Will the last tree standing please put out the lights?

The West Orange Town Council meeting last night had some high points and some low ones as well.

It certainly was uplifting to have residents in attendance who are doing great things in inspiring and mentoring the youth of our community. I am sure the town council members---as well as those of us in the audience--- were happy to hear of good works and good results. This was a divergence from the usual council meetings where community concerns and issues more often deal with what is lacking, rather than what is available.

It was equally encouraging to hear a wonderfully written essay composed by a young man in the West Orange school system. The focus of his essay was the meaning of America and being an American, and the words were well crafted.

In fact, the conclusion of the essay talked about being an American as standing up for what you believe in.

And those of us there took some courage from these words.

We needed it, as the most disappointing of the council activities came when it was made clear the council was not ready to discuss the new tree ordinance, so laboriously created over these past few weeks. The township is now more than 9 months without a tree ordinance, and the hope that last night would see some progress was dashed immediately following the opening of the meeting.

The Council promised that it would deliberate over this new ordinance and put it out for public discussion on May 20, their next meeting, as also disappointingly, their meeting for May 6 has been cancelled. If met with no objections, it is possible that the ordinance may pass on June 10. Possible.

Meanwhile, after 9 months of edits and go-rounds, the trees are still left with no guardian ordinance. It would be possible under these conditions for hundreds, if not thousands, of trees in this town to be removed before an ordinance is accepted and adopted. Possible.

There are red ribbons tied around dozens of the trees in the tract of land proposed for development behind the West Essex Highlands. Will those be the first to fall? That, too, is possible.

Passing the Baton

Last night: A breath of fresh air swept into the room, a harbinger of Spring and of hope.

A few of us had gathered to talk about the new structure for We Care, the advocacy group fighting for minimalized and responsible development of the woods behind the West Essex Highlands.

Leadership for We Care was the primary topic of conversation as We Care's President will be stepping down from office in early July, still remaining active in the organization.

There is always the possibility when segueing from one management model to another that there will be gaps and misses.

And we might have spent more time on acknowledging the many good works and earnest efforts made to date that have enabled opposition to this development project to endure for 9 years. Certainly, there were path blazers and meeting warriors whose contributions have been instrumental in keeping the cause not only alive, but well. Some of these have been public demonstrations of commitment, but just as many have been conversations behind closed doors.

It is never easy to be an advocate, even in the best of times and circumstances, and we can only imagine the communications that most likely took place.

But the momentum to go forward was so strong we did not take the time to glance back.

Driving that momentum was the dedication of those who have stepped up to become a collective of leaders with both institutional memory and the skills to address the tasks before us.

So as the rain poured down and the spring time chorus of birds outside the windows serenaded us with their evening lullabies, we proceeded. But we also inadvertently disregarded a fundamental of passing the baton. Looking behind is often as critical as looking ahead.

When Push Comes to Shove

Living in the West Essex Highlands, and in general in this corner of West Orange, is about as good as it gets in residential Essex County. The area is convenient to all manner of road and highway, convenient to all the necessities and amenities of Essex County, and quite lovely to look at. The forested areas and golf courses as well as home landscapes all provide a green, pretty and natural buffer to noise and pollution.

There is a common ground for having chosen this location for those who made this choice. And it would make sense that all the area residents, within the Highlands and in the surrounding neighborhood would be in agreement that we have something special and something worth fighting for. There should be uniform support for curtailing land development and natural resource encroachment. There should be.

But as human ear and human mind acquire information, any number of interpretations may result. Most of us living in the Highlands would like to see no development at all of the adjoining woods. Some of us would allow a reasonable amount to happen. And there are a few who have no opinion. The discordance in view does at times lead to conflict, even among the most responsible of people. We all have our own interpretations of words. Words such as reasonable. Words such as opinion. Words such as responsible.

As things stand, the disagreement is kept to civil proportions with a few verbal encounters here and there, and maybe a gentle push where appropriate and necessary.

But when the passionate meet the obstinate, there is no telling what the next step will be, or when push will come to shove. I am hopeful we will never cross that line.

