluccio.
"Are you saying a family can live on five acres but a salamander needs 72 acres?" asked Kurt Alstede, a Chester Township farmer. "This thing is nuts. I support the tiered approach."
He said later that deer have adapted well to suburban life and he's sure the salamanders can, too, and have -- he said he found one in his basement the other day.
Council Vice Chairman Jack Schrier, a Morris County freeholder, agreed: "If there's a scientifically valid way to reduce that for the benefit of the private property owner, I think we ought to do that."
But Wilma Frey of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation told the council it would be difficult to manage if they set different protection levels.
"The terrestrial habitat of the salamander can range from 400 to 4,000 feet, so 1,000 feet is already a compromise," she said.
Like several other issues, the vernal pool buffers will likely come up again before the revised draft is released, scheduled for Nov. 19.
In other business, the council voted to name its newest member, William Cogger of Chester Township, as its new treasurer to replace Debbie Pasquarelli, who resigned the position.
The next council meeting, to discuss the plan's "vision," is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. at the council's headquarters.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/COMMUNITIES/709070326/1203