N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-7.26

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:13-7.26 - Permit-by-rule 26-forest management activities

(a) Permit-by-rule 26 authorizes the forest management activities identified at (b) below, provided they are conducted in accordance with a forest management plan that has been approved by the New Jersey State Forester or designee before the activities are undertaken. Information and guidance related to forest management activities in flood hazard areas and riparian zones are provided in the document entitled, "New Jersey Forestry and Wetlands Best Management Practices Manual," dated October 1995, which is available at https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/nj_bmp_manual1995.pdf.

(b) This permit-by-rule authorizes the following forest management activities, provided the conditions at N.J.A.C. 7:13-6.7 are met:

1. Silvicultural prescriptions, including planting trees and other vegetation, provided no grading or changes in topography occur in a fluvial flood hazard area;

2. Harvest of trees and other vegetation cultivated as forest products, provided:

i. Any clearing, cutting, and/or removal of riparian zone vegetation is limited to the area specified in the forest management plan; and

ii. Regeneration of the harvested area with vegetation, which is determined by the State Forester to be of equal or greater ecological function and value as the vegetation that was cleared, cut, and/or removed, is accomplished through replanting, natural regeneration, or a combination thereof;

3. Construction and maintenance of a fence to exclude deer and/or control other unwanted intrusions, provided:

i. The fence is not constructed within any channel; and

ii. Any fence located in a floodway has sufficiently large openings so as not to catch debris during a flood and thereby obstruct floodwaters, such as a barbed-wire, split-rail, or strand fence. A fence with little or no open area, such as a chain link, lattice, or picket fence, does not meet this requirement; and

4. Construction and maintenance of a temporary forest road, provided:

i. The sole purpose of the road is to support or provide access for forestry activities;

ii. The road is no greater than 14 feet wide;

iii. No grading or changes in topography occur in a fluvial flood hazard area, except where unavoidable to accommodate the installation of a crossing of a regulated water. In such a case, grading and changes in topography shall be the minimum necessary to install the crossing;

iv. Any clearing, cutting, and/or removal of riparian zone vegetation and disturbance to channels is kept to the minimum necessary to successfully implement the project;

v. Temporary mats are used where feasible to minimize potential erosion and adverse impacts to riparian zone vegetation; and

vi. Any crossing of a regulated water is:

(1) Located as far downstream of the upstream property boundary of the site as feasible;

(2) Designed to not increase the frequency or depth of offsite flooding during any flood event described in N.J.A.C. 7:13-12.1(i); and

(3) Accomplished through the placement of a temporary span across the channel in a stable location, without disturbance to the channel. Where placement of a temporary span is not feasible, the placement of one or more pre-case culverts in channel, without permanent footings or abutments is acceptable. In such a case, stable material may be placed above the culvert to establish a level roadway surface, but the roadway shall not be paved; and

vii. The road is removed and all disturbed areas are restored to their pre-construction condition within six months of the construction of the roadway, or within 30 days of either of the following, whichever occurs first:

(1) The land use of the site being accessed by the road changes from forestry to another use; or

(2) The Department determines that the management activity at the site is not in compliance with the approved forest management plan.

(c) The removal of tree stumps is not authorized under this permit-by-rule.

(d) No clear-cutting of trees shall be undertaken in a riparian zone unless it is unavoidably necessary as part of a silviculture prescription for:

1. Atlantic white-cedar restoration. Information and guidance related to Atlantic white-cedar restoration are provided in the document entitled "Atlantic White-Cedar: Ecology and Best Management Practices Manual," by K. A. Mylecraine and G. L. Zimmermann, dated 2000, which is available from the Department at: https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/njfs_awc_bmps.html, unless the State Forester provides written approval authorizing modification of a practice in the manual where necessary to ensure the success of a given project;

2. Regeneration, where either of the following conditions creates the need for salvage and regrowth of trees and other vegetation, and the site would likely not naturally reestablish a healthy native ecosystem and therefore requires human intervention for proper and timely regeneration:

i. A forest stand is in decline or fragmenting; or

ii. Trees and other vegetation have been damaged by wildfire, storms, flooding, beaver activity, or other damage-causing factors; or

3. Sanitation, suppression, or salvage, where trees have experienced insect damage, disease outbreaks and/or death from drought or other conditions. This includes a situation where immediate suppression is necessary to remove the infested and/or infected host species, as well as the trees and vegetation in a surrounding buffer area, to prevent the adverse spread of the damage causing agent and reduce the corresponding potential future mortality in adjacent forest.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-7.26

Administrative change.
See: 51 N.J.R. 1193(a).