Sierra Club: DEP Needs to Withdraw Forest Logging Rule

Tonight the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is holding a public hearing on their new Forest Management Rule designed to complement an existing woodland management program. The new rules would govern stewardship of privately owned forested land. The program was created after a 2009 law mandated it. Under the program, plans must be designed to sustain and enhance the productivity of the forests and its ecosystems. However, the rules do not apply to state-owned forests such as Sparta Mountain. The proposed Forest Stewardship Program is based on the State’s Forest Stewardship Law and the USDA Forest Service’s National Forest Stewardship Guidelines. The hearing is taking place on Wednesday, May 24th at 6pm the Rutgers EcoComplex 1200 Florence-Columbus Rd. Bordentown, NJ.

“The DEP needs to pull down their Forest Management Rule to protect our forests from logging. The rule isn’t about managing our forests, it’s about cutting them so wealthy landowners can save money on property. Not only is the sham designed to help people avoid taxes, but it’s a full employment act for foresters and loggers. The program was designed for people to avoid paying taxes on their woodlands but letting them qualify as Farmland Assessment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The newest piece of the rule is supposed to be for stewardship but it doesn’t nothing to protect the environment. It still allows for removing 90% of the canopy. They’re using stewardship as another excuse to log, especially with no real standards or enforcement.”

Logging sensitive areas bring in siltation and run-off, impact pristine C1 trout streams and the highest water quality in the state. Our additional concern is that opening up the canopy will lead to a loss of biodiversity in our forests as more deer and invasive species take over.  Invasive species infestations would require herbicide use which could impact sensitive streams and areas above reservoirs and water supply intakes. The canopy itself is an important protection to our waterways, including many important headwaters located in deep forests.

“The rules are so weak that it creates open season on our forests without any environmental protections. Landowners only need to maintain 10% of the forest canopy. This is a joke because you get to destroy 90% of the forest. Even golf courses have more forest canopy than this. This means they can cut down big parts of the forest, leaving only ten percent of canopy cover. We could be turning the Pinelands into the Stumplands and the Highlands into a meadow. Cutting down the trees not only reduces important wildlife habitat, but increases flooding and pollution in our waterways,” said Jeff Tittel. “These forestry guidelines are the same as the weak national guidelines. They not only do not protect our forests, but are completely unenforceable. Foresters can come up with a plan and do whatever they want without a penalty.”

If the proposed land includes freshwater wetlands, the owner must get a Freshwater Wetlands permit. They must also get a Flood Hazard Area Control permit if the property includes a flood hazard area. However, both of these rules include loopholes that landowners can get around including logging exemptions and the general permit system.

“The so-called environmental compliance in these rule is a joke. It says they must comply with the Wetlands Rules but forestry and logging are already exempt from these rules. You can clear-cut buffers and important C1 streams despite the Flood Hazard Rules. Even though it says you must comply with Flood Hazard Rules, there are general permits big enough to drive a logging truck through. It’s even worse now because of Christie’s weakening of buffer protections. Under these rules they can still run skidders through streams, cut down trees, and damage wetlands,” said Jeff Tittel. “The rule also does nothing to encourage carbon sequestration or good management of the lands like protecting buffers and getting rid of invasive species.”

The proposal also includes considering threatened and endangered species. New Jersey is home to many threatened and Endangered species that depend on forest habitat for survival. The trout, Swamp Pink and Timber Rattlesnake. The Highlands is a breeding ground for endangered neo-tropical song birds, that require a deep forest at least 300 ft. of undisturbed habitat to protect their nests from other species. Many of these forests will become useless to the wildlife if they are logged to 10 percent.

“There are also supposed to be guidances on Endangered Species in the plans included but this is also bogus. There are no real protections and no regulatory authority included to protect their habitat. They must list the species of special concern, but they don’t need to necessarily protect them or preserve those areas. This is dangerous for the threatened and endangered species in New Jersey such as the Indiana Bat who need more, not less, protections. If these forests are all logged to ten percent, it will create a huge ecosystem loss for these species,” said Jeff Tittel.

According to the proposal, around 42 percent of New Jersey’s land is forested, with two-thirds of it being privately owned. While this rule applies to private lands, the DEP is still attempting to privatize and log many public lands, including Sparta Mountain. They are working with the Audubon Society with the excuse of turning the Mountain into a field for bird habitat and other vaguely defined “stewardship” practices. This plan will destroy critical natural resources, violate the objectives and goals of the Highlands Act, and go against the Regional Master Plan (RMP).

“The program includes an option to to add value with farmland assessment by enhancing the forest rather than logging it. This should be something that includes removing invasive species and protecting habitat. However, this option is also weak. Landowners won’t make any money enhancing the forest, and it may even cost them money. The stewardship itself isn’t even defined enough so it can include logging. You can call it stewardship but you can still log 90% of the property and run skidders through wetlands,” said Jeff Tittel. “This stewardship option is just logging by another name. It’s these alternative facts that they’re using to try and turn Sparta Mountain forest into a field.”

The DEP’s plan to privatize Sparta Mountain will turn the Mountain into a field for vaguely defined “stewardship” practices and commercial logging. Their plan to log the forest is a sellout of public lands that threatens biodiversity under the disguise of creating bird habitat. It will destroy critical natural resources, threaten our water supply, while violating the objectives and goals of the Highlands Act.

“120 years ago, we had very few trees or forests left because of timber and fuel logging. The forests have since recovered into mature canopy forests throughout a large portion of the state. The problem becomes how to manage and protect them. Most forests in New Jersey are not in public ownership; they are owned by large landowners or non-profits. The DEP has already declared open season on public lands with their plan to log Sparta Mountain and this is just the next step for logging private lands too. These rules may look better than the previous rules, but they really don’t do enough to protect New Jersey’s forests,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This proposal is a hollow log. It looks okay on the outside but it’s rotten to the core on the inside.”

Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100