Comments due by July 12, 2024, at 5pm

Public Comment Request # 3 (SWAP Update)

NJDEP Fish & Wildlife (NJFW) is updating New Jersey’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) , which is due to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2025. State Wildlife Action Plans are focused on the conservation of species and habitats to prevent them from becoming more rare and thus more costly to protect or restore.

Plants and Fungi are being added to the NJ SWAP for the first time in 2025 following the Northeast SWAP Lexicon. Plants include two major groups, Vascular Plant (Angiosperm, Clubmoss, Fern and Allies, Gymnosperm, Horsetail) and Non-vascular Plant (Hornwort, Liverwort, Moss) species; Fungi include two major groups, Lichens and Non-lichenized Fungi (mycorrhizal, saprophytic, or parasitic) species.

These at-risk plants and fungi are acknowledged as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) due to their vulnerability to threats, low and/or declining population numbers, or data gaps. Without actions to conserve them, a SGCN is likely to decline further over the next 10 years, possibly leading them closer to endangerment or extirpation.

The first step to updating the SWAP is adding the list of SGCN for New Jersey. NJFW is seeking public comments on the newly added list of plants and fungi SGCN for the 2025 revision.

Public comment is an important component in addressing the habitat and management needs of New Jersey’s wildlife. This is the third of several opportunities for public comment as NJFW revises the Plan for conservation of our state’s most imperiled species. We look forward to hearing from you.

SGCN List

NJFW assigned the task of developing a plant and fungi SGCN list to the NJDEP Natural Heritage Program (NHP). In 2024, the NHP formed an expert Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of botanists and mycologists to assist in the selection process. The criteria used to select plant and fungi SGCN for the 2025 SWAP revision are similar to the criteria used to select animal SGCN and include federal and state listing statuses, global, national, regional, and state rarity rank assignments, published assessments by taxonomic expert groups, habitat types, rare plant profiles and conservation plans (see Appendix A.1 ).

This is the first NJ SWAP to include rare plants and fungi. One hundred (100) vascular plant species, 17 non-vascular plant species (hornwort, liverwort, moss), and 11 fungi (fungi, lichens) were considered highest priority as SGCN for the 2025 SWAP revision. Additional plant and fungi species can be added in future revisions.

Appendix A.1 identifies the criteria used to screen species for SGCN selection. Using those criteria, native species were screened, and criteria used to place them into one of two categories:

• SGCN – species meeting one or more of the selection criteria.
• Data Deficient SGCN – species listed as U (rarity undetermined / unknown).

The botanical TAG reviewed the rare plant and fungi list to verify that species were placed in the proper categories in a “fatal flaw” analysis. To move a species from its initial screened category to another, the team utilized a set of standardized justifications found in Appendix A.1.

Public Comment

NJFW is seeking comments on the updated SGCN list of At-Risk Plants and Fungi and has provided one table for reviewers to use for review — SGCN (species that met SGCN criterion) including State Assessment Priority Species or Data Deficient taxa.

Appendix A.1

Submitting Comments on SGCN List

NJFW is seeking comments on this updated Plant and Fungi SGCN list.

CLICK HERE to review and comment on the Plant and Fungi SGCN list.