Blueberries Are Native To Wetlands

To the Editor:

I would like to respond to the article in last week’s issue of The Newtown Bee pertaining to the “storm of reaction” over the possibility of Jim and Susanne Shortt planting blueberries on Wendover Road. I have lived in Newtown for over 20 years. I have seen fertile farmland stripped of topsoil and divided up for oversized “McMansions.” I have seen wetlands divided by wide asphalt roads in preparation for development. I have seen woodlands laid bare by huge logging machines. I cannot understand why people would be fearful of, or object to, a farm of blueberries.

Indeed, the property that the Shortts intend to farm is partially wetlands. Blueberries are a native plant that grow in wetlands. More than likely there are already some blueberries growing in that area now. Farmers are by definition exempt from the wetlands regulations that constrain most development. This property has been in the family for many years; Jim and Susanne Shortt have every right to farm this land. Shortt’s farm is Sandy Hook is a beautiful organic farm that has only added to, rather than detracted from, the surrounding area.

I do not live on Wendover Road, but I travel that way often. I can think of nothing better than seeing a field of blueberries in bloom in the spring, ripening fruit in the summer, and a blaze of red foliage in the fall. I honestly think that there are other things for which we can raise a “storm of reaction.”

Sincerely,

Kimberly Day Proctor

74 Butterfield Road, Newtown                                September 8, 2003