Murphy DEP Doubling Down On Logging Public Lands, Despite Pending Climate Regulations And Legislative Task Force

DEP Announced Next Year’s Logging Plans, Despite Ongoing Legislative Task Force Deliberations

DEP Logging Plans Fail To Consider Climate Science

With questionable science, twisted management policies and priorities, dubious legislative authority, virtually no independent support, and strong public opposition, all the lights are flashing RED and demanding that the Department cease and desist logging activity on public lands.

In another ill-timed and shocking move, the Murphy DEP just announced an opportunity for the public to comment on next year’s logging plans for Sparta Mountain:

In accordance with the July 2021 Addendum to the approved 2017 Sparta Mountain WMA Forest Stewardship Plan, forest management activities planned for next year (2022/23) is now open for comment. Please email comments to sharon.petzinger@dep.nj.gov by March 31, 2022. 

As outlined in the 2017 Sparta Mountain WMA Forest Stewardship Plan, forest management activities in the form of a modified seed tree prescription will be implemented on 10 acres within Stand 18 next fall/winter (November 2022 – March 2023). This prescription will likely retain around 20 sq. ft. of basal area per acre across the 10-acre site to allow for the growth of young oak and hickory trees, blackberries, sedges, and a variety of other native shrub and sapling plants.

The DEP move comes just weeks after Senate Environment Committee Chairman Bob Smith formed a legislative Task Force to develop reform recommendations to improve DEP’s current controversial “forest stewardship” (AKA logging) practices and address the climate emergency.

I urge folks to each out directly to DEP Commissioner LaTourette and Gov. Murphy to demand a halt to these destructive logging projects. It seems clear that the DEP bureaucrats are blocking any meaningful reforms. The referenced  “July 2021 Addendum” made some important changes, but they are not enforceable (i.e. there are no enforcement sanctions for violations, the restrictions are stated in a contract, not a permit or enforceable document, and there is a huge loophole, i.e. “to the extent practicable“).

The DEP Addendum revisions still fail to address climate science, formally close loopholes by codification in law and/or DEP regulation, or address other criticisms of DEP’s logging plan.

The Addendum established new restrictions – which were strongly opposed by NJ Audubon – as follows: (DEP wrote):

Here’s my note to DEP:

Ms. Petzinger:

Please accept the following public comment on the DEP’s proposed July 2021 Addendum to the approved 2017 Sparta Mountain WMA Forest Stewardship Plan, forest management activities planned for next year (2022/23).

I continue to be astonished at the arrogance of the Department in continuing these controversial logging projects in Highlands forests, on publicly funded and acquired preserved public lands. The various minor changes (buffers, etc) the Department has included as modifications to the 2017 Plan do not come close to addressing public concerns or remedying scientific and policy flaws.

The rationale for these projects lacks a scientific and ecological basis, most glaring in the failure to even consider known current and projected climate impacts (either adaptation or carbon sequestration). That alone is a fatal flaw that should force the Department to suspend these logging projects until the DEP’s forestry practices are brought into alignment with DEP’s climate science and policies.

Even the purported habitat creation aspects of these projects lacks a current scientific basis because of the failure to consider climate impacts on habitat. I previously provided comments on golden wing warbler habitat migration due to climate change to illustrate this flaw. Those comments were simply ignored by the DEP. I find this, too, to be astonishing.

There have been many additional scientific critiques by qualified expert ecologists, water quality, wildlife, and forestry experts.

There is virtually no public support for these logging projects. The only support is coming from individuals and organizations with economic interests in these projects. The few other supporter are largely consumptive users, e.g. hunters.

Legally, the failure, for over a decade, of Senator Smith’s various “forest stewardship” bills designed to legislatively authorize the Department’s “stewardship” projects in publicly owned forests, strongly suggests a lack of legislative authorization to conduct these projects.

The Department’s contract terms and the low bids the Department has accepted (ranging from free to $8,500 as far as I know) are obscene and a total mismanagement of state lands.

The Department has conducted NJ specific studies that document that the economic value of forests is far greater in preservation than any form of active management (see DEP’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services research Reports).

The contract terms regarding protection of natural resources and water quality are not effectively enforceable, compared to DEP regulatory based permit conditions and Highland RMP approvals. The statutory and regulatory loopholes that enable these unregulated contract practices must be closed. This is another reason for the DEP to impose a moratorium on these projects.

The DEP has forestry related policy initiatives currently underway, including the Forest Action Plan, The Natural and Working Lands Initiative and climate PACT REAL land use, water resource, and stormwater and flood management regulations. Again, the DEP should impose a moratorium pending public comment and formal regulatory adoption of these policies.

Finally, Senator Smith established a Forestry Task Force that its currently deliberating on reforms to current law, regulation, policy and practice. That too should force DEP to suspend current projects.

I am not confident that Commissioner LaTourette is aware of or has been fully and faithfully briefed on these many issues, so I am copying him on these comments in hope that he is able to penetrate the self interested and impenetrable bureaucratic veil that you and others at the Department seem to perpetuate.

With questionable science, twisted management policies and priorities, dubious legislative authority, virtually no independent support, and strong public opposition, all the lights are flashing RED and demanding that the Department cease and desist logging activity on public lands.

Bill Wolfe