At what point does a landscape turn from a self-supporting rural economy to one dominated by chain stores, jobs in other places and persistent traffic? I look around the Delaware Bayshore — at it’s raw but dramatically beautiful landscapes, lovely farms, old forests, expansive marshes, the sea itself — and wonder how long it will persist. As the past chief of New Jersey Endangered Species Program, I have seen sustainably-functioning landscapes eroded from inappropriate development to the extent that they neither looked nor functioned like a rural economy.
Farm field in Stow Creek Township, NJ
When it comes to our home towns we are we like frogs in hot water, failing to see a beloved land become a haphazard combination of box stores, strip malls, abandoned factories, underused and dilapidated houses in the towns surrounded by maximum square footage faux colonial Mc’Mansions. We busy ourselves with family and jobs not noticing people moving away, the poor accumulating and the odds against protection getting dimmer and dimmer.
Lots for sale in Deerfield townshipHere on the Delaware Bayshore most of the communities remain intact but are hardly self-supporting. The rural economy is in tatters. The local politicians are besieged by big concerns and little budgets, most state and federal politicians seemed more concerned with elections and partisan bickering, neither taking a serious interest in the future of our communities. Our state agencies seem unable to play a serious role in long term planning. Without our government, how do we fend off the onslaught of poorly-planned development that will certainly resume once our state’s economy gets to it’s feet?
Preserved farmland between two housing projects.
Houses in Deerfield Township farmland
Knowing what I know, I have to give the local politicians a break on this, they are struggling with a bad situation that is getting worse. But where is the leadership we should reasonably expect from our state politicians and the state itself? The state government has regulated development for decades at great cost to nearly everyone in rural communities. Yet Drs. John Hasse and Rick Lathrup’s recent land use analysis clearly show losses to development have marched on almost without restriction. Most of the development destroyed countryside while leaving towns and cities looking like Kabul. With exception of the rich Atlantic coastal communities, how many South Jersey towns look better now than 30 years ago? How many rural landscapes look better now than before all this wasteful destruction? How many good paying, long-term jobs have been created by this system, where unemployment was high before the recession? Why do south Jersey residents pay higher taxes per assessed value than anywhere in the state? If we are going to regulate why haven’t we invested in a system that creates value for all people instead of a handful of real estate agents, politicians and construction companies?
When it comes to local matters, being democrat or republican almost doesn’t matter, we must serve for the sake of our communities regardless of our political afflation. Shouldn’t we demand more from our state government? We are facing serious problems in this area. Most of what we hear is bluster about the need for jobs and development. What about a sincere discussion on creating a working landscape that supports people living in the community and protects the land for long-term sustainable uses while avoiding inapprorpiate development in an attempt to generate ratables?
Active farm in Cumberland County
Where do we look for alternatives? There are many rural, isolated places on the US Coast: Maine, much of Vermont and New Hampshire, bits of the Massachusetts coast, the lower islands of Hatteras (Ocracoke Island), or the eastern shore of Maryland. How about nearly all of the English countryside? Some of these places are wealthy, others became wealthy because the people were smart about their long term planning. We all have to get smart about our land and demand more from our state government.
