Rockleigh OKs limited bow hunt

The Borough Council adopted a measure last week that will open the woodlands behind Borough Hall to no more than nine hunters at a time during the state's three bow hunting seasons.

"It's not an open hunt," Mayor Frank Langella insisted Friday. "There is no hunting in Rockleigh. It's a wildlife management program."

The borough has never before permitted hunting on its public lands, but an increasing number of auto collisions with deer and damage to gardens and shrubs prompted officials to try to thin the herds.

The aim is to use a limited number of "volunteers" to cull the herds, Langella said. A handful of borough residents who have state hunting licenses, police officers, and firefighters will be issued special municipal permits, tags and parking permits for the hunt, he said.

But one councilman is fearful the move could lead to tragedy.

"There's a good chance that a stray arrow could end up in someone's property," said Councilman Ernest April. He pointed out that the borough's 84-acre preserve is a narrow tract and today's bows are extremely powerful and shoot arrows with scalpel-like tips.

"Also, it's impossible to close off the woods completely because there's many access routes through Norwood, Alpine and Closter," April said. The Rockleigh preserve borders a 134-acre tract in Alpine that was once the Boy Scouts of America camp.

"If some kids are out in the woods and they're not aware the woods are closed and wander in from the Alpine Boy Scout camp, it could be a disaster," April said.

"I think it poses too much potential liability for the borough of Rockleigh, but everyone else seemed to be much in favor of it," he said.

April, who voted to introduce the ordinance in September, was out of town when the council unanimously adopted it Monday. Although the public hearing was advertised, Borough Administrator Lou-Anne Horsey said no residents attended and no objections were voiced.

"I frequently have small herds of deer in my back yard and males locking antlers. It's all part of the wildlife. This is why you live in Rockleigh. So, I don't really see the need for it," said April, whose property borders the borough tract.

"I was certainly the voice in the wilderness in this one," April said. He added that he regretted voting to introduce the measure.

The mayor and other officials, however, said all care will be taken to protect residents.

Maps issued to hunters will have boundaries clearly marked and there will be no shooting within 500 feet of homes, Langella said. The hunting will be done from tree stands with the archers shooting down to prevent arrows from traveling far distances, he added.

"Anyone caught in the woods poaching" or carrying firearms will be prosecuted, the mayor said.

Norwood Police Chief Edward Giannotti, whose department polices tiny Rockleigh, said he doesn't anticipate any problems. He said the hiking trails will be closed and posted, only a limited number of hunters will be issued permits and the state is supervising the program.

"They have a deer problem and they have to find a way to correct it," Giannotti said.

Susan Martka, a biologist with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife who discussed management options with borough officials, said hunters in this region of the state can take an unlimited number of does and fawn and one antlered buck for each of the three bow seasons that run from Sept. 11 to Feb. 19.

She said the state doesn't know how many deer are in the area, without conducting an expensive infrared flyover. "If they see a reduction in the number of deer-car accidents, they would know they are moving in the right direction," she said.

The ordinance establishes the Rockleigh Wildlife Management Commission, a seven-member body that will include the mayor, a council member and three residents who are licensed hunters to oversee the program.

The commission will prepare and monitor an annual wildlife management plan that aims to maintain "a healthy balance and diversity in the local ecology, while providing for the health and safety of borough residents, and the protection of property."

Northvale police now cover Rockleigh

By Christina Rossi

The New Year has brought a change: The Northvale Police Department now covers Rockleigh.

An agreement between the two boroughs was signed at the end of lst month that will last for eight years at an annual cost to Northvale of $300,000.

Until this year, Northvale had been responding to police calls in Rockleigh on a regular basis but not getting paid for it, officials said.

Previously, the Bergen County Police Department had provided coverage for tiny Rockleigh at an annual cost of about $400,000.

That coverage generally consisted of one patrolman on duty. In emergencies, additional police were brought in.

The change was spurred by an announcement by the county several months ago that it would raise the annual price to $450,000, and Rockleigh officials sought alternatives.

There will be at least three cars on duty covering both towns at all times, officials said.

Northvale to Patrol Streets of Rockleigh

By DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER

The mayors of Rockleigh and Northvale are touting their interlocal police agreement as the first step toward a larger regionalization of the police force.

The two boroughs signed an agreement Tuesday calling for the Northvale Police Department to cover Rockleigh for the next eight years at an annual cost of $300,000.

The venture went into effect at midnight Wednesday.

Northvale Mayor John Rooney and Rockleigh Mayor Nick Langella said the agreement would prove to be a windfall for residents of both towns.

"Both towns will come out on top," Langella said. "The service will be tenfold better for our residents and it will be great for all the taxpayers. The best way to bring down property taxes is through regionalization."

Until now, Northvale had been answering police calls in Rockleigh on a regular basis but not getting paid for it, Rooney said. Now, under the new agreement, the borough will be paid for its services.

Until two days ago, the Bergen County Police Department provided coverage for Rockleigh, a town of 391, at an annual cost of roughly $400,000. The county police's coverage generally consisted of one patrolman monitoring the area. In emergencies, additional police were called.

When the county announced several months ago that it would raise the annual price to $450,000, Langella sought alternatives.

"The Northvale police will have at least three cars on duty covering both towns at all times," Rooney said. "It's just an additional mile to cover, so it's nothing earth-shattering for us."

Borough officials said they anticipate that the deal is the first step toward a larger regionalization.

Rooney said he has begun talks with Mayor-elect Mike Kaplan of Norwood and with officials of Closter and Harrington Park on joining a regionalization effort.