Joe Albert's Fox Hunt and Other Stories from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey

This program is made possible by grants from the New Jersey Committee for the Humanities, the Charles E. Culpepper Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts. This program is made possible by grants from the New Jersey Committee for the Humanities and the New York State Council on the Arts. Nearly every morning Joe Albert gets up at dawn to go fox hunting. He heads for the part of the woods where the dogs last picked up a trail.

He carries no gun. The sport is enlisting for the sounds of a chase. The woods Joe Huntson are the pine barrens of New Jersey, beginning 50 miles south of New York City. They extend almost all the way to Cape May. They're the last remaining wilderness in the Boston to Washington corridor. The stories we will tell you are about these woods and the people who live there. You can't have turned them out, you see. This is the start before you hit them. Go ahead. You have to fly for the sound, to get the dog sound. I know we can hear it, I think.

So what do you do now? Get out of here. Get out of here in the morning. Get away until they find it for sure. That's the right thing. There's a trail on it, no, wherever he went. They have a little difficulty there. They're on the ditch. Now all the way down there, that's why I walked up there and see where they went in. It's sand like this, you know. In the woods they can smell a better one, it gets on the leaves and I think it's smelling pretty good. There's a trail on it.

There's a trail on it. There's a trail on it. Look in here. Look, come on. Okay. Find them. Find them, baby. Find them. Fox on, it's funny, sometimes. Start one quick and that time takes a little longer and then sometimes you don't start on the 12th. That's perfect. At one time we killed 12 foxes in this small cave. About four years ago, if there was 12 in there we'd have one going already, see. There's maybe one fox in here.

If they have to find her at one fox, it's sleeping, you know. Must've just went in there. Where is it? Come on. Find them, baby. Are the woods changing much? Yeah, this was all laid out and are developing. You've seen the other end over there, all streets and not went. I don't know. They raised the interest rate or something on the money and it slowed up for four or five years. It was a good thing, I guess it would have all been built up by now. How do you feel about the building up?

Oh my God. It'll last me out anyhow. I don't have to worry anymore. I'll find some little spot to hunt. But I don't know. If they ever start building, building like they was here around here, it won't take long. It'll be all God. The Pine Marons once stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Delaware River. But waves of development over the years reduced it to a core of 1,500 square miles. In 1977, Mayor West of Bass River gave John Riley an eye tour. West was worried about the impact of development on its open spaces, its vegetation and wildlife, and the huge supply of water contained beneath its soils, a largest freshwater aquifer in the world.

The color of the water is just incredible in here, isn't it? It's almost like tea and it really is. It's a black look in here. I guess that's the depth of it though. This is the acid water of the Pine Marons. You can see this water has passed down through the cedar swamps. The acid in the water has caused it to be black, dark, tea-colored, flowing through the pine and cedar swamps. Pine Marons are considered to be pine barons or wasted space or wastelands. When, in fact, they're the most precious real estate that New Jersey has. The underground water in the open space and the natural wildlife that exists in the pine barons.

All these things are part of our natural heritage. And yet, those of us who have tried to assert the values of the pine barons run into that mentality. It's a typical North Jersey mentality, I believe, that says if it's an open space, we ought to fill it up. We have to use it up and put some concrete and asphalt and buildings in and put a shop and center in or build it up. Look at the empty space and waste of space. To overcome that kind of mentality in New Jersey is very difficult. So we've had for years government by special interest groups and they have invested millions of dollars. So you see, they're very rich and very powerful people who are interested in the profit of the land that they have invested in. Now, we can all understand the profit motive. That's not a bad thing.

But when we're talking about a unique area like the pine barons, the public interest is going to suffer. The damage will be done and the public will suffer because the rich and the influential have had their way and had their voices heard. In our state government and hope that we can reverse that. John, we're coming into the pygmy forest now and you can see the small, stunted, growth of pine. It's extraordinary. There are some of them are two to three feet tall. We want to make a left right there at that sign. Now, John, we're standing on a mountain in the pine barons and you can see for miles and all directions the pygmy forest is a stunted type of growth that's unique to the area. We see here our federal government bombing and strafing the pine barons. They're using it as a bombing range to practice bombing with the airplanes from Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.

Of all the land the government owns in the pine barons less than 1% of that land is set aside for conservation purposes. So this is an area that should be protected and should not be exploited but it's hard to assert the value of the pine barons today. It's hard to get that message across to our politicians because they're not convinced that the special interest groups are not more worthy of their attention than the people in the state of New Jersey. Look at this. This is just incredible. These are the jets from McGuire Air Force Base and they're making a strafing run or bombing run. Watch the bomb go underneath. There he goes. Let's pull it up.

