[Nj_federation_alert] NY Times on Shrewsbury River Hunting

[ap.maurosr at verizon.net]

FYI - NY Times Real Estate Section on Navesink/Shrewsbury Hunting

Ant


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/realestate/27njzo.html?_r=1&ref=realestate&oref=slogin

A Serene Spot, in Looks at Least 
UNEASY PEACE Eugene Cantor, left, with his terrier Archie, opposes duck hunting by neighbors like Brian Rice, right. 

By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: January 27, 2008
FAIR HAVEN

BLAM! Blam! Blam!

To some who dwell beside the Navesink River here, that would be the cruel sound of nature’s peace being disturbed, an annual occurrence for 60 days during duck-hunting season — and they want it muffled, permanently.

To local hunters, on the other hand, that is the “sound of freedom,” as one put it on a newspaper blog last week, and the senseless noise is coming instead from their opponents, who want to rob them of sporting pleasure.

As for state officials, they appear to discern nothing yet but the loud buzz of community debate. Perhaps the only message coming through clearly is the one aimed at those who think about buying or renting property near a riverside in New Jersey: Caveat emptor. Those “riv vues” may have a disconcerting soundtrack.

“After selling my house, I rented a great place on the scenic, serene Navesink River,” Susan E. Russell, who moved in last spring, wrote in a letter that made its way to a reporter. During hunting season, which runs six days a week (it ended last Tuesday), it turns out “I’m paying for a panoramic view of mayhem,” she wrote. 

Ms. Russell, an animal rights advocate who has collected signatures from homeowners here and in nearby towns along the Shrewsbury River on a petition to stop the hunting of waterfowl in “densely populated” communities, and forwarded them to Gov. Jon Corzine in November, complained that she is often awakened before 6 a.m. by gunfire.

“I spend the day in earmuffs — or play blaring music,” she claimed, adding that she tried not to watch as “darling bufflehead” ducks flew into the line of fire.

She says the petition signers aren’t only those who own several large new mansions in the area, or those who have occupied its modest cottages for decades. The other side says its ranks are just as diverse, if that is the proper term for a community where, in 2005, the median house price hit $635,300 — close to twice the median for the state at the time.

“It’s just sad to watch,” said Dr. Eugene Cantor, a petition signer who has lived on the Navesink for 35 years. His next-door neighbors are the Rice family, hunters who keep a floating duck blind just beyond the 450-foot legal limit from shore. “My kids used to try to save the ducks by banging on pots and pans to scare them away.”

These days, said Dr. Cantor, who is retired, he has to medicate one of his terriers, Joey, when hunters are about.

“Oh, come on,” retorted Dr. Cantor’s neighbor with the duck blind, Brian Rice. “That Jack Russell makes a lot more noise, more often, than we do. It has a very annoying, high-pitched bark — and besides, are we all supposed to bow down because a little dog yips?”

Although Mr. Rice says he believes property owners’ rights include the one to peace and quiet, it is peace and quiet only as prescribed by law. “As hunters,” he asserted, “we are extremely careful to meet the requirements for decibel level” by keeping the required distance from shore. He also noted that he sits on the boards of various local outdoor sports groups, whose members observe the same rules he does.

The noise issue is a “red herring,” anyway, contends Anthony Mauro, who heads the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, a watchdog group for hunters, fishers, and trappers’ rights. “This complaint was brought by an animal rights activist,” he said, “and that’s what it’s about.” 

But Ms. Russell, who heads an advocacy group called the Center for Animal Protection and has spoken out against the hunting of bears and the gassing of geese in New Jersey, said hunting interests were trying to dismiss her as an “animal nut.”

“This is about people,” agreed Anne Goldberg, who has lived on the river in Fair Haven for 15 years. “And dogs,” she laughed.

“My constant four-legged companion, Sparky, has abandoned his morning biscuits and has fled to a back bedroom,” Mrs. Goldberg wrote in a letter to The Asbury Park Press during hunting season two years ago. “Our shepherd-Akita mix, who guards his yard fearlessly, is passing his days trembling under the bed.”

“I wonder how long we will be held hostage by the River Rambo,” she said in that letter, coining a phrase widely used since. 

“I’m not Rambo,” countered Mr. Rice, who makes his living as a financial adviser. “I’m not holding anyone hostage — and there is no safety issue here. Those who are against hunting can’t get their animal rights issue to fly, and they can’t nail us on the noise issue. So then, they try to say there is a safety issue.”

None of the hunting opponents contend that their property values are being affected by the fact that hunting takes place in the area. But several residents did assert in interviews last week that they have felt uncomfortable recently — in fact, ever since the tone of comments on an Asbury Park Press blog became vitriolic.

Mr. Rice said he thought both sides should try hard not to “fly off the handle,” but conceded that the issue was highly emotional for him as well.

“My family has lived here for 100 years — literally,” he said. His grandfather first bought the property on which three family houses now stand, and Mr. Rice often invites his “hunting buddies” in for duck shooting.

“This way of life is my heritage,” he said. “I continue to do it, and I will pass it on to my son, 15 months old, and another child due in May. I promise them that.” Richard Smith of nearby Red Bank, by contrast, said that although he grew up with the tradition of hunting, he has come to resent what he sees as inconsiderate hunters who disrupt the peace of the river. 

As Dr. Cantor put it: “A long time ago, this was more rural. Now it’s highly populated — and hunting doesn’t really have a place.” He and Ms. Russell said they feel the state should change hunting rules once population levels reach a certain point.

Terry West, a governor’s aide who has monitored the complaints, said only, “It is certainly an interesting issue.”

“Look,” Mr. Rice said, “ if people who live by the river don’t like hunting, they should move.”

Dr. Cantor said he would never consider moving from his spot overlooking the duck blind, the river — and, across its surface, the new castlelike abode of the rocker Jon Bon Jovi. “Is having my home in this beautiful place worth it — despite the hunters?” he says he asks himself. “Yes.” 



Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.
Chairman, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance http://www.njoutdooralliance.org