Doris Lin, LOHV-NJ Legal Affairs, with her daughter Maple at Buono rally. You go, Doris and Maple!

The League officially endorses Buono.

See Doris in front row with hand held high.

Please email Monmouth Beach Mayor Susan Howard

FURTHER DISTRESSING RESIDENTS AND WILDLIFE, HUNTERS ARE SHOOTING BIRDS IN HURRICANE-RAVAGED MONMOUTH BEACH

Please email Monmouth Beach Mayor Susan Howard to register your outrage: Mayor@MonmouthBeach.us (Given recovery efforts, we do not want to flood the township’s telephone lines).

In hard-hit Monmouth Beach, the destruction and displacement caused by Hurricane Sandy is palpable. In red letters, the Monmouth Beach website lists the FEMA 800-number, FEMA Recovery Centers, and other emergency contacts.

Even as volunteers are assisting distressed homeowners any way they can, and while volunteer animal rescue groups are on-site, attempting to save cats and other animals who survived the storm, a few hardcore hunters are shooting it up, pursuing waterfowl also hard-hit by the storm, AND only yards from distressed homeowners, homes, and volunteers.

As reported by the Asbury Park Press in October, 2009, shooting in Monmouth Beach raises stress levels and evokes a startle response:

Last year, many of them came together to form a grass-roots group, Residents for a Peaceful River, which aims to stop the hunt in and along the Shrewsbury. Hundreds signed a petition to ban hunting in the area. This year, they're armed with a new weapon: A noise study they commissioned last winter.

The study was conducted by the Flemington-based Noise Consultancy, LLC, whose president, Eric Zwerling, directs Rutgers University's Noise Technical Assistance Center and is a noise-enforcement expert for the DEP.

On Jan. 19, The Noise Consultancy took sound readings from Eigenrauch's deck while a single hunter fired a shotgun 1,287 feet away. The company's analysis of the tests reported that the noise level of the shots ranged from 85.5 to 96 dBA, or A-weighted decibels, a unit of sound measurement used in testing environmental noise levels.

Citing standards set by the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency, the report said the gun noise was more than loud enough to waken sleepers, invoke a startle response and cause stress. At the legal distance of 450 feet, the report said, the disturbance from the shots would be far greater. (APP).

Shooting during recovery from Hurricane Sandy is beyond the pale, for both affected humans and birds. Animal protection organizations, including the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, continue our efforts to assist the animals and people affected by Hurricane Sandy. For an update on our efforts, please go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/AnimalProtectionLeagueNJ?fref=ts

Please email today. And thank you.

Susan Russell, Wildlife Policy Specialist
League of Humane Voters of New Jersey

2011 Election Results

Thanks to everyone who voted for the candidates endorsed by LOHV-NJ.

We are proud to announce that Senator Robert Gordon (D-38), Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-38) and Mr. Tom Eustace (D-38) were victorious in yesterday's election. Julie O'Connor, our Legislative District Director, worked very hard in this district. Thanks, Julie! This race was an important win for the animals, as it was very close and hotly contested.

Out of 26 LOHV-NJ endorsed candidates, 23 won and 3 were defeated. See results below. Also visit http://lohvnj.org/endorse2011c.html for more information.

This election season was our first under the LOHV-NJ banner and it was intense. Many thanks to Laurie Perla for all her work compiling questionnaires and tabulating the scorecards. This was a huge task. In 2013, we are going to call on additional volunteers to help. Thanks to Merrilee Cichy, Legislative District Director, for helping candidates in Districts 31 & 40.

Many thanks to our LOHV-NJ steering committee and to our members who gave advice and suggestions. It was all appreciated.

For the Animals,

Angi Metler
State Chair
ametler@lohvnj.org

League of Humane Voters of New Jersey
PO Box 17, Manalapan, New Jersey 07726
www.lohvnj.org

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ELECTION RESULTS:

Legislative District 15
Senator Shirley Turner (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 15
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 16
Senator Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R) - WINNER

Legislative District 18
Senator Barbara Buono (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 19
Senator Joseph Vitale (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 20
Senator Raymond Lesniak (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 27
Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 31
Senator Sandra B. Cunningham (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 31
Assemblyman Charles Mainor (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 34
Senator Nia H. Gill, Esq. (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 35
Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D) running for Senate - WINNER

Legislative District 37
Senator Loretta Weinberg (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 37
Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 37
Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 38
Senator Robert Gordon (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 38
Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 38
Candidate Timothy Eustace (D) - WINNER

Legislative District 39
Assemblyman Robert Schroeder (R) - WINNER

Legislative District 40
Candidate for Assembly Cassandra Lazzara (D) - DEFEATED

FREEHOLDER RACES

Bergen County Freeholder:
Joan M. Voss (D) - WINNER

Bergen County Freeholder:
David L. Ganz (D) - WINNER

Essex County Freeholder-At-Large:
Marilynn English (I) - DEFEATED

Monmouth County Freeholder:
Amy Mallett (D) - DEFEATED

LOCAL RACES

Holmdel Township Committee Race
Mayor Pat Impreveduto (R) - WINNER

Old Bridge Mayoral Race
Candidate for Mayor Owen Henry (R) - WINNER

West Milford Mayoral Race
Mayor Bettina Bieri running for re-election. (D) - WINNER

Deer and Jockey Hollow: A chance to get it right

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110814/NJOPINION03/308140001/Deer-Jockey-Hollow-chance-get-right

By Susan Russell

Blame for degraded conditions at Morristown National Historical Park has fallen solely on the white-tailed deer. The Park Service acknowledges that many of its proposals are based on hypotheses.

Deer numbers have not spontaneously “exploded;” the species was pushed. The first order of business is to stop the pushing.

The second is instilling a modicum of ethics in how civil society treats timid animals that are farmed as “crops” for the amusement, and profit, of so few.

The third is to usher interests who sell bullets out of the “conservation” business, especially when taxpayers are footing the bill. Antiquated game management policies conflict with broader science and societal needs.

The National Park Service had for decades resisted managing park lands to maximize deer and recreational hunting. As a result, and with natural fluctuations, the MNHP deer population remained stable.

In 1975, researchers stipulated that the unhunted deer at Jockey Hollow were not damaging the understory. “But look at the 1980s,” say kill advocates. By all means: In 1977, the Journal of Wildlife Management reported that “deer herds are being managed with ever-increasing intensity, with a primary management plan of increasing the productivity of the whitetail deer through habitat manipulation and harvest regulation.”

For decades, the killing of males forced unnaturally high reproduction, as did habitat manipulation. In less than ideal habitat, 38 percent of does bear twins at hunted sites, versus 14 percent at non-hunted sites. In optimum habitat, killing keeps birth rates high. Depending on the ratio, killing females can keep a high density population “productive.” Killing too many deer can lead to population collapse.

Jockey Hollow is not an ecological island. Ultimately, the park and its deer were influenced by outside “game” management, pervasive hunting, development, and, early on, Park Service failure to mechanically remove invasive Japanese barberry.

The cumulative impacts began to be seen during the 1980s. There are seven Wildlife Management Areas in Morris County. Black River WMA “enhances” deer breeding range; on its outskirts, townships kill deer as pests. Burning and early succession, or deer range, are current conservation vogues. The Morris County Parks Commission and New Jersey Audubon exacerbated matters by initiating sustained hunts at Lewis Morris Park, adjacent to MNHP, and 16 other parks. Deer respond to human predation by moving deeper into forests and unhunted tracts. Hunted does will expand their home range by 30 percent.

Game managers indict the native whitetail for not consuming Jockey Hollow’s non-native Japanese barberry, and for browsing on what is left of the native understory. Japanese barberry, once promoted by game agencies, is highly invasive in the absence of deer, its seed spread by birds. Barberry’s roots are shallow but tough, it grows several feet tall, and it shades out native plants. Exclosure studies in Connecticut show Japanese barberry within, and without, deer exclosures.

The whitetail is a keystone herbivore that has co-evolved with forests for 3.4 million to 3.9 million years.

“The Science of Overabundance” (Smithsonian) cautioned that absent adequate science, “management should not continue to reduce deer numbers systematically to enhance woody tree production because this may have dire consequences for the entire ecosystem.”

According to Yale University studies (2010), deer density is not a leading factor in determining variation in vegetation impacts across western Connecticut: “the empirical basis for presumptions that white-tailed deer cause forest regeneration failure is limited.”

“Species diversity was generally higher outside of deer exclosures,” reports another Connecticut study, “smaller canopy trees seemed to benefit from deer browsing.”

2004 studies conclude that white-tailed deer represent a significant vector of seed dispersal for hundreds of native plant species across North America landscape. The Smithsonian also makes this point.

Studies in Virginia show that deer affect “only the smaller stage classes of trees likely to die due to other limiting factors” and do not, as the Park Service plan says, affect forest canopy diversity down the line unless other disturbances — proposed by the Service — are present.

Thinning tree canopies and “controlled” burning proposed by the Park Service are deer range management, and will both draw deer and lead to higher reproduction.

According to forestry experts: “Typically, a forest that consisted primarily of large oak trees may naturally reproduce to become one in which oak is a minor component or absent altogether.”

