Proposed State Rules Would Sting Beekeepers

PETERSBURG – On Jan. 22, via a unanimous resolution, Upper Township Committee added its voice to others opposed to proposed changes by the state Department of Agriculture to regulate beekeeping which are now open for public comment. The regulations, if implemented, will impose more restrictive criteria related to the density of the bee colony; and location of the hive, best management practices for apiaries and also will be difficult to enforce by municipalities. 
Sen. Jeff Van Drew, Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak and Assemblyman Bruce Land (all D-1st) demonstrated their opposition by sending a letter to the Department of Agriculture regarding the proposal.
Per a related release, they noted the “proposed rules are associated with a pair of 2015 laws intended to protect and encourage beekeeping in the state … and these [new] rules are inconsistent with legislative intent.”
Sponsored by Van Drew and Andrzejczak, the earlier laws provided for the establishment of a penalty for the destruction of man-made native bee hives and for consistency in the regulation of apiary activities through state-level rules.
“The sponsors of this legislation were hoping to grow New Jersey’s beekeeping industry, as well as preserve important pollinators for the health of our agriculture industry, and we believe that these proposed regulations will instead stifle the growth of hobbyist beekeepers and small business apiarists alike,” the legislators wrote.
The lawmakers said they would consider sponsoring legislation to overturn or supersede the regulations if the rules move forward as proposed.
A respected voice from the state’s beekeeping world, Bill Eisele, a resident of Petersburg, who has been a beekeeper for many years, and is the owner of Eisele’s Bee and Christmas Tree farm, added his concern about the proposal. “I caught my first swarm in 1978. Over the ensuing years, I have been very active in the beekeeping community, including serving as president of the Jersey Cape Beekeepers Association, as coordinator for its ‘Beginners Beekeeping’ classes, on many committees in the state Beekeeping Association, as a member of the Department of Agriculture beekeeping advisory board, and on the Cape May County Board of Agriculture.
“The Department of Agriculture has been a promoter of beekeeping. They developed a set of guidelines to be used by beekeepers that not only used common sense but also would minimize conflicts with neighbors.
“The guidelines were not codified into regulations so each municipality could use them or not. In 2015, a law (A1295) was passed charging Agriculture with developing a set of rules that would provide a level playing field for beekeepers and provide clear, enforceable guidance to the municipalities.
“Under a false premise that one bad beekeeper was the norm, the department supporting the beekeeper proposed rules if adopted would cause most of the 20,000 colonies and most hobbyists to be in noncompliance.
“Well over 200 individuals, companies, bee organizations, municipalities and neighbors of beekeepers have sent comments to the department pointing out problems with the proposed rules.
“If these regulations are adopted as proposed, there would be problems of a very large magnitude that would ensue,” Eisele concluded.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.