DEP Doubling Down On “Young Forest” Campaign Despite Glassboro Clearcut
THE STORY THAT THE CONSERVATION GROUPS AND MEDIA FAIL TO TELL
Once again, today’s media coverage of the DEP’s illegal clearcut of over 20 acres of mature wetlands forest in the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area fails to connect the dots on what’s really going on.
The Glassboro project was not a “mistake”, as Murphy DEP Commissioner LaTourette recently misled the legislature. It was an example of DEP’s flawed forest and wildlife management policies.
Those management policies are known as the “Young Forests” initiative. “Young Forest” policies explicitly justify the logging of mature forests to create habitat for certain species, particularly for game birds and deer to promote hunting (and thereby increase DEP hunting license fee revenues and federal grants). For that science and an expose of the forest products industry’s national Young Forests campaign, see:
DEP is an active member of a well funded national “Young Forests” campaign that threatens to clearcut thousands of acres of NJ forests.
The campaign is based on dubious science and focus group tested slogans.
THAT IS THE STORY THAT THE CONSERVATION GROUPS AND MEDIA FAIL TO TELL.
LaTourette also testified to legislators that he was reforming the DEP policies and personnel that caused the Glassboro clearcut.
But DEP staffers didn’t get the memo and are instead doubling down to defend the status quo.
Incredibly, despite the public outrage, embarrassing national media coverage, and critical Legislative oversight, the DEP is doubling down with impunity by lobbying with the forestry industry to promote exactly the same Young Forest policies that DEP relied on to support the Glassboro clearcut.
As I wrote last week, DEP staffer Sharon Petzinger, a champion of the Young Forest initiative, is scheduled to speak on May 18 at a political event of the NJ Forestry Association to promote the DEP’s Young Forest program.
I wrote to Latourette to demand that Petzinger’s presentation be cancelled:
Dear Commissioner LaTourette – I write to bring to your attention the external activities of one of your staffers, Ms. Sharon Petzinger, of the Division of Fish and Wildlife (see below announcement by the NJ Forestry Association).
This activity is particularly troubling at this moment in time, given the recent controversy over the Department’s illegal clearcut in Glassboro WMA. You recently testified to the Legislature that you were reforming DEP’s policies to prevent a recurrence of Glassboro, and Deputy Commissioner Moriarty recently met with conservation groups to discuss reforms. So, administrative and regulatory reforms are underway (in the absence of any Stakeholder or public process) that are directly relevant to Ms. Petzinger’s presentation.
Additionally, there are sensitive ongoing legislative deliberations for drafting a bill by Senator Smith to implement the recommendations of the Forestry Taskforce. Senator Smith publicly stated that he will introduce a bill in June. Some of those most controversial recommendations involved the Department’s interpretation of the science and policy supporting “active management” (logging) to provide habitat. The NJ Forestry Association was a Co-Chair of Senator Smith’s Task Force. Thus the linkage to legislation is irrefutable.
As you know, the Glassboro WMA clearcut was designed to provide habitat.
Ms. Petziner has been a longstanding advocate of exactly the same controversial forest management projects (logging) to create habitat (and young forests). Ms.Petzinger has generated public controversy and has advocated scientifically dubious “active forestry management” (logging) projects that have undermined the public’s trust and confidence in the Department.
At the May 18 presentation promoted below, Ms. Petzinger will be representing the Department and presenting the Department’s forestry and wildlife management policies to a private special interest group with economic interests in logging.
Given the circumstances, Ms. Petzinger’s presentation is totally inappropriate and creates the appearance of political advocacy and lobbying for a specific management policy to be included in Senator Smith’s current legislative deliberations .
I strongly urge you to direct Ms. Petzinger to cancel her presentation.
I do now know what the Department’s current policies and procedures are with respect to such presentations, but when I was with the Department such external activities required management approval. If the external presentation involved a high visibility and highly controversial matter involving pending legislation, the Commission was required to review and approve the presentation.
I would hope that you have similar management policies and procedures in place.
Bill Wolfe