The Annual Epistle

May, 2011

“You should always go to other people’s funerals;

otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra

It’s déjà vu all over again as I go back to the deep well of Yogi-isms this year, figuring that a study of the Zen of Yogi might give me an understanding of some of the thought processes revealed of late by the NJDEP.

First, some old stuff. The 2010 Epistle announced that the Forest Stewardship Act had been signed into law, and then explained that the next step that was needed was the development of the rules and procedure that would “flesh out” this law. This past January, 2011, I sent a message to all of my email-able clients reporting that rules and procedures were still in the dream stage, AND that the money from the “Global Warming Solutions Fund” that was supposed to pick up the tab for the cost of your Forest Stewardship Plan was probably going to be sucked into that black hole known as the State budget. As of this writing, the latest word is that the Commissioner of DEP has instructed the State Forester that the rules and procedures for the FSA will become a fact by the end of 2011. Whenever this actually happens, I’ll let you know a.s.a.p. – particularly if I have your email address.

Second, those who received my January, 2011 email may recall that I directed your attention to anabsurdly-inflammatory December 10tharticle in the Asbury Park Press about “fake farmers” (see: One of the fewfacts that the article decided to include was that the NJDEP foresters have only been completing a small percentage of the annual inspection of properties, a responsibility assigned by N.J.A.C. 18:15-2.13 – “The commissioner, in addition to reviewing each application, shall make an on-site inspection of the property to determine whether the land is in compliance with the filed woodland management plan.” The article does tarnish the gleam of that fact a bit by stating that this lack of inspections means that the NJDEP therefore can’t do its job to help determine who is meeting the requirements for the tax break when, in fact, the purpose of state forester inspections is to prevent “excessive and unnecessary cutting,” but that’s a graduate-level topic that we’ll defer to a later date.

So, the new stuff has to do with the fact that, after 26 years of being unconcerned about not fulfilling its legally-assigned responsibility, the NJDEP feels it’s in a real pickle nowthat the deficiency has been revealed in the AP Press. Something must be done, and soon. But, how can a state agency fulfill an assignment without additional staff and tax dollars? Well, someone musthave really been thinking outside of the box on this one since the latest word is that it’s been decided that all the NJDEP needs is just a teensy-weensy re-write of the rules: just change the responsibility for inspections from the “commissioner” to “someone” (or some other similarly-vague identifier). Presto! Problem solved. And, just who do you think that “someone” might be? Why, it will be Yours Truly, and all of the other consultants on the “Approved Foresters” list. That’s right. The forester you’ve hired to assist you with the management of your woodlot is also going to have the responsibility to decide whether or not your property should qualify for farmland assessment.

Pretty cool, huh? If you can’t do a job, simply pass it along to someone else. But, wait, it gets better. Just to show that it’s really, REALLY serious this time about fulfilling the requirement for property inspections, the NJDEP will retain two special jobs for itself: 1. The right to conduct property inspections on an audit basis (“audit” means whenever it feels like it, or when the tax assessor requests it); and 2. The ability to withdraw the forester’s “Approved Forester” status (and, hence, the forester’s career in New Jersey) if it finds the forester has endorsed WD-1 form reports of a property that it deems is not in compliance with farmland assessment. Very un-cool, huh?

Oh, sweet Yogi,do you have any wisdom for this looming absurdity? How about, “When you get to a fork in the road, take it.” And so we will. In the meantime, how about keeping the impending changes in mind when you sit down to fill out this year’s WD-1 report of your forestry activity? And if you’re having any trouble figuring out the difference between a truthful and a fraudulent report, how about giving me a call so we can try to figure it out together? In the future, knowing the difference is going to be particularly important for both of us.

The farmland application filing deadline of August 1st falls on a Monday this year. My standard Annual Epistle exhortation: How about marking a reminder on your calendar, datebook, Blackberry, or whatever thatby July 1styou should have received and taken care of your application? For the cost of a 1st-class stamp, regular mail sent from a New Jersey address to P.O. Box 18 gets your mailing to me the next day, and I’ll do my best to have it back to you by Day 3. Those who like to spend $13 for a special courier (who actually takes a few hours longer than the USPS) need to use my shipping address: Bldg.9 Cane Farm, 99 Kingwood-Stockton Rd., Stockton, NJ 08559. And, for clients who like to have a face-to-face in my Rosemont office at this time of year, a reminder that office time is a billable event in 15-minute increments at a rate of $100/hr.

FOOLPROOF FARMLAND ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

#1 – You receive the farmland forms from your tax assessor. Most are sent out during June, although there are a couple of assessors who like to make you wait until the 1st of July. If forms don’t arrive as soon as you think they should, call the tax assessor, not Duke Grimes. He doesn’t have your forms, although you can find a blank FA-1 and WD-1 at the Forester’s Page at .

#2 – First-time filers may bail out at this point and just call up Duke Grimes for further instructions. Veteran filers will excitedly rush to retrieve their well-kept farmland folder so they can reference previous years’ forms.

#3 – Fill out the new forms completely. This includes all four sections of the Woodland Data Form. In particular, do not leave Section III blank, figuring that Grimes will take care of it. Remember to prepare an “activity map” that shows the location of the forestry activity you’re reporting on the WD-1. You may use a copy of the management plan map to prepare the activity map.

#4 – You will now mail three things to Duke Grimes*: 1. The completed WD-1 form; 2. A copy of the activity map that Grimes will review and then retain for his file; and, 3. A check in the amount of $100 if you wish to renew the Service Agreement for the coming year.

#5 – Grimes will review your WD-1 form, will provide an endorsement, and will promptly return it to you. WD-1s that appear inappropriate will trigger a property inspection and delay the return process a few days.

#6 – You receive the signed WD-1 form back from Grimes and are now ready to assemble the farmland applications to both the tax assessor and the NJ Forest Service (also variously referred to as the NJDEP, Div. of Parks & Forestry, and the state foresters). Follow your assessor’s instructions for assembly of the township application. For the application to the NJ Forest Service you should include: 1. a photocopy of the FA-1; 2. the top copy of the WD-1 form; and, 3. a copy of the activity map showing the location of reported activity.

#7 – Mail the NJ Forest Service application to the appropriate address (not the Trenton address that might be on the WD-1).

Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex & Morris Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth

NJ Forest Service NJ Forest Service

240 Main St. P.O. Box 239

Andover, NJ 07821 New Lisbon, NJ 08064