By Birgitta WOlfe, Managing Editor
NORTH HANOVER Township Committeeman and Deputy Mayor James Durr awaits an April 9 sentencing in U.S. District Court in Camden after pleading guilty Jan. 3 to endangering the 4-inch federally protected bog turtle.
Mr. Durr said he did nothing wrong, but after spending $100,00-plus to defend himself in the case that began in 2006, he can no longer afford to fight, especially after the government prepared for a 25-day trial that would have cost him an additional $200,000.
The farmer’s trouble began in 2005 when he bought the 177-acre Turtle Creek Farm as part of his business of planting flowers, shrubs and trees
Two days before the sale, the former owner pulled him aside and whispered he was going to “let me in on a secret” that there were bog turtles on the property, according to Mr. Durr.
”He made me swear on my mother’s grave not to reveal they were there,” Mr. Durr said last week.
The owner showed him a spot by Turtle Creek devoid of trees which was the turtle habitat and when Mr. Durr started clearing trees upland of the creek to repair cracked drainage tiles, he stayed away from the turtle area, he said.
Cleanup of the neglected farm entailed carting away about 20 Dumpsters of garbage and trees, but during the process a neighbor reported him to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which deals with wetland protection, Mr. Durr said.
In the Feb. 18, 2010, a federal indictment dealing with the federally protected turtle, stated clearing of the tree buffer caused 12 inches of silt to wash into the stream in the turtle habitat in 2006 and another 2 feet in 2007.
Mr. Durr said any damage from upland clearing was inadvertent due to heavy rains and was not criminal on his part.
After first being contacted of the problem, Mr. Durr said, work stopped and he hired a professional to apply for an exemption from the tree cutting provision.
”They fooled me,” he said. “They investigated me for three years. I thought there were there to help me (to protect the species) but I learned they were there to built a case against me.
”I have regrets if I have harmed the species. I never in a 100 years would do that, I have always been a student of nature.”
The farmer said he has never seen a bog turtle on the property, but was told that investigators had set traps and captured two turtles
”I wish I’d never bought the place,” said the township committeeman, who farms 800 acres for flowers and 400 acres for vegetables.
Mr. Durr said he expects he can still serve on the Township Committee after his guilty plea.
He said under the plea bargain, the U.S. attorney will recommend to Judge Renee Marie Bumb a sentence to one to five years probation and a $20,000 contribution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect bog turtles in New Jersey.
The maximum sentence would be six months in jail and a $25,000 fine.
That still leaves the state DEP case on alleged wetlands violations that Mr. Durr said is in negotiations and hopes will be settled soon. He said officials toured the farm to prepare of list of needed restorations but found no items were found.
”After Irene, they couldn’t wait to come and inspect what (damage) happened, but nothing happened,” he said.
