Healthy Forest Initiatives

Strike Team Receives Three-Year Grant to Support the Garden State’s Forest Action Plan

New Jersey’s Forest Action Plan guides landowners, conservation groups, industry and federal partners in their work to preserve, manage and protect the state’s forests. The U.S Forest Service awarded our Strike Team a three year grant (Autumn, 2013 through Autumn, 2016) to address three priorities in New Jersey’s Forest Action Plan:

  • Conservation of Biological Diversity: New Jersey’s Natural Heritage Database identifies the highest quality areas for natural diversity and those most in need of protection. We are identifying areas that are of greatest natural significance and developing partnerships with land managers within those priority areas and helping them initiate Early Detection and Rapid Response (ED/RR) work in these areas.
  • Maintenance of Forest Health and Vitality: Invasive species are cited as Damage Causing Agents, noting that while statewide eradication is impossible, site specific removal is possible. We are using our database to assist land managers in completing ED/RR activities.
  • Maintenance and Enhancement of Long-term Multiple Socio-economic Benefits to Meet the Needs of Society: New Jersey’s Cooperative Forest Health Monitoring program aims to provide timely assessments of damage causing agents and offer advice for ecological services to state and private forest owners and managers. Through our database, field work and public outreach, our project is contributing to public and private investments in forest health, management and research.
Priority Forest Areas for Early Detection/Rapid Response Work

Resources:

Priority Forest Focal Areas Report
This document identifies the forested areas our Strike Team identified as priority areas for ED/RR work

Restoration and Resilience in New Jersey’s Forests
This document focuses attention on potential pathways to increasing forest resilience in the face of climate change

Mid-Atlantic Forest Health Summary for 2013
This document summarizes information about forest health issues across the Mid-Atlantic Region

2013 Forest Health Highlights for New Jersey
This document features a synopsis of forest pest issues within our State’s forests