NJ charges itself with damaging land it was bound to protect

New Jersey’s Division of Environmental Safety has charged itself with damaging habitat for threatened and endangered birds that it was supposed to guard.

The work was designed to create habitat for one species of chook, however really wound up destroying habitat for 2 others.

The division acknowledged it despatched a violation discover and threatened penalties towards its personal Division of Fish and Wildlife relating to unauthorized work in February and March on the Glassboro Wildlife Administration Space in Clayton, Gloucester County.

The violation discover consists of the specter of penalties, but it surely was unclear how that may work when the DEP is each the accuser and the accused. Nor was it instantly clear whether or not any cash may really change fingers. The division didn’t reply to questions on potential fines.

The work concerned the clearing of vegetation and disturbance of soils on practically 3 acres of what the state calls “distinctive useful resource worth freshwater wetlands.” Earlier than the work was executed, this land was thought-about appropriate habitat for the barred owl, which is listed as a threatened species, and the red-shouldered hawk, an endangered species.

The challenge additionally cleared and disturbed an extra 12 acres of land close to wetlands generally known as transition areas, which are also protected.

The DEP refused Friday to debate how the work occurred with out authorization.

On its web site, the division wrote on Feb. 1 that the work sought to create 21 acres of habitat for the American woodcock, a member of the sandpiper household that makes use of its lengthy, slim beak to forage for earthworms in damp soil. The challenge was designed to create “meadow habitat.”

However in doing so, the state destroyed mature oak and pine forests in and close to wetlands, and crammed in some wetlands, 4 conservation teams stated in a letter to the division in early March complaining concerning the work. The company issued the violation discover on April 6.

“The wetland soil and flora that had been beforehand undisturbed have been destroyed, and the mature forest that was already habitat for quite a few uncommon species of vegetation and birds was clear-cut logged,” the teams wrote. “All timber have been reduce, and all stumps bulldozed.”

Tom Gilbert, a pacesetter of the New Jersey Conservation Basis, stated, “This by no means ought to have occurred. They have to additionally take steps to enhance their clearly insufficient inner evaluate course of and meaningfully have interaction the general public.”

Jaclyn Rhoads, assistant government director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, counseled the state for proudly owning as much as its mistake, however stated the DEP ought to present a listing of present tasks on its web site for public evaluate.

“It’s due to the general public that we had been capable of cease additional destruction of this panorama,” she stated.

Company spokesman Larry Hajna stated the Fish and Wildlife Division’s Bureau of Land Administration should implement acceptable soil conservation measures inside 10 days and submit a plan inside 30 days to revive the positioning. That should embrace elimination of wooden chips positioned there.

By the tip of April, the DEP intends to challenge a discover of penalty evaluation.

Fish and Wildlife will suggest extra environmentally helpful measures, which can be topic to a public remark interval, Hajna stated.

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Comply with Wayne Parry on Twitter at twitter.com/WayneParryAC