Ecosystem Management Technical Report
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Ecosystem Management 2008 Prepared by State of New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Technical Council in Support of the Highlands Regional Master Plan Report HIGHLANDS REGIONAL MASTER PLAN HIGHLANDS WATER PROTECTION AND PLANNING COUNCIL John R. Weingart | Chairman Kurt Alstede Deborah Pasquarelli Jack Schrier | Vice Chairman Elizabeth Calabrese Erik Peterson William Cogger | Treasurer Tracy C. Carluccio Glen Vetrano Timothy Dillingham Tahesha Way Janice Kovach Scott Whitenack Mimi Letts HIGHLANDS COUNCIL STAFF Eileen Swan | Executive Director Thomas A. Borden | Deputy Executive Director and Chief Counsel Daniel J. Van Abs | Senior Director of Planning and Science Roger Keren | Director of Geographic Information Systems SCIENCE STAFF PLANNING STAFF Christine M. Ross | Sr. Resource Management Specialist Christine M. Danis | Principal Planner James Hutzelmann | Water Resource Engineer Judith A. Thornton | Principal Planner Erin C. Lynam | Resource Management Specialist Maryjude Haddock-Weiler | Regional Planner ASSISTING SCIENCE UNIT Megan I. Lang | Regional Planner Casey Ezyske Erika Webb | Regional Planner Charles Perry ASSISTING PLANNING UNIT Megan Saunders GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS STAFF LEGAL STAFF Carl B. Figueiredo | GIS Specialist Jeffrey P. LeJava | TDR Program Administrator Nathan McLean | GIS Specialist and Staff Attorney Matthew Vitullo | GIS Specialist Kim Ball Kaiser | Staff Attorney ASSISTING GIS UNIT Jennifer Reed OPERATIONS STAFF Paula M. Dees | Executive Assistant Ranji H. Persaud | Manager of Human Resources/Office Sabina Martine | Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Carlson | Information Systems Coordinator Craig Garretson | Manager of Communications Laura Forrest | Administrative Assistant Matthew J. Curtis | Manager of Information Systems Jane Rivers | Administrative Assistant Lindsey Interlante | Manager of Grants Administration Cindy Tonczos | Receptionist PLAN CONSULTANT Charles L. Siemon, Esq. | Siemon and Larsen, P.A. Highlands Ecosystem Management Technical Report CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 1 HIGHLANDS OPEN WATERS AND RIPARIAN AREAS ............................................................................... 1 STEEP SLOPES ............................................................................................................................................... 3 FOREST RESOURCES ..................................................................................................................................... 3 CRITICAL HABITAT ....................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 6 HIGHLANDS ACT REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 7 HIGHLANDS OPEN WATERS .................................................................................................. 10 INVENTORY OF HIGHLANDS OPEN WATERS ......................................................................................... 13 ESTABLISHING PROTECTION AREAS REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGHLANDS OPEN WATERS ................ 17 ASSIGNING WATERSHED VALUE CLASSES .............................................................................................. 17 ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR EVALUATING STREAM INTEGRITY ..................................................... 20 RIPARIAN AREAS ....................................................................................................................... 23 IDENTIFICATION OF RIPARIAN AREAS .................................................................................................... 24 EVALUATING RIPARIAN AREA INTEGRITY ............................................................................................. 27 STEEP SLOPE PROTECTION .................................................................................................. 33 FOREST INTEGRITY AND SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY PRACTICES ............................... 36 DOMINANT FOREST TYPES IN THE HIGHLANDS REGION ................................................................... 36 UNUSUAL FOREST TYPES WITHIN THE HIGHLANDS REGION ............................................................. 37 ROLE OF FORESTS IN PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................... 37 ROLE OF FOREST INTEGRITY IN PROTECTING WATER QUALITY ....................................................... 38 EFFECTS OF FOREST FRAGMENTATION .................................................................................................. 39 FOREST INTEGRITY METRICS ................................................................................................................... 40 FOREST RESOURCE AREA .......................................................................................................................... 46 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ................................................................................ 46 Existing Forestry Practices ................................................................................................................ 46 Sustainable Forest Management Practices Data and Policy Gaps .............................................. 48 Benefits of Urban and Community Forestry Planning ................................................................. 50 Funding Assistance ............................................................................................................................. 52 CRITICAL HABITAT AREAS ..................................................................................................... 52 NJDEP LANDSCAPE PROJECT .................................................................................................................. 52 CRITICAL WILDLIFE HABITAT .................................................................................................................. 54 SIGNIFICANT NATURAL AREAS ................................................................................................................ 54 VERNAL POOLS ........................................................................................................................................... 58 WATER/WETLAND DEPENDENT SPECIES HABITAT ............................................................................ 63 SUPPORTING INFORMATION ................................................................................................ 68 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 69 GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................................................... 72 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................... 75 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................... 82 i Highlands Ecosystem Management Technical Report TABLES Data Value Breaks and Value Classes for each Watershed Indicator .................................................................. 19 Highlands Watershed Resource Value Classes ........................................................................................................ 20 Hydric Soil Series within the Highlands Region ...................................................................................................... 26 Alluvial Soil Series within the Highlands Region .................................................................................................... 26 Data Value Breaks and Value Classes for each Riparian Integrity Indicator ...................................................... 30 Highlands Riparian Integrity Value Classes by HUC14 ......................................................................................... 31 Acreage of Steep Slope Protection Areas in Undeveloped and Developed Lands ............................................ 34 Forest Inventory and Analysis Data for New Jersey Highlands Counties .......................................................... 37 Acreage of Core vs. Edge Forest for the New Jersey Highlands Region ............................................................ 42 Area Statistics for Distance to Edge for all Forest Areas in the New Jersey Highlands Region ..................... 42 Patch Size Distribution and Core Forest Area ........................................................................................................ 44 Acreage and Percent of Total and Core Forest Cover within 3-sqkm Search Area ......................................... 44 Community Forestry Planning Status in the Highlands Region ........................................................................... 51 Critical Wildlife Habitat in the Highlands Region ................................................................................................. 54 Core Terrestrial Habitat for Amphibians and Reptiles .......................................................................................... 59 New Jersey’s Vernal Pool-breeding Amphibians ...................................................................................................