THE ANNUAL EPISTLE
MAY, 2007
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Absolutely no relevance whatsoever between that Kipling ditty and the farmland assessment process that will occur in the next month or so. It’s simply a bit of inspiration that has had some appeal to me since I’ve gotten involved with crew at a competitive level. And maybe, as I contemplate the sort of WD-1 reports that I know will soon have my head shaking in despair, it’s just a good idea to begin my annual wake-up message with some hopeful encouragement that you may apply wherever you’d like.
A reminder of three items from last year’s message: 1. Service Agreement renewal now stands at $100. 2. Office visits to take care of farmland assessment items are billable events in 15-minute increments at a rate of $100/hr. 3. WD-1s that have what appears to be erroneous reporting will not be signed and returned until I’ve had the opportunity to inspect the woodlot. Problem WD-1s sent to me in the last week of July will simply be returned unsigned.
A message to all of you tree planters: In last December’s seedling order letter I brought up the brand-new topic of “ballon capping,” the tactic of placing a kiddie, dime-story variety, party balloon over the topmost terminal bud cluster of each oak seedling to protect that bud cluster from deer browsing. It’s an alternative to those infuriating mesh tree tubes. I tried it this past winter on the seedlings I planted in the strip of woodland that also serves as a holding area for a large population of deer behind my house. Overall, I was quite pleased with the results, although the round balloons initially had the tendency to catch the wind and blow off, so next time I’ll use just the long, skinny balloons. By the time I did the last check in mid-April, most of the balloons had deteriorated due to exposure to sunlight, and were no longer covering the bud cluster, but the deer had other things to browse on by that time, so it didn’t seem to matter. The result? One instance of browsing on about 100 seedlings. The new sprouts that emerged from the 99 unbrowsed terminal bud clusters grew vigorously, and in a few weeks have already added 12”-16” to the tree heights. Recommendation? Keep your eyes open for sales of skinny party balloons and try out the balloon-capping tactic on your oak seedlings next Thanksgiving.
Regular mail within New Jersey is delivered the next day (to Rosemont, anyway). For those of you who prefer to give $13 to a special courier to get the WD-1 form to me in the same amount of time, my shipping address is: Bldg 9 Cane Farm, 99 Kingwood Stockton Rd., Stockton, NJ 08559. If you would like your WD-1 returned in the same, high-priced way, please include a pre-paid envelope.
How about this? “If you can fill the unforgiving WD-1 form with sixty seconds’ worth of accurate reporting…”
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.
#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 file 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 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 on the WD-1).
Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex & Morris Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean & Burl.
NJ Forest Service NJ Forest Service
240 Main St. P.O. Box 239
Andover, NJ 07821 New Lisbon, NJ 08064
*There are a few assessors who have created an additional form that also needs to be signed by Grimes. This extra form should also be filled out completely and included with the mailing to Grimes.
Forest Management Services
P.O. Box 18
Rosemont, NJ 08556