(b) An
application for a Habitat Suitability Determination shall include:
1. A letter from the Department's Natural
Heritage Program issued within six months of the date of application, stating
if any threatened or endangered animals listed in the Natural Heritage database
exist on or near the site. Information and forms relating to the Natural
Heritage Program may be found on the Division of Parks and Forestry web page at
www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage
or obtained from the Office of Natural Lands Management, Natural Heritage
Program at:
Division of Parks and Forestry
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
P.O. Box 404
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0404
Phone: (609) 984-1339
Fax: (609) 984-1427
2. A description of the habitat requirements
for each species identified in the Natural Heritage Program letter, including
citations to appropriate literature and studies;
3. Three copies of a description of the
parcel, including, but not limited to:
i.
Vegetation, elevation, slope and aspect, and a description of any important
topographic features such as cliffs, bluffs and sinkholes on or within 0.25
miles of the boundary of the site;
ii. The geology of the site as described in
the most current USGS bedrock geologic maps, a description of bedrock and
surficial deposits, and the location and description of any important geologic
features such as talus and caves within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the
site;
iii. The soil types on the
site as most currently classified and mapped by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) Natural Resources Conservation Service and the location
and description of any important soil features present within 0.25 miles of the
boundary of the site;
iv. The
location and a description of all hydrologic features on the site such as
rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, seeps, vernal pools and waterfalls, as
well as those located within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the
site;
v. The location and a
description of all evidence of natural or man-made disturbance both on the site
and within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the site;
vi. The location and a description of all
upland, wetland, and aquatic ecological vegetative communities on the site,
based on quantitative data collected during the optimal time(s) of the year
using appropriate, scientifically accepted terms of description and analysis
techniques. Guidance with regard to appropriate classification systems and
techniques may be found in Guidelines for Describing Associations and Alliances
of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification by Jennings et al. (2003), The
Ecological Society of America -- Vegetation Classification Panel, available at:
www.vegbank.org/vegdocs/panel/NVC_guidelines_v3.pdf;
Ecological Systems of the United States: A Working Classification of U.S.
Terrestrial System by Comer et al. (2003), NatureServe, available at:
www.natureserve.org/library/usEcologicalsystems.pdf;
and Classification of Vegetation Communities of New Jersey: Second Iteration by
Breden et al. (2001), Association for Biodiversity Information and New Jersey
Natural Heritage Program, available at:
http://njedl.rutgers.edu/ftp/PDFs/1980.pdf.
For each ecological community identified on the site, the evaluation shall
include physiognomy, species composition with a list of the most abundant plant
species by strata (canopy tree, subcanopy tree, shrub, vine, herbaceous,
bryophyte), a description of successional stage, slope degrees and aspect,
geologic substrate (as indicated in the most recent USGS bedrock geologic
maps), soil texture and pH (as indicated in the most recent Soil Survey and
verified by field sampling), depth to water table (as indicated in the most
recent Soil Surveys), and hydrologic influences;
vii. A map showing the location and
composition of ecological communities on the site and the location of important
topographical, geological and hydrological features identified in (b)3iv
above;
viii. The results of
threatened or endangered animal species surveys for the purpose of
supplementing scientific data regarding the suitability of a particular habitat
for a particular species that were conducted in consultation with the
Department and in accordance with all Federal and State laws and regulations,
including for each species surveyed: the survey method, the surveyor's name(s),
dates and times surveys were performed, number of samples, and number of
replications;
ix. The names,
addresses and professional qualifications of all persons who performed habitat
evaluations, and/or species surveys relied upon to support the application for
the Habitat Suitability Determination;
x. A copy of any other relevant animal survey
or report to which the applicant or their agent has access; and
xi. Any other information relevant to
assessing the suitability of habitat on the site for any threatened or
endangered animal species.
