Sparta Mountain debate continues

BY ERIKA NORTON
SPARTA - Environmental groups and residents concerned about the proposed Sparta Mountain plan aren’t backing down.
Even though the period to send comments to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ended almost two weeks ago, New Jersey Sierra Club Skylands Group Chair Susan Williams said that does not mean the movement to stop the plan is over.
“This is a much bigger issue,” Williams said, “and it's to the point where talking about trees and whose science is correct isn’t even relevant anymore. This has definitely moved to the political and legal policy regulations phase of the movement - that’s where the focus is going to be.”
The Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area Forest Stewardship Plan proposed by the NJDEP and the New Jersey Audubon Society calls for the creation of “young forest habitat” for the endangered Golden-winged warbler using “forest management techniques” including selective cutting. The plan encompasses land within the townships of Sparta, Ogdensburg, and Hardyston in Sussex County, and Jefferson Township in Morris County.
Both Sparta and Hardyston Townships submitted comments opposing the plan, while the Ogdensburg council ultimately decided not to submit a comment. After a special meeting with NJDEP officials on March 28, the council felt their concerns over how this plan would affect Heater’s Pond were addressed, according to Mayor Steve Ciasullo.
According to the NJDEP, they are “still reviewing the public comments and are planning to hold a public meeting after the review process is completed, likely in May.”
In defense of the plan, project manager Sharon Petzinger gave a presentation to a gathering of outdoor journalists on March 31 sponsored by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, stressing the small scale of the plan. About 200 acres will be managed over the 10-year timeframe proposed and only a small portion of those acres will be cut back to where a handful of trees remain, according to The New Jersey Herald.
The New Jersey Sierra Club Skylands Group is hosting its own public town hall meeting on the plan, called "Save Sparta Mountain,” with support from the Highlands Coalition and Friends of Sparta Mountain, a group created by a Sparta resident. The event will be at 7 p.m., April 21, at the Franklin firehouse, 137 Buckwheat Road. Panelists will include New Jersey Sierra Club President Jeff Tittle, Executive Director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition Julie Somers, former Urban Parks Project Manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation Dennis Miranda, and Sustainability and Energy Coordinator for Raritan Valley Community College Susan Dorward. More information can be found at savespartamountain.org.
“The forests and the cutting is the symptom of the real problem, which is Trenton telling local people how to live,” Williams said. “It’s really about “follow the money trail” and we’ve been doing that and it’s really interesting the things we’re finding out.”