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Wetlands Loss
Wetlands cover nearly 1 million acres of New Jersey (about 20% of its territory). Wetlands can consists of coastal, forested, emergent and other distinctive types. They are a vital ecological resource for water quality and habitat and are regulated by the NJ DEP. Wetlands are a vastly more stable land cover than forest or farmland largely due to their regulation. However, they nonetheless experienced a significant net acreage of wetlands loss statewide during the 2002- 2007 time period totaling 8,652 acres. To put this amount of wetlands loss into perspective, the New Jersey Hackensack Meadowlands has a total of 8,400 acres of wetlands. During the entire 21 year period of the study, the state experienced a net loss of 52,285 acres of wetlands.
The map viewer depicts wetlands throughout the state as a blue overlay. Wetlands are found throughout the state often in small patches associated with stream corridors. Wetlands can expand and diminish through time by both natural and human induced processes which is evident in the map animation through each time period. Since all changes are not necessarily due to urbanization, the final frame depicts in red wetlands loss specifically to urbanization over the entire 21 year study period.
The annualized loss rate has remained relatively consistent over the past two decades with a rate of 1,730 acres per year in T3 (’02 - ’07) compared to 1,842 acres in T2 (’95 – ‘02) and 1,755 acres in T1 (‘86- ‘95). However, the net acreage of wetlands loss masks some of the positive trends that have occurred in wetlands change during T3 compared to T2. Namely there has been a significant drop in rate of wetlands changing into urban classes, from 1,601 acres per year urbanized in T2 to 1,118 acres per year in T3, a 30% drop. So, while wetland losses continue, and are certainly of major concern, the fact that the conversion rates to urban land have dropped significantly is certainly a positive trend that shouldn’t be over looked.
It should also be noted that the wetlands maps were created from aerial photos, which although are fairly reliable, are not legal delineations. It’s possