Dune Black Pines Still Bug Borough, Infested or Not?

AVALON – The June 22 meeting of Avalon Borough Council continued the discussion of municipal plans for the Japanese black pine trees in select areas of the secondary dunes. 
In March, the borough accepted a $24,000 grant from the state for aid in dealing with an infestation of Southern pine beetles attacking non-indigenous Japanese black pine trees.
The grant was routinely accepted. State officials and the borough’s environmental consultant, Joseph Lomax, assured the council that a number of the infected trees would need to be cut down. 
The matter was considered a public safety concern due to threats of falling dead trees in areas near visitor pathways through the dunes and because the dead trees and the accumulated debris from the pines posed a potential fire hazard.
A group of environmental advocates, residents who also opposed the borough’s actions in Armacost Park in 2015, began following the issue and raising concerns.
At a May 25 council meeting, opposition to the borough’s actions bubbled over. At that long, contentious meeting, residents’ group brought forward their expert, Mark Demitroff, a New Jersey certified tree expert. 
Details of that meeting were reported in the Herald.
Following that, according to Council Vice President Nancy Hudanich, the borough conducted a thorough investigation of the issues and the “serious accusations” made concerning the borough’s motivations and the qualifications of its consultants.
At council’s latest meeting, the borough took the usual step of passing a resolution detailing the investigation and its results, as well as, reaffirming “the borough’s intent and determination to proceed toward the successful completion of this project and ratifying and approving all action taken to date.”
The borough’s actions continued to be opposed by a group of residents. They used the meeting’s public portion to argue against the plan. They presented council with an excerpt from a transcript of the Environmental Commission meeting Aug. 19, 2008.  It was a meeting at which Lomax presented the findings of his survey of vegetation in various parts of the dunes.
For those opposing the borough’s current efforts, the key phrases in Lomax’s 2008 presentation came when he spoke of the need to find “the appropriate approach to help people retain their views, retain the tax base of those oceanfront homes, while at the same time finding a responsible plan” for vegetation in the dunes.
For some like Frank McLaughlin, who has spoken against the plans for the black pines, those remarks constituted something close to the smoking gun.
The pines alleged infestation, something many of those in opposition claim has not been proven, is an excuse for pursuing a very different goal.
Elaine Scattergood, another resident who has consistently opposed the current plans, voiced sentiment again when she said, “No one is entitled to a view.”
For Hudanich this was another example of why the council needed the unusual resolution. She could not see a connection between a statement made in 2008 and the current actions of the borough in accepting a state grant to deal with a beetle infestation that state officials and private consultants say exists and needs remediation. Speaking of the 2008 transcript excerpt read into the record, she said. “There is just no causal connection.”
Martha Wright, who has opposed the borough’s acceptance of the Southern pine beetle grant, said at the May meeting because acceptance of the grant opened the borough to litigation and accusations of fraud since there was no proof that the beetle in question has attacked the dune pines.
At the latest meeting, she continued to argue that no scientific proof of the infestation exists. She provided pictures from the borough’s website along with pictures of proven Southern pine beetle infestation elsewhere.
She also warned that Avalon, seen as a leader in dune maintenance and environmental planning, would be encouraging other shore communities to react to the same non-existent infestation. “It is a poor use of state funds,” she said.
One argument the opposing residents have used is literature on the effects of such a beetle infestation that argues, they say, that such an infestation results in the death of numerous trees within 30 days. They argue, the grant was awarded over 90 days ago and most of the trees, in their view, appear healthy. Thus, their logic follows, the infestation does not exist.
While the opposition to the borough’s plan continues, Wright noted that everyone was probably going to have to “agree to disagree.” The borough made it clear, with the unanimous passing of the resolution ratifying its actions, which the council accepts the science presented by the state officials and their consultant. The project will move ahead, and the council will not entertain continued efforts to reopen the issue.
In short, while residents opposed to the effort may exercise their rights to speak out at council meetings, the council has gone on record saying that it heard the opposition, it investigated the claims, and it has made up its mind.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.