Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Minimize Impact
Sparta Mountain WMA
As DEP’s biologists and foresters, we work every day to foster a healthy environment. When we perform work in the forest, we make sure the impact is minimal and that the ecosystem is not only restored quickly, but also has greater value than it did before the management.
Water, a Forest Product
Forests and water are interconnected. We take the following steps to ensure the water that flows through the forest is protected:
1. Follow Best Management Practices
The activities are conducted in accordance with the NJ Wetlands Best Management Practices Manual, the state-wide guide which standardizes the methods, measures, and practices used to protect, maintain, and preserve water quality.
2. Keep wetlands activities small-scale
The activities are small in scale and they do not obstruct the water flow.
3. No clear-cuts in the wetlands
The work does not consist of clear-cuts in a wetland, exempt under certain circumstances deemed necessary by the New Jersey Forest Service to regenerate the stand.
4. Address any impact to sensitive wetlands wildlife or plants
We address any potential impacts to wetlands-dependent threatened or endangered species.
5. Proceed after New Jersey Forest Service approval
The Forest Management or Stewardship Plan’s prescribed activities, including wetlands activities, are reviewed and approved by the New Jersey Forest Service. NJ DEP proceeds with the activities only after this approval.
NJ DEP consults with the USDA Forest Service’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to ensure our methods have no negative effects on soil erosion or water quality. In addition, we have expanded buffers near concerned communities and to protect water quality.
Rare and Endangered Plants
DEP’s policy is that activities on state lands be consistent with the protection and preservation of rare biodiversity, forest resources, and cultural resources.
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife performed preliminary field surveys for endangered and rare plants in 2013 and 2014, and the NJ DEP Office of Natural Lands Management followed up with addition plant surveys in 2017 and 2018. These surveys identified locations of rare plants and revealed a highly diverse forest flora in the Sparta Mountain WMA.
Site-specific practice plans will incorporate rare plant occurrence data to ensure that management activities will not impact the plants or their habitats. Before any activities are performed at Sparta Mountain, multiple agencies within NJ DEP review the activities to determine adverse impacts to a variety of resources.
DEP’s policy is that activities on state lands be consistent with the protection and preservation of rare biodiversity, forest resources, and cultural resources.
Sparta Mountain WMA
Rare, Threatened, & Endangered Plants
| Scientific Name | Common Name | State Status |
|---|---|---|
| Anemone cylindrica | Long-head Anemone | Endangered |
| Aplectrum hyemale | Puttyroot | Endangered |
| Asclepias quadrifolia | Four-leaf Milkweed | |
| Aster urophyllus | Arrow-leaf Aster | |
| Bromus ciliatus var. ciliatus | Fringed Brome | |
| Calla palustris | Wild Calla | |
| Carex aggregata | Glomerate Sedge | |
| Ceratophyllum echinatum | Spiny Coontail | Endangered |
| Chenopodium simplex | Maple-leaf Goosefoot | |
| Desmodium cuspidatum var. cuspidatum | Toothed Tick-trefoil | |
| Dicentra canadensis | Squirrel-corn | Endangered |
| Doellingeria infirma | Cornel-leaf Aster | |
| Elymus trachycaulus | Slender Wheatgrass | Endangered |
| Epilobium leptophyllum | Bog Willowherb | |
| Equisetum sylvaticum | Woodland Horsetail | |
| Eragrostis frankii | Frank’s Love Grass | |
| Galium trifidum var. trifidum | Small Bedstraw | |
| Glyceria grandis var. grandis | American Manna Grass | Endangered |
| Juncus articulatus | Jointed Rush | |
| Juniperus communis var. depressa | Dwarf Juniper | |
| Kalmia polifolia | Pale-laurel | Endangered |
| Lactuca hirsuta var. sanguinea | Red-stem Hairy Lettuce | |
| Lechea intermedia var. intermedia | Large-pod Pinweed | |
| Lilium philadelphicum var. philadelphicum | Wood Lily | |
| Lycopodium hickeyi | Hickey’s Ground-pine | |
| Lysimachia thyrsiflora | Tufted Loosestrife | |
| Milium effusum | Tall Millet Grass | Endangered |
| Panicum oligosanthes var. scribnerianum | Scribner’s Panic Grass | |
| Phegopteris connectilis | Northern Beech Fern | |
| Platanthera psycodes | Purple Fringed Orchid | |
| Poa languida | Drooping Spear Grass | |
| Potamogeton obtusifolius | Blunt-leaf Pondweed | Endangered |
| Potamogeton robbinsii | Robbin’s Pondweed | |
| Salix lucida ssp. lucida | Shining Willow | |
| Selaginella rupestris | Rock Spike-moss | |
| Sphagnum angustifolium | Sphagnum | Endangered |
| Sphagnum fuscum | Sphagnum | |
| Sphagnum subsecundum | Sphagnum | Endangered |
| Sphagnum teres | Sphagnum | |
| Spiranthes ochroleuca | Yellowish Nodding Ladies’-tresses | |
| Utricularia intermedia | Flat-leaf Bladderwort | |
| Utricularia minor | Lesser Bladderwort | Endangered |
| Vaccinium oxycoccos | Small Cranberry |
After management, we keep an eye out for:
Deer browse
Deer browse refers to what deer eat—the leaves,twigs, and buds of a variety of plants. To help regeneration of the young plants on the management sites, we work to keep deer browse to a minimum.
Browse will be carefully analyzed on a parcel by parcel basis in order to alter management strategies when necessary.
Invasive Plant Species
As invasive exotic species pose a threat to native plants and wildlife, we will monitor for invasive species populations during the project. Fortunately, we have found low occurrences of Invasive plant species in management areas, if present at all. If needed, herbicide application will be done by licensed applicators following strict protocols. We use treatment methods which directly target individual plants. These techniques use minimal herbicide with little to no residual herbicide migrating into the soil.