Of Unsung Heroes

I have long heard the phrase "unsung hero", but until now, I was not really sure what it meant. My profession is marketing, concentrating on health care, and though I have worked for some great causes and good people, my job was to sing their praises. So they were sung about plenty.

In other arenas---- politics, business, academia---- the heroes were always outed, often by some one like me. Though I have certainly encountered many heroes who were equally effective at singing their own praises.

I had come to believe that the unsung hero was a little like Santa Claus, a nice concept with no true life application.

We Care, an advocacy group from the West Essex Highlands, has been dedicated to halting the development of woods and wet lands behind the complex. Now, I talk about the group as if it had a life of its own. And certainly like any organization, there is a body of membership that helps to move things along.

But the President of We Care, the attorney, environmentalist and truly unsung hero for the woods---- as well as the organization----has been serving in a multiplicity of complex roles for these past nine years. And serving is the appropriate word here. Paul Tractenberg has been the all encompassing resource center for We Care, all members depending on him to research, write and speak on our behalf on all the important issues. He has done so consistently, tirelessly and brilliantly. Paul has had no songs written for him, nor has he had time or interest to use his own voice to sing self-praises.

So this blog is for you, Paul, and like another Paul who was also once affiliated with Rutgers you have created a legacy with your commitment, vision and voice. "We are each other's harvest. We are each other's business. We are each other's magnitude and bond."

A Poem as Lovely as a Tree?

I know I am dating myself.

But back in the good old days
we began our studies at Ridge Street
grammar school
in Newark with
"auditorium".


Each auditorium ended with our singing the song version of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" poem. I can still remember the first line:


I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree


And of course, the last line:


Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree


The middle is a little hazy but the poem/song was an ode to nature and a clear statement that Kilmer believed what men build/write can not compare to what God has created.


With that poem having ensconced itself in my 5 year old consciousness, one of the few memories I have carried forward from my childhood, I find it incredulous that the town of West Orange has been without a tree ordinance for eight months.


This is an issue that has broader implications than just the development project behind the West Essex Highlands as the absence could negatively impact on any area of the municipality.


But, there may be a guardian for West Orange trees in the making of a new resolution. The City Council members working with an envrionmental advocate/attorney who resides in the Highlands now have the first draft of a tree ordinance in hand.


Revisions to the first draft are being put into effect at this moment, and the new edition (there apparently have been several) is projected to be ready for first reading at the City Council's next meeting scheduled for April 29.


You don't have to be a "tree hugger" to have concern that this ordinance be adopted and asap. Come to the Council meeting and let your attendance count visably as your interest in this extremely important aspect to quality of life in West Orange."

Take A Walk On the Wild Side

Although I realize that not every one loves animals, or for that matter, nature, I wonder how close most people allow themselves to venture out these days? Not out to the mall or out to work or out to anyplace with walls. But out, out where the space is not parametered by man made structure.

With deer hunts, deer ticks and developers lurking in the woods, one is certainly incurring a risk by stepping foot in the forest.

But 2 winters ago, one of our cats, Merengue, headed for the woods after a clever escape from our town house (and what a long "tail" hangs on that story!). Trying to track her down, I spent 33 days during her AWOL traversing wetlands and slopes in these near 200 acres behind the West Essex Highlands.

In those 33 days over the hill and over the dale, several of them through a blizzard, I did not encounter even one gingerbread wife. But I did see, and with little effort, dozens of deer, many wild turkeys, bunnies, birds and even one fox. It was a revelation in how such a relatively small parcel of land can sustain and house so many beautiful creatures.

Were it not for our Merengue missing, I would not have been back there calling her name at all hours of the day and night and most likely inviting my neighbors to speculate on "just what in the world" that woman is doing out in the woods all the time. But despite the anguish of having our cat lost in this foreign world, I found myself delighted each day by these explorations and the sightings so copious and satisfying.

The journeys stopped when our neighbors did, indeed, help us to track Merengue down to a hiding place---not in the woods---but under someone's deck. Our joy in reuniting with our little black cat could not be measured. But there was a loss as well. Looking at nature is not the same as being in nature. I love the view of the woods from within our home. But walking on the wild side is not just seeing, it is smelling and hearing. Perhaps everyone should try it before putting a monetary value on property.