Bill Text: NJ A4646 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits certain activities impacting animal and plant species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered on State-owned lands, and codifies DEP's "Landscape Project" concerning critical habitat.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-28 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A4646 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4646-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits certain activities impacting animal and plant species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered on State-owned lands, and codifies DEP's "Landscape Project" concerning critical habitat.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning habitat for animal and plant species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.1988, c.127.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding any other law, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary, no activity shall be undertaken on State-owned lands that would negatively impact the natural habitat, functioning ecosystem, or populations of species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, or rare biological communities. The prohibition established in this subsection shall apply to controlled burns, forestry activities including clear-cut, selective cutting, or thinning activities, undergrowth removal, wetlands alteration or filling, and other similar activities that have the potential to alter critical habitat for fauna or flora on State-owned lands.
b. Any plan to alter, modify, or remove natural habitat from State-owned lands shall be limited to activities that enhance habitat for species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and may proceed only after the Department of Environmental Protection conducts a primary source natural resource inventory and environmental assessment using species occurrence data from the Natural Heritage Program, established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1988, c.127 (C.13:1B-15.147), identifying critical areas for imperiled species based on land-use and land-cover classifications as well as site-specific surveys when warranted by survey gaps in the Natural Heritage Program database, and after it has been determined by the preponderance of the evidence that the proposed activity will positively impact significantly more species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered than it may harm. The assessment of the habitat requirements of individual species shall be determined by the department based on species occurrence area justifications and the land-use and land-cover for species analysis.
c. The provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section shall not apply to stewardship activities on State-owned lands if the Commissioner of Environmental Protection determines an activity to be necessary to: protect human health; prevent or minimize outbreaks of alien invasive pests or pathogens; control invasive species; or prevent or minimize fire hazards.
2. Section 1 of P.L.1988, c.127 (C.13:1B-15.146) is amended to read as follows:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that this State has a rich natural heritage which is in danger of disappearing as the State continues to experience economic and industrial growth; that a program to conduct an inventory of rare plants, animals, and natural communities throughout New Jersey was established in 1984 through a cooperative agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization; that this program is providing up-to-date information on [rare] species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, and endangered, and natural communities to planners, developers, and conservation agencies for use in resource management, environmental impact assessment, and both public and private land protection efforts; that this program enables the State to share information, in a national network, with the more than 40 other states with comparable programs; that the continued success and usefulness of the program is dependent upon continuously updating and refining the information in the inventory; that, by design, The Nature Conservancy intended to end their participation in the program after fiscal year 1987 but has temporarily extended their participation pending the establishment of a formal program; and the Legislature therefore determines that in order to preserve the State's natural diversity the Natural Heritage Program needs to be formally recognized and established.
The Legislature further finds and declares that all plant species that occur on State-owned lands and are listed on the State list of endangered plant species and plant species of concern developed and maintained pursuant to the "Endangered Plant Species List Act," P.L.1989, c.56 (C.13:1B-15.151 et seq.), are worthy of careful consideration and protection, and that activities proposed for State-owned lands must be informed as to the presence of such plant populations and either the positive or negative impacts to them that the activities may present.
The Legislature further finds and declares that the Endangered and Nongame Species Program in the Department of Environmental Protection began a program in 1994 called the "Landscape Project"; that the goal of this program is to protect the State's biological diversity by maintaining and enhancing imperiled wildlife species populations within healthy, functioning ecosystems; that through this program the department has combined information on the location of imperiled and priority species with land-use and land-cover data in order to identify and map areas of critical importance for species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered; that these critical habitat maps focus on landscape regions that are ecologically similar with regard to their plant and animal communities; and that it is necessary and appropriate to formally recognize and establish this program in order to protect species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and their habitats. The Legislature therefore determines that the department's program known as the "Landscape Project" should be formally adopted and incorporated into the Natural Heritage Program.
(cf: P.L.1988, c.127, s.1)
3. Section 2 of P.L.1988, c.127 (C.13:1B-15.147) is amended to read as follows:
2. There is established in the Division of Parks and Forestry, Department of Environmental Protection, a Natural Heritage Program. The purpose of the program is to :
a. identify the most critically important natural areas in the State , including those areas that are of critical importance to the species listed pursuant to the "Endangered Plant Species List Act," P.L.1989, c.56 (C.13:1B-15.151 et seq.), or "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act," P.L.1973, c.309 (C.23:2A-1 et seq.), or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto; and
b. provide detailed up-to-date information on [rare species] species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and natural communities , including species location data and land-use and land-cover data regarding critical habitat, to planners, developers, and conservation agencies for use in resource management, environmental impact assessment, and both public and private land protection efforts.
(cf: P.L.1988, c.127, s.2)
4. Section 3 of P.L.1988, c.127 (C.13:1B-15.148) is amended to read as follows:
3. The functions of the program established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1988, c.127 (C.13:1B-15.147) shall include, but need not be limited to:
a. [Maintaining] maintaining and updating, through data collection and field work, a partially computerized data base which includes lists of species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare , threatened, and endangered [species] , and natural communities ranked according to rarity, as well as information on the location, quality, protection status, and sources of information of individual occurrences of [the above] species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and natural communities; and
b. [Providing] providing information on species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and natural community occurrences to other government agencies, consultants, and private landowners seeking to preserve natural diversity and advice on how best to protect these occurrences.
(cf: P.L.1988, c.127, s.3)
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would protect populations of species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and their habitats and unique and fragile ecosystems by (1) setting forth certain conditions impacting such species and habitat on State-owned lands, and (2) codifying the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) "Landscape Project."
The bill would establish a prohibition on actions undertaken on State-owned lands that would negatively impact the natural habitat, functioning ecosystem, and populations of species of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, or rare biological communities. This prohibition would apply to controlled burns, logging activities including clear-cut, selective cutting, or thinning activities, undergrowth removal, wetlands alteration or filling, and other similar activities that have the potential to alter critical habitat for fauna or flora on State-owned lands.
The bill further provides that any plan to alter, modify, or remove natural habitat from State-owned lands be limited to activities that enhance habitat for populations of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and may proceed only after the DEP conducts a primary source natural resource inventory and environmental assessment. This natural resource inventory and environmental assessment would be based upon animal species occurrence data prepared by the department's Endangered and Nongame Species Program as part of the "Landscape Project," which would be incorporated into the Natural Heritage Program by this bill, as well as rare plant species occurrences based on surveys and Natural Heritage Program data.
These provisions of the bill would not apply to stewardship activities on State-owned lands if the DEP Commissioner determines the activity is necessary to: protect human health; prevent or minimize outbreaks of alien invasive pests or pathogens; control invasive species; or prevent or minimize fire hazards.
In addition, this bill would codify the DEP's "Landscape Project" for species that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered by incorporating it into the DEP's current Natural Heritage Program. The "Landscape Project" was originally started in 1994 by the DEP's Endangered and Nongame Species Program as a pro-active, ecosystem-level approach for the long-term protection of imperiled species and their habitats. Through this project, the program identifies critical areas for imperiled species based on land-use and land-cover classifications and species location information. The Natural Heritage Program, established by statute in 1988, requires the DEP to identify the most critically important natural areas in the State. This bill would specify that the program is to include those areas that are of critical importance to those species listed pursuant to the "Endangered Plant Species List Act" and "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act." Incorporating the Landscape Program's critical habitat maps into the Natural Heritage Program will provide comprehensive information concerning ecological communities and populations of fauna or flora that are of special concern, rare, threatened, or endangered, and their habitats.
