The Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area Forest Stewardship Plan was developed by New Jersey Audubon, in partnership with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, but is being strongly opposed by groups like the Highlands Coalition and the Sierra Club. Since 2011, New Jersey Audubon has conducted successful forest stewardship projects at Sparta Mountain.

Advocates and elected officials cheered news on Thursday that the state will not pursue developments in Liberty State Park in Jersey City. During testimony in front of the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Bob Martin, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, said he had no intention of pursuing the controversial proposals.

The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection is presently proposing to scrap and replace important rules that protect and create public access to the State’s tidal waterways, including the Jersey Shore, the Hudson River and other urban waters. The new rule proposal— the (No) Public Access Rule—threatens to drastically reduce the public’s right to view, use and enjoy the State’s rivers, bays and coast for fishing, surfing, bathing, diving and all other water dependent recreational activities. This Fact Sheet is one in a series of Fact Sheets detailing why DEP’s proposal must be stopped.