News & Events

Sparta Mountain WMA

Information Session Presentation – May 9, 2017

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife

The mission of the NJ DEP Fish and Wildlife is to protect and manage the State’s fish and wildlife to maximize their long-term biological, recreational and economic values for all New Jerseyans. To maintain New Jersey’s rich variety of fish and wildlife species at stable, healthy levels and to protect and enhance the many habitats on which they depend. To educate New Jerseyans on the values and needs of our fish and wildlife and to foster a positive human/wildlife co-existence. To maximize the recreational and commercial use of New Jersey’s fish and wildlife for both present and future generations.

New Jersey Audubon Society

The New Jersey Audubon Society fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey citizens; protects New Jersey’s birds, mammals, and other animals and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes preservation of New Jersey’s valuable natural habitats.

Young Forest Project

NJDEP, NJ Fish and Wildlife, and New Jersey Audubon Society are partners in the National Young Forest Project. In this initiative, federal and state conservation agencies, wildlife organizations, land trusts, towns and counties, Native American tribes, universities, the military – along with many private companies and individuals – have signed on to the Young Forest Project to work to create more young forests. The lack of young forest habitats is a serious concern across the nation. Together we work to save our wildlife while preserving a healthy environment for generations to come.

Learn more about the Young Forest Project

Golden-winged Warbler Working Group

The golden-winged warbler is a petite songbird that spends its summers breeding in Northern New Jersey and other locations in the Northeastern United States. It nests in young forests that are no older than 20 years. Due to fewer habitat opportunities, this bird species has been in decline across its range and has been listed as endangered in New Jersey.

In Sparta Mountain WMA, we seek to create a habitat suitable for the golden-winged warbler because it is an “umbrella species”—a species selected for making conservation-related decisions because protecting this species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat.

The Golden-winged Warbler Working Group recommends to select locations for forest management for golden-winged warblers based on forest cover and proximity to known breeding locations. In northwestern NJ, public and private parcels were identified as high priority based upon elevation, size, and distance to known breeding locations. Sparta Mountain WMA is one of those priority areas for creating habitat for the endangered golden-winged warbler.

Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture

Sparta Mountain is within the Appalachian Mountains Bird Conservation Region (BCR 28), which includes the mountainous regions from southern New York through northern Alabama and Georgia. This joint venture is a partnership of many state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, and universities to conserve and restore habitats for bird species which are a high priority for the region. These scientists recommend doing this by creating a dynamic forest landscape – a mosaic of different forest stand age classes within one large contiguous forest block.