Regional Conservation Planning in New
Jersey
Raritan Piedmont Wildlife Habitat
Partnership Underway
With seed money from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,
NJAS has co-founded the Raritan Piedmont Wildlife Habitat
Partnership. The project will focus on the protection and
management of critical wildlife habitats within three closely
associated landscape regions in central New Jersey. The first
phase of this project will concentrate on grassland habitats in
these three regions since, historically, they have included some
of the largest grassland areas in New Jersey and have supported
breeding populations of each of the State's threatened and
endangered grassland birds. Duke Farms lies at the center of the
first region. The second region is 6-Mile Run State Park in
Franklin Township. The third region lies mostly within East
Amwell in western Hunterdon County. NJAS wrote the conservation
plan for the project and is currently working with a broad
coalition of partners that includes the New Jersey Conservation
Foundation, Conservation Resources, D & R Greenway, Duke Farms,
and the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program to
implement the conservation plan. To download and view the
Grassland Conservation Plan in PDF format, click on the
following links:
Final Plan
Appendix A
Appendix B (large
file - 14 MB)
Appendix C
Appendix D
Maps (large file - 28
MB)
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New Jersey Habitat Incentive Team (NJHIT) In 2005, NJAS cofounded the New Jersey Habitat Incentive Team
(NJHIT) along with the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife,
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. A $100,000 grant coauthored by NJAS from
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided critical
start-up money to kick off this project. The goal of NJHIT is
to implement a proactive approach to habitat creation in
targeted landscapes in the state by directly contacting and
working with landowners, especially farmers. While NJHIT
emphasizes grassland and early successional habitats, other
habitats, including wetlands and forests, will also be
targeted. As a first step in the process, NJHIT identified and
mapped and ranked the largest and most significant patches of
grassland habitat throughout New Jersey. With the analysis in
hand, NJHIT can focus habitat protection and restoration efforts
in key areas around the state.
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Conservation of Important Bird Areas (IBA)
The
Important Bird and Birding Areas (IBBA) Program has moved into
the conservation planning phase. We are focusing on three high
priority Important Bird Areas (IBA) in south NJ: Mannington
Meadows, Cohansey River Corridor, and Pinelands IBAs.
To jump start our outreach initiatives, NJAS held workshops
for private landowners and interested citizens to learn about
incentive programs that make soil and water conservation as well
as wildlife habitat improvement very rewarding. Programs
included the NJ Department of Environmental Protection's
Landowner Incentive Program (LIP), the US Fish and Wildlife
Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, NJ Audubon
Society's Backyard Wildlife Program, the Farm Services Agency's
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), the Natural
Resource Conservation Service's Wetland Reserve Program (WRP)
and Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), and the South
Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council's Team
Habitat Initiative. Over 300 landowners have received
information about these programs; and, thus far, 1,200 acres
have been proposed for enrollment into one or more conservation
programs. Contacts continue to be made as landowners learn about
programs and refer friends and neighbors to the IBBA
Conservation Planner for help in enrolling in incentive
programs. If you would like to learn more about incentive
programs that are available to farmers and landowners, click
here.
Want to stay informed of all the IBBA outreach events?
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