|
Endangered Plant Species List
 In 1989, the Endangered
Plant Species List Act was enacted. The act directed
the Division of Parks
and Forestry to create the State’s first
official list of plant species endangered in New
Jersey. One reason for creation of the list was
to more effectively and efficiently incorporate
the preservation of New Jersey’s natural
diversity into government planning functions. Endangered
plants were defined in the act as native species
whose survival in the State or nation is in jeopardy,
including plant species listed, proposed or under
review by the federal government as endangered
or threatened in the United States, any additional
species known or believed to be rare throughout
its worldwide range, and any species having five
or fewer extant populations within the State.
In 1991 the Endangered Plant Species List was first
adopted through rulemaking. Since then, the list has been periodically
updated based on new information in the Department’s Natural
Heritage Database. Although the list itself and the rule of which
it is part do not provide any protection for officially listed species,
several regulatory agencies in DEP responsible for protecting plant
habitat have incorporated the Endangered Plant Species List into
their criteria for review of permits. The list of Special
Plants of New Jersey contains all 356 native New Jersey plant
species on the Endangered Plant Species List, as well as information
on all other plants currently tracked by the Natural Heritage Database.
Endangered Plant Species Research and Management
 In
1986, the ONLM signed a cooperative agreement with the Department
of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, which directs the ONLM
to perform research and conduct management on globally endangered
plant species of New Jersey. As a result of this agreement, the
ONLM has received approximately $300,000 in federally matching funds
from the Service, primarily through the provisions of the federal
Endangered Species Act. These funds have been used to conduct field
surveys, prepare management plans, monitor populations, and perform
management of critical populations and their habitats. One on-going
project funded through our Section 6 cooperative agreement is annual
monitoring and management of the State’s last surviving population
of the state and federally endangered American chaffseed (Schwalbea
americana), located on a precarious roadside in Brendan T.
Byrne State Forest. New Jersey’s population of S. americana
is now the only population north of North Carolina. Another plant
that has recently received considerable attention is the state endangered
and federally threatened sea-beach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus).
This species occupies the specialized and dynamic habitat of open
sandy beach between the high tide line and the toe of the primary
dune, and recently reappeared in NJ after almost a century of absence.
The List of ONLM
Publications includes many of the reports resulting from this
federally supported research and management program. Contact the
ONLM to inquire about publications that interest you.
|