You can hear the sound of a bomb here. It's just a very vivid illustration of what has been going on throughout the years in the pine barons. Well, John, you're looking at a strip mining operation. There's a large number of acres that have vanished just simply gone. And this type of operation, if it's continued in the pine barons, you can see that the pine barons will just simply be garbled up. You know, the earth is the lords and the fullness thereof and it tells us one thing that we have a moral obligation as stewards of the land that we manage the land properly, that we take our responsibilities seriously and that we don't devastate the land and exploit the land. And I just feel that something like this just didn't have to happen here. It wasn't needed here. It probably some other areas could have been exploited for gravel and sand.

But in the middle of the pine barons, the value of the pine barons are too great to allow this thing to happen. This is the Pinelands Environmental Council. It was the first committee formed to develop a plan for land use in the area. Floyd West was a member, along with other local political figures, cranberry and blueberry growers and landowners. Most of the council members wanted planning decisions to remain in the hands of local governments in keeping with a strong tradition of home rule in South Jersey. I think this is a positive program. I think everyone that's had input in it is in a cooperative spirit because I think it's representative of the home rule aspect and I think that's what we're after. We don't want to be inundated with unnecessary taxes from lack of revenues. It covers that point. We want input into the preservation of our Pinelands area and let there be no mistake. It doesn't belong to North Jersey. It's our Pinelands area.

And I think it covers that aspect. I have copies for I think all the members. Mr. Shin, I want to say this about the Pinelands. You said the Pinelands belong exclusively to us here. I take exception to that and I believe that the people in the state of New Jersey will take exception to that. The Pinelands belongs to the state of New Jersey. Not only does it belong to the state of New Jersey, it's been designated as nationally significant. It belongs to the entire United States. Parochialism is what we have seen with the Pinelands for the last two, three hundred years and we've seen recently how parochialism, this is what you call home rule, has eaten away and nibbled away at the Pinelands because there's been a lack of adequate planning on the part of the municipalities to safeguard the water and to do wise land use planning. And we've seen how right now all you have to do is take a look at your map and see what's happened.

I take exception to you saying that my land and all these other gentlemen or maybe some of them are in their own land belongs to the state of New Jersey. It doesn't belong to them till I buy it. Now you get that straight. You don't come on my land until you buy it. So where do you say it belongs to the people of New Jersey? The type of politics that Mr. Weston has engaged in. It belongs to the state. Your land doesn't belong to them. I didn't say it belongs to the state of New Jersey. The people. Absolutely. Well, I object to that kind of politics. And one aspect of this particular proposal that pleases me is that we hear all this talk about Pinelands preservation. This would clearly call for the placement of a bond issue before the people of the state. Then the people will have to put their money where their mouth is. If they feel the Pinelands is important, then let the people of New Jersey buy it and buy the key areas. If they don't, then let them forever hold their peace and hold their peace they will until Mr. West allows the Cubans to land in New Gretna.

Further comment? What nationality was it? The Cubans. The Cubans? Yes. In New Gretna? Or in Bass River? Well, it seems to me you're trying to establish a Cuban in the party. We don't have a beachhead there in New Gretna. I want to wear that land. I'm sure you provide one for them. Wait, proceed immediately. Any further business? If not, I'll entertain a motion for adjournment. Second, meeting adjourned. We played out here for 12 years and tuned up for six of them, I think. These are the Pine Conors, a group devoted to preserving the cultural traditions of the Pines. Once a week, Joe Albert, Janissarwood, Gladysair and Uncle Bill Britain, meet to tell stories and to play the music that the original settlers brought with them over 200 years ago from England, Ireland and Wales. .

. . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Okay, my away. Hey, I want to be the former former former former former former

former former former former former former former Coming for Wonny No, that's what my She's She's Why not be 101 For For For For For For Looks Not just people But material things and names and places They're slowly gone and eventually I won't even know this place as my home It'll be so different and I don't want to get used to the new Well, there's always hope now maybe

I don't know We're number 1 in the country for growth and I don't think that the money's going to let them stop the imp I can't tell you, I hope so, I'm pleased That's why I told them Monday night, they can slow down the actual ruining of the pine barons, they can check it, slow it down, but they're not going to stop it There's too much money involved That's easy building out there There's no big trees, there's no roots to bottom and it's only sand Oh well, I felt like the Indian's I never thought it would gal, it would always be there and I could use it as I wanted all the time It's the way the Indians felt Never even thought about it 11-year-old Eric Gordon loves this river

He's canoeed it with his family many times The shadows from the trees look like there's trees in the water It looks like there's trees growing upside down Look at the sky, it's all blue, blue clouds Look at the sky, it's all blue It's all blue, blue clouds

