Director of “Brunswick” Speaks About Farmland Preservation

How do we protect our farms, while leaving a legacy of pristine wilderness for future generations? According to Nate Simms, director of the film “Brunswick,” who spoke at HVCC last week, the answer is simple. “We need to re-invest in cities and towns,” he said.

Born into a family of farmers, Simms was thrust into the center of a disagreement over the legacy of his grandfather’s land. On one side, his father was passionately making the case for preservation, and on the other, his uncle was trying desperately to sell the land for a tidy profit.

Ultimately, the future of his grandfather’s farm was secured when Simms’s father decided against selling the land to developers.

These early experiences in the ongoing battle for land preservation left an indelible mark on Simms, a mark that spurred his interest in activism.

In 1996, at the age of 26, he picked up a camera and began taking pictures. Through his photography, he hoped to increase awareness of land conservation efforts. He self-published a book of photographs titled “Focus on the Land: Images of Rensselaer County, New York.”

However, he had not quite found his niche yet. Armed with a video camera, and fueled with passion for his cause, he set out in 2005 to document the battle between land conservationists and developers in the tiny Rensselaer town of Brunswick.

The film “Brunswick,” which was seven years in the making, provides a revealing look at the struggles and pitfalls farmers and land conservationists face when dealing with developers, and the moneyed interests that control small town governments across the state.

The film focuses on the lives of two men, Sanford Bonesteel, an aging farmer who loses his land to the town, and Phil Harrington, a resident of Brunswick who chooses to sell his land to developers for millions of dollars.

Simms said, “I didn’t want it to come across as Phil Harrington is the bad guy, and Sanford [Bonesteel] is good. These are not simple black and white issues.”

What is more black and white are the numbers.

According to New York’s Farmland Protection Program, more than 127,000 acres of farmland were lost to developers between 1997 and 2002. That is an average of 70 acres of farmland disappearing every day.

Additionally, a report from Brookings Institute and Cornell University, titled “Sprawl without Growth: the Upstate Paradox,” says that from 1982 to 1997, the amount of urbanized land in upstate New York grew by 30 percent, while the population grew less than 3 percent.

The reason? Poorly planned development projects. Rather than looking to existing cities and towns for opportunities, land developers are buying up increasing numbers of rural acreage.

Why? According to Simms, developers are selling people a “mutation of the American dream,” the notion that the best place to live is in the suburbs, while ignoring the problems and crumbling infrastructure of the cities and towns.

“Small [town] government is a charade, where people come to voice their concerns, and are dismissed,” Simms said about the role local government plays in the development process.

During his time making the film, Simms sat in on over 20 meetings of the Brunswick town board, where he witnessed inept officials wasting hours on redundant procedure, and devoting the bulk of time allotted to hearing the proposals of land developers.

According to Simms, town board meetings were scheduled at inopportune times, notices for the meetings were buried in local newspapers, far from the eyes of casual readers, and when the meetings finally took place, the time allotted to the citizens of Brunswick was minimal.

“They didn’t want people to be involved” Mr. Simms said. “The local government was fundamentally broken.”

It would seem that the chips are stacked inexorably in the favor of land developers, with the town officials firmly in their pockets. However, for those interested in preserving New York’s rural farmland, there are resources available.

The American Farmland Trust is sponsoring the “Harvesting Opportunities Conference” at Hotel Albany in downtown Albany on Nov. 15. The conference will bring together farmers, land trusts, local food producers, government leaders, and concerned citizens to examine the potential for growing New York’s farm production, while seeking to conserve precious farmland.

Additionally, for anyone interested in watching a free screening of the film “Brunswick,” there will be a showing at the University of Albany on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

For more information on the film or the issues of land preservation, visit www.brunswickfilm.com.