If you’ve heard none of this, ask why.

It is not fashionable to defend this beleaguered species. Conservation groups partnered with gun, ammunition and archery manufacturers (“nature-related businesses”) exuberantly pursue the systematic killing of deer, even in our back yards. Commercial partners who caused the problem profit from de-regulation and increased hunter access to private and public land. The trade has identified both as necessary for (sharply declining) client retention and recruitment.

With a wink and a nod, the seminal cause of artificial abundance, and mitigating science, remain resolutely off the table. All are important in resolving the problem, where it exists.

The partners’ steering committee, dominated by shooting interests, pursues “mutually beneficial” management. Micro-managed habitat, “good” and “bad” native species, both plant and animal, “preferred” species, killing natural predators, large and small, so that humans may shoot them, and deer, which leads to more killing — designer forests. Except that 99 percent of the public is not in on the private deal, “commodity-based conservation.”

This is 2011. Our forests and our wildlife are national treasures. They are not owned by unseemly partnerships based on, and perpetuating, 19th century attitudes and mistakes.

Susan Russell is a wildlife policy specialist for the League of Humane Voters of New Jersey in Manalapan.

Join the Largest Voting Bloc in New Jersey's History

When you sign up with the League of Humane Voters of New Jersey, you will be adding your name to the growing list of New Jersey residents who vote for animal-friendly politicians—incumbents (current position-holders) and their challengers. From mayors in your local town to legislators in Trenton, your voice will be heard.

By becoming a member, you are also:


showing every NJ politician that if they cave to pressure from those who abuse and exploit animals, they will not get your vote

speaking out for all animals in NJ—from cats to deer to pigs to bears to cows to geese and all animals in between

showing that compassionate people who care about animals and vote, outnumber the abusers and exploiters by a huge margin

strengthening our state’s animal advocacy movement in the only place it really counts—the political arena

BE A PART OF THIS IMPORTANT AND VITAL EFFORT

LOHV-NJ seeks to unite animal advocates throughout New Jersey, forming the largest pro-animal voting bloc in our state’s history.

Becoming a member of LOHV-NJ is the best way to express just how much animal protection means to you as a voter. And it’s the only language politicians speak.

Sign up online at: www.lohvnj.org/contact.html

PCRM asked us to post the following initiative, which we support wholeheartedly:

Dear New Jersey League of Humane Voters,

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) needs your help on an issue that not only impacts human health, but the welfare of animals and the planet.

PCRM is urging Congress to include plant-based options into the National School Lunch Program which impacts 30 million children annually. PCRM's Healthy School Lunches campaign (www.healthyschoollunches.org) is advocating a vegetarian, plant-based lunch option and healthful nut-based beverage options. This would improve the health of our children and help to prevent the slaughter of billions of animals.

New Jersey Representatives Donald Payne and Russ Holt are on the Education and Labor Committee which oversee the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. This Act is coming up for review shortly. Payne and Holt's support of what PCRM is proposing is essential to get a plant-based option into the National School Lunch Program.

I am looking for as many people as possible to call, write or meet with Representatives Payne and Holt to encourage them to support the change. Would you be willing to help us? If so, please contact me as soon as possible at sporto@pcrm.org or 914-305-5324.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Suzan Porto, J.D.
NYC Tri-State Grassroots Organizer
PCRM--Legislative Fund
sporto@pcrm.org
914-305-5324
914-659-5513 (cell)
www.pcrm.org

2009 Election Results

Thanks to all who voted for the candidates endorsed by LOHV-NJ. Although the gubernatorial choice is a disappointment, a 10 out of 15 animal-friendly candidates did win. Winners are bolded and marked with an asterisk (*)

Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Jon Corzine/Loretta Weinberg

District 3 (Assembly)
Lee Lucas

District 5 (Assembly)
Angel Fuentes *

District 6 (Senate)
James Beach*

District 12 (Assembly)
Steven Welzer

District 15 (Assembly)
Reed Gusciora *

District 16 (Assembly)
Roberta Karpinecz

District 27 (Assembly)
Mila Jasey*

District 30 (Assembly)
John Kocubinski

District 31 (Assembly
Neil Scott

District 35 (Assembly)
Nellie Pou*

District 37 (Assembly)
Gordon Johnson*
Valerie Vainieri Huttle*

District 38 (Assembly)
Joan Voss*
Concetta Wagner*

District 39 (Assembly)
Charlotte Vandervalk*

The Public Question passed: 52% YES 48% NO

Despite the disappointment and loss, we will continue moving forward. Remember and resolve: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY!

Peace for all life,
Terry