NEW JERSEY – The Senate Environment and Energy Committee advanced legislation sponsored by its Chair and Vice-Chair, Senators Bob Smith and Linda Greenstein, which would require the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Department of Transportation to establish a “Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.”
According to the legislation, a wildlife corridor would mean a swath of land proximate to wildlife populations along which wildlife may move freely without risk of injury or death from motor vehicles or interference due to other man-made barriers.
“As the most densely populated state in the nation, New Jersey has a vast network of roads and highways, which often results in habitat fragmentation, where a species is cut off from the resources that they need to survive,” said Smith (D-Middlesex/Somerset). “This legislation will create a plan for wildlife to freely roam in search of food, water, or shelter, without endangering themselves or drivers by crossing roads.”
The Wildlife Corridor Action Plan would be required to:
- Identify wildlife corridors, wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots, and existing or planned barriers to wildlife movement along these corridors
- Prioritize projects that promote vehicle driver safety and wildlife connectivity
- Utilize current State databases and conservation strategies, such as the DEP’s “Connecting Habitats Across New Jersey” project (NJ CHANJ)
- Consider threats to wildlife corridors in planned transportation construction projects and incorporate strategies to mitigate these threats
- Coordinate action between relevant State and federal agencies to maximize effectiveness of wildlife corridors
“Between October and December 2018, 5,271 motor vehicle collisions in New Jersey were caused by deer crossings. In 2019, four individuals died from such collisions,” said Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “This bill will have a real impact on the safety of drivers by significantly lowering the rate of animal collisions in the State.”
While much of the danger to motorists arises from deer-vehicle collisions, other wildlife are still heavily impacted by road crossings. For example, New Jersey’s State reptile, the bog turtle, is listed as endangered by the DEP, in large part because of restricted and declining habitats. The DEP notes that turtles are particularly negatively impacted by road crossings.
The bill was advanced in a 5-0 vote.
