NJ Environmental Agency Destroyed Protected Animal Habitat To Create Another One. Now It Has To Fine Itself.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is charging itself with violating environmental laws.

The NJ DEP’s Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement cited the Division of Fish and Wildlife for illegally clearing 15 acres of protected wetlands. The Division of Fish and Wildlife intended to use the land to build a habitat for a species of bird, but in doing so, destroyed protected lands intended to protect two other species. Environmental groups complained, and the DEP agreed and charged itself.

According to the DEP website, the Division of Fish and Wildlife was in the process of clearing 21 acres of land to build a “meadow habitat” for the American woodcock, a bird in the sandpiper family that is in decline on the eastern seaboard because its meadow and scrub habitats have grown into full forests.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the situation began on March 6, when environmental groups in the state sent a letter to the DEP protesting the land clearing in the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in Gloucester County in South Jersey. “‘Creation and management’ is a gross mischaracterization of the unlawful environmental damage that has occurred at this site: the wetland soil and flora that were previously undisturbed have been destroyed, and the mature forest that was already habitat for numerous rare species of plants and birds was clear-cut logged,” the groups wrote.

“At the present time, NJDEP has cleared the entire area,” they added. “All trees have been cut, and all stumps bulldozed. The wetlands and uplands have been made nearly indistinguishable, and the landscape is in the process of being leveled using land graders and earth movers. All natural resources – plants, animals, soils and surface geology – have been altered, removed or exterminated.”

The DEP responded to the letter by suspending the project on March 10. The Bureau of Coastal and Land Use later determined that the project had destroyed mature oak and pine forests in and near protected wetlands, and filled in some others. Some three acres of the cleared land had damaged habitat for two other bird species: the barred owl, which is threatened, and the red-shouldered hawk, which is endangered. Another 12 acres of freshwater wetland transition areas, which are also protected lands, were cleared of vegetation and soil.

A DEP spokesman told the Inquirer that it issued a letter of violation on April 6 “for unauthorized regulated activity.” By the end of the month, it would issue a penalty assessment. The notice includes a threat of penalties, but it is unclear exactly how the DEP fining itself would work. Under the conditions of the violation, the Division of Fish and Wildlife must submit a plan to restore the affected areas within 30 days, and open the process to the public. It must also propose additional environmentally beneficial measures.

The environmental miscue comes as New Jersey is dealing with a potential environmental disaster. In recent weeks, at least 13 whales have washed up on the shores of New Jersey, along with at least 25 dolphins. Additionally, a few porpoises have washed up on the Jersey Shore beaches, The Daily Wire reported.

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The deaths of the aquatic mammals coincide with prep work for several offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean, including three in New Jersey. Critics argue that the work, including sonar and seabed rock sampling, are responsible for the deaths. But Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has called their claims “disinformation” and said he would proceed with the projects. Federal authorities have also dismissed them.

Jim Jordan Calls Pence, DeSantis ‘Great Guys,’ But He Is ‘100% For President Trump’ In 2024

Ohio Republican and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan confirmed his support for former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election.

Jordan told Fox News on Friday that former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who are both expected to announce a presidential bid soon, are “great guy[s],” but Trump has his full support going into the GOP presidential primary. The House Republican’s comments come as the GOP primary heats up and two weeks after Trump was charged with 34 felony counts for his alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

“I just talked to Vice President [Mike] Pence. Great guy … Governor DeSantis, a great guy. When we formed the Freedom Caucus, there were nine of us. He was one of the nine. But I am 100% for President Trump,” Jordan said.

Jordan said that he supports Trump because, during his four years in Washington, D.C., he proved he will stick to his promises.

“No one has demonstrated that they will do what they said and get things done like he did, and he did it with everyone in that town against him,” he said. “And that’s what I still respect about President Trump, and I’m for him all the way.”

Jordan has stood by the former president as Trump faces his criminal trial in Manhattan, launching an inquiry into the unprecedented investigation of an ex-president. Last week, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz, who has pursued criminal charges against Trump. Pomerantz abruptly resigned along with one other prosecutor leading the Trump inquiry in February of last year after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg reportedly expressed doubts about the case he inherited from his predecessor.

Pomerantz’s public statements about the investigation “strongly suggest that Bragg’s prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated,” according to Jordan.

Bragg sued Jordan earlier this week, seeking to block congressional subpoenas linked to the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation of Trump and accusing Jordan of “obstruction and interference.”

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Trump, who consistently leads polls for the GOP nomination by double digits, now adds Jordan’s name to a growing list of Republicans who have publicly come out in support of him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Six senators and at least 40 House members, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) have all endorsed or expressed that they are behind Trump for 2024.

Trump is currently up against three other declared Republican candidates. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have all announced their campaigns for the White House. DeSantis and Pence, along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), are widely expected to jump into the race in the coming weeks or months.

Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

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