Endangered Indiana Bat

The Indiana bat is a federally listed endangered species. They are one of our native bats which greatly suffered with the introduction of deadly white nose syndrome to North America. Their numbers have continued to decline, losing half their population since being listed as endangered.

Although white nose may be the leading threat, ecologists have warned that loss of habitat threatens their ability to maintain existing population numbers.

During the summer, female bats find openings in old trees near wetlands, and each raise a single pup. The area to be clearcut falls squarely within the known breeding range. No replanting effort can replace this habitat because they would need to be planted in highly specific ecosystems, and the trees would take dozens of years to reach maturity.

The developers admit that the bat environment will be lost, and their mitigation strategy is to potentially wait until outside the breeding season to destroy the habitat. This is unacceptable. We cannot allow our endangered species to be traded away without a fight.

Paving wildflower meadows

Directly under the footprint of the new buildings lie numerous wildflowers including but not limited to Dogbane, Ironweed, Goldenrod, and Mountain mint. Aside from their beauty, these species are critical for supporting our native ecosystems and are considered keystone species in our area. They are also known to be incredible pollinator plants.

NPR has reported that climate change demands that we expand our use of native plants, but we don’t have enough seeds to support replanting efforts. Each lostt of these wild occurring plants and their corresponding high-quality genetics is a massive blow to our climate resilience efforts.

We must protect our native wildflowers! Watch the video below to learn more about the role of native plants in our ecosystems

Removal of Century old Trees

The onsite woodlot to be clear-cut contains mature native trees that may be over a century old. There is no way to replace these trees with replanting efforts - the only thing that makes an old tree is time.

If this development goes through, we will lose these elder trees, and the complex web of life they support. We cannot allow the backbone of our ecosystem to be cut down for a construction project.

Degrading Habitat Connectivity

The CHANJ (Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey) project has identified the area to be impacted by construction as a critical north-south pathway between high-quality habitats.

This small open path running along the construction area is one of only two links between the Troy Meadowlands, South Mountain Reservation, Central Valley Wetlands, The Great Swamp, Watchung Reservation, and Passaic River County Park.

Without these habitat connections, our biodiversity would collapse due to lack of space, and we would lose critical climate resilience as species migrate - influencing both the local and broader ecological health.

According to the CHANJ guidance document, this area warrants protection due to it: