Our Billboard and Policy Recommendations from the NJ Highlands Natural Heritage Committee

Hello Forest Supporters!

Over the last year and a half, we have been working with various Ph.D. Forest Ecologists and members of the NJ Highlands Coalition Natural Heritage Committee to compose a policy recommendation for our Highlands’ forests.  This policy paper was written with the latest Science peer-reviewed literature that states our forests left to mature on their own sequester more carbon than younger forests.   The term, “Proforestation” is also introduced and we will post those reference studies soon, as well.

According to Wikipedia, the term “Proforestation” is the practice of purposefully growing an existing forest intact toward its full ecological potential. It is a nature-based solution whereby existing forests are protected as intact ecosystems to foster continuous growth for maximal carbon storage and ecological and structural complexity. In suitable forested regions, it is a powerful and immediate forest-based strategy that can address the global crises in climate and biodiversity”.

Our group has presented these policy recommendations to the NJDEP, the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, and to the Governor’s office. The current practice of deforestation, aka “forest management or habitat creation”  deeply comprises NJ’s long term Greenhouse Gas reduction targets and threatens our future air, water, and carbon sequestration levels.  According to the IPCC,  “protection of forests is a vital climate solution”. NJ should not be fragmenting its best intact core forests!

Above is our joint collaborative billboard addressing the hypocrisy of “Why is NJ cutting down its best defense against climate change” and the picture is of the clear cut on Stand 18 on April 1, 2019. By the way, the cut is so large, this is only a small portion of the cut.  We will post additional photos soon.

We hope that NJ residents will continue to contact our Governor’s office via email at constituent.relations@nj.gov and by phone from Monday-Friday 9-5 pm at 609-292-6000 to voice your opposition to the logging of now 14 wildlife public areas, throughout the state.

Let’s remind this administration that NJ taxpayers refuse to subsidize the destruction of our public forests that we pay for!

Read our policy recommendations below:

NJ Highlands Forest Policy Recommendations for Public Lands

One Comment:

  1. thank teh lord for this action. thank the lord.

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