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The remedy for woodland restoration is in pending legislation. Bills A1954/A4358 provide for a forest harvest program on State-owned land. For nearly three years the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, New Jersey Forestry Association, New Jersey Audubon Society, New Jersey Farm Bureau, and Department of Environmental Protection have worked with legislative leadership provided by Senator Robert Smith and Assemblyman John McKeon to create a template for a forest harvest program. The result of this effort is also supported by the New Jersey Division Society of American Foresters and the New Jersey Tree Farm Program. Additionally, scores of forestry professionals and Ph.Ds. in the fields of wildlife ecology, forest biology, natural resource management, and agriculture have endorsed the legislation.

The bills provide a means to facilitate natural processes through forestry practices. These intentional, human-induced activities can initiate the recovery of ecosystem health, integrity, and sustainability. If we are going to continue to prevent Mother Nature from freely using her methods to manage forests it is our obligation to safely and responsibly replicate her formulas.

Bills S1954/A4358 legislate a Forest Stewardship Plan using environmental health standards as the basis for forest regeneration – it does not rely on economic standards. The Department of Environmental Protection and forestry professionals determine the types of methods needed to replicate those used by Mother Nature for purposes of environmental health.

Approval for forestry projects requires that water quality, soil erosion, and threatened and endangered species be considered before authorization is granted, and a Forest Stewardship Plan must be in place before any cutting is initiated. By-products can be sold and the revenue put into an account created by legislation that is used to finance continued forest stewardship practices. This approach treats each forest individually but takes into consideration its place as part of the overall environment.

The lack of forest management and fragmentation in New Jersey are partially to blame for the extirpation of several animals. At the same time we prioritized the recovery of the bald eagle we ignored the needs of animals such as bobwhite quail, red-headed woodpecker, ruffed grouse, pheasant, and more. We have prevented forest disturbance and as a result the integrity of the habitat needed for these species to survive has been severely compromised.

Some special interest groups have misrepresented bills S1954/A4358 as logging and distribution legislation. Their portrayal is not only untrue but unwittingly takes advantage of people’s lack of knowledge of forest biology and the specifics of the legislation, and plays on prejudices that enlist them as advocates of the status quo – a campaign that facilitates environmental damage.

S1954/A4358 provides a means to restore forest health and provides a source to fund the undertaking. The citizens of New Jersey are stakeholders in this matter and they deserve intellectual honesty and rational arguments as the basis for making informed decisions. Forests are critical to sustaining life on earth and we are therefore obligated to woodland stewardship.

Anthony P. Mauro, Sr. is Chairman of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance. He is a Certified New Jersey Woodland Steward and member of Governor Christie’s 2009/2010 Department of Environmental Protection Transition team. He is also an author on matters of conservation.

ALSO BY ANTHONY P. MAURO SR.

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