New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) charged itself April 6 with damaging the habitat of endangered birds it was meant to safeguard, multiple outlets report.
The state’s DEP announced it had sent a violation notice to the Division of Fish and Wildlife after unauthorized work conducted in February and March to create a suitable habitat for one species of bird ended up damaging the habitat of two other birds, CBS News reported Friday.
The DEP announced on its website Feb. 1 that it would create 21 acres of suitable habitat for the American woodcock, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The American woodcock is a sandpiper bird that searches for worms in the soil with its narrow beak. Its population has been on the decline as ecosystems change and the bird loses access to key habitats, according to the New York Post.
However, the DEP’s Fish and Wildlife division cleared the vegetation and disturbed the soil of nearly three acres of what the state calls “exceptional resource value freshwater wetlands,” according to AP. It also cleared 21 acres of mature upland forest, according to New Jersey Spotlight News.
“It is not forestry; it’s land clearing,” New Jersey Conservation Foundation manager Emil DeVito told the New Jersey Spotlight News. “This is a pristine intact core forest. We are supposed to be protecting those places.”
NJ charges itself with damaging land it was bound to protect https://t.co/TExgTGN6aO
— Shawn Cabbagestalk (@CabbageTV) April 14, 2023
Representatives from South Jersey Land and Water Trust, United to Protect Maurice River and its Tributaries, Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation sent a letter to the DEP to protest the destruction of 21 acres of forest, the NY Post reported.
“The wetland soil and flora that were previously undisturbed have been destroyed, and the mature forest that was already habitat for numerous rare species of plants and birds was clear-cut logged,” the organizations wrote, according to AP. “All trees have been cut, and all stumps bulldozed.”
“All natural resources — plants, animals, soils, and surface geology — have been altered, removed or exterminated.”
The land had previously been an appropriate home for the barred owl, a threatened species, and the red-shouldered hawk, an endangered species, according to AP, but the work has reportedly caused ecological damage for the two species.
“This never should have happened. They must also take steps to improve their clearly inadequate internal review process and meaningfully engage the public,” New Jersey Conservation Foundation leader Tom Glibert told AP.
It remains unclear whether the division responsible for the project will have to pay a fine, since it is both the accuser and the accused, CBS reported. The DEP will issue a full penalty assessment by the end of April.
Spokesperson Larry Hajna demanded the division implement soil conservation measures within 10 days and come up with a plan to restore the site within 30 days, AP reported. The division will also propose additional measures with a public comment period.