What is growing in a Natural Heritage Priority Site after 2 years of being logged?
Important Episode 2 of our “Learn the REAL TRUTH Series”. Here we address what grows in a cut after the trees have been logged. Well, the below video will educate you all on how a beautiful high conservation value forest (that did not previously have invasive plants inside its core forest) was degraded on Sparta Mtn near the Edison monument- known as the Stand 9a cut. We must STOP this degradation !
Why Are We Allowing the Destruction of Our Public Forests During a Climate Crisis?
Take a moment to watch —it reveals the devastating aftermath of logging on Sparta Mountain near the Edison Monument, an area once rich in biodiversity and high conservation value.
What’s Growing Back?
Two years after logging, the lush, thriving forest has been replaced by a landscape overrun with invasive plant species that were never part of the intact forest ecosystem before. The natural balance has been thrown off, and the forest’s ability to regenerate is severely compromised. You’ll also see clear signs of deer over-browsing—a consequence of habitat disruption.
It’s Not the Deer’s Fault 🦌
🌎We Are In the Middle of a Climate Crisis, Why Are We Making It Worse?
While New Jersey already has a healthy deer population, logging like this creates conditions that encourage even more deer, putting additional pressure on our fragile forests. Over-browsing prevents young trees and native plants from growing back, further degrading the ecosystem.
Our forests are essential in fighting climate change. They store carbon, provide clean air, protect biodiversity, and offer irreplaceable habitats for countless species. Logging public lands at a time when we should be protecting and expanding them is reckless and shortsighted.
🛑 More Logging is Planned!
The NJ DEP Division of Fish & Wildlife and their private partners like foresters and NJ Audubon have plans to continue this destructive practice. There is a new area by the Collins Pond area earmarked to be logged any day. More plans are being written to continue to fragment Sparta Mtn- so we need your help! We must hold our elected officials accountable and demand they put an end to the logging of our public lands. This isn’t just about trees—it’s about protecting our future, our air, our water and overall ecosystem services.
Senator Both Smith, of the NJ legislature runs the NJ Senate Environment and Energy Committee. His email is SenBSmith@njleg.org and you can let him know that NJ’s public forests belong to the people of the state and they are not for $ale! Or send us an email at NJForestWatch@gmail.com and we can provide more info for you if you like. Please copy us or blind copy so we know you took action.
We Thank you in Advance!
FUTHER ACTION TO TAKE NOW– MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL
Speak up, share this message, and let your voice be heard. Follow us on Facebook and on Instagram and on BlueSky.Social. (njforestwatch.bsky.social)
Together, we can stop the destruction and preserve our forests for generations to come. #stopdeforestation #NJ #NJEnviro #Saveourpubliclands #Invasives #Stoploggingpubliclands #Highlands #Sparta #SpartaNJ #StoptheChopNJ #climatecrisis #lossofcarbon #carbonsequestrationloss
You will see in the beginning of the video on the access road that there are invasives along the path. This access area was heavily disturbed in the late 1800’s by the mining industry for iron by Thomas Edison. However, after you walk half a mile or so, the Stand 9a was an area that was deemed by the NJDEP as a “Natural Heritage Priority Site” and it was forested in 1899, according to the Vermuele maps. But now after the logging, invasives are spreading inside this previously intact forest. There were also State Endangered Red-shouldered hawks present in this area prior to the logging, and so we fear that the logging has threatened further their habitat, but the Division of Fish & Wildlife ignore this and continue to promote more logging. We need the public to get involved and let your local elected officials know that our NJ Public Forests are NOT for $ale.