It's all blue, blue clouds It's all blue, blue clouds It's all blue clouds In late 1978, a bill designating the pine barons, a national reserve passed Congress, providing funds to acquire the most urgently threatened areas There you are, see the headlines, penalties, pine bills, carries, 26 million repressing, no famous promise No, I know, I'm like, we'll rise, all I know is about to read in the papers So he wants to start quoting this day of his A.R Now in our township, the state only pays 10 cents in acre tax They now own over 60% of land outright and control another 20% So why should my piney include myself? I'm using that not as a derogatory mark of the piney because I think the world of the earth

Why should we pay for the recreation of 5 million people in New Jersey to come down and use our roads, our rivers for canoeing? What are the two trips, recreation? Why should we pay for the burden of 5 million people when we have less than 610 people? I may be wrong, but I have never met an ecologist that owns 5 acres of land But there come down here and tell people that all 10 acres of 50, 100, 250, 500 acres of land that they want to take it away from If these conservationists and the colleges want to preserve this land, why don't they come down and buy it? Then they can put it in perpetuity to save it forever Long as they pay their taxes, but they don't want to pay taxes on it

They want to take it away, have the state on it, so there's no tax taxes on it You show me an ecologist today, if any importance that owns over 5 or 10 acres And I will apologize to him or her In fact, most of them don't even know the homes they live in I ask them, they say, oh, we live in an apartment house And yet they want to take away from the people down here Through regulation and confiscation, what they pay taxes on for 100 years A good example is your wetlands I mean, you go down anywhere along the shores, people owned that for 100 years The state command says wetlands, you can't do a thing where you can't even walk on it without permission So what's the man going to do it? He can't sell it He can sell it, but who's going to buy it? If you can't walk on your land, you buy All you're privileged to do is pay the taxes on it Now everybody in mind municipalities all for ecology

100% were for pure water, pure air But we don't want to starve to death because somebody's going to benefit from it Diane Graves is an officer of the Sierra Club The principal environmental group that worked on the National Reserve legislation A last-minute attempt by home rule advocates to change the language of the bill prompted this meeting with the other New Jersey representatives, Carol Barrett and Dudley Gilbert The entire bill or the climate intersection? Well, maybe the thing to do is to not decide what we're going to do right at this moment A national reserve concept unlike a national park allows for some development The Sierra Club wants to make sure that any development allowed in the pines would be compatible with preservation of its environment Now this is an update to the last one

No, it's not a caucus morning It's a beautiful laugh in there This is Carol Barrett's Sierra Club We're having a meeting now and we want to know the last minute opinion Almost happening with the Japan-Verns issue in the park's bill Because of this, they did Who is? You mean it? They're working when the Sierra Club compromised Oh, I'm not even going to leave the parade I'm not sure Things are going much better than we could have expected Doors not closed Yeah Good Well, then they just popped in at that moment when Marsha was going to talk to a real-life conservationist First time Okay, well look, you talk Marsha, I'll gladly give up my seat on that committee Goodbye

You won't believe it Well, I thought I could talk to you You got me worse, I've no pitch wrong about the burst in the tears They're working on our so-called Sierra Club compromised now No, wait a minute, that's the deck of cards now Yeah, what's the time? There are some who say that the regulation will drastically change the native lifestyle And force the culture out What do you have to say about that? The developments that would have caused that to take effect Would be what was happening before we stopped it The development of people who were not natives to the area Who did not, and who were not part of its cultural heritage They were the ones who were moving and ruining the area And what we did and what this legislation did and what we intend to keep trying to do Make sure it works right is protect this culture And it is the culture And there's going to be conferences about the cultural As in historical aspects of the pine barons All kinds of interesting things are coming to light

We are protecting the culture of those people We're keeping them from having to change their lifestyle Some of them don't feel that way Is that just because they don't know who you are? That sounds awful to say that we're coming in to save you And I don't mean it that way They may feel that they... I mean, I don't know, never have... I know some people who are natives And they tell me quite the opposite Maybe it's lack of understanding But basically, I think that the... So many straw men have been introduced into this pine barons issue Deliberately by political people and by business people And others who really are using these... A lot of these people for their own purpose And they are either employing them And they are afraid to lose their job They handle more kinds of stories about what's going to happen If the big feds move in And they are not being given the straight note In some ways it's against the quote American way isn't it? The Old American way I think there's a new American way And I think you'll find that you know reading the papers That the little snail daughter became a headliner

And it wasn't because it was just a three inch perch It was because it typifies That people are interested in their environment They're also very frightened The fact that they know that they're destroying their environment And I think that the politicians again are way, way behind people Earl Clayton and Sadie Ford are pioneers Descendants of the original settlers Proud and independent There are only a few hundreds still living in the pines They are uneasy about the development that has pushed into their woods As well as the increased government regulation that has followed it I've lived here in my whole life I ought to know what to do without somebody Like the state coming along and telling you what to do See what you can't do anything anymore Without going through the state I don't know why they went with the township Take care of their own business But the state's got to get in it And if the township bother to come out with old zoning laws

And everything else they say if the township don't do it The state automatically does it and makes them pay for it So I'm not too familiar with it I know A lot of red tape you go through anymore If you want to sell a piece of property A lot of people could make their own living right in the woods Right in the pine bars Gathered moss and pine cones All stuff like that Gathered floral, you know, broke floral For decorations for the stores and stuff like that You can't do it now they won't let you gather that floral Or anything like that You have to get off of the state property And sometimes even let you do it Other places either The state owns practically all the ground around here

You know, and they don't pay no tax Before that We're in the state from Philadelphia I guess they owned all the property around here And they paid taxes Our taxes went up Sky high, you know, triples So that makes it tough What do you think it's going to do? Well, it's forcing a lot of people out Of course, the riverfront property that taxes are higher And then A lot of them are getting so they can't afford a taxes Especially the senior citizens Or widows And things like that They work and work But they can't just take all they make to pay their taxes So they're eventually going to force them out, I guess Is it a high free uniform?

It's hard It's skilled people Rough around here You think I'm going to make it leaner? No, it was city For a job Well, why can't I do in a city? It started in that city Once you grow up around here And what's your pine? You're always a piney Well, I don't like cities We always manage anywhere This is just a lovely man, it's worth It's worth it The pinelands is a valuable of threatened resources With careful planning and management

It can benefit present and future generations The essential ingredient is achieving this goal, however This is strong, personal, and confident needy commitment It's hard to finish the story on preservation of the pine burns Months after legislation was passed, its impact had not been felt Major building was still going on And the conflict over who should have control of the area continued Those who wanted significant curbs and development were still opposing those who wanted unrestricted growth Caught in the middle, where those who simply wanted to be left alone This is really in the nature of a public meeting So this time I'd like to invite you to step forward and speak your mind And remember, we haven't made up our minds We've been charged by the governor with coming up with a report that will make recommendations What you have in your hands now or what you have received are copies of a preliminary report And we hope to include your thinking in the final report We have a list of people who have already asked to speak

And I'll start with James Currie of the chairman of the Woodland Council of Planning Board Why is there this fear that people seem to have with local representation And even forget to municipalities, county representation Why can't they be represented on this planning of management council? Why does it have to be governor appointees from different areas of the state Who don't know these people and don't know their concerns and probably could cure less about them I'd rather see something where the local people are represented where they can have an input Because by and large these municipalities have done a very good job in preserving the pines To the extent that they are right now And I don't see why now should be the reason for you to abandon your faith and your efforts And that's basically the thrust of what I'm saying We have to move on and maybe perhaps limit the speakers to three to five minutes And I'd like to thank you Mr. Currie. You have to make one final comment from our point of view Or from the two people particularly listening townships that are already developed

We have to look out there and say wait until the developers get there You're going to be struggling with those three acre lots eyes and those five acre lots eyes to maintain them And even if you do maintain them, it's not going to be the fine lines as anybody knows it If it's developed, I'd say you're going to be very deluxe suburb Except for one point I just like to add, we don't have the economic infrastructure In a location where safe, for example, towns along the riverfront and more built up areas have There's nothing in the pines, other than in the pines to attract people They're not coming down here for jobs So I don't anticipate that pressure on the pines that you would have up in your built up areas along the Delaware We've had people from East Ham and Medford who are instead telling us You should include a little more of our area And my god what the developers are doing is we're trying to save some less than the area And you come from Woodland and say things are great out there, don't bother us But we have to look at the direction of development and saying, 50 years, it's 25 years Maybe interest rates will stay high and there'll be 50 years before we see heavy development out there But it is coming

Thank you Pretty quiet there, huh? Yeah, yeah, it's going 100 more than now Why don't they do it now? Well, the younger ones don't take what they do, you know? They're riding around not all the bills going all over you know And older guys, they're dying off And they just like me and I go there won't be nobody in my family and anything to take over you know They really can't, they've got to work anyhow, you know, every day where I was lucky

I've been alone in an old rock and chair And I've been alone in that day, and I've been alone in an old rock and chair Where I've been, where I've been, brave, so learned all How i pulled apart one from the storage I told

And I think of what I do when I see right there In all alone, in an old rocking chair After all hard, will you face the complain? All light as the name seems to live it again And I think of what I do when I see right there In all alone, in an old rocking chair And I think of what I do when I see right there

In all alone, in an old rocking chair And I think of what I do when I see right there In all alone, in an old rocking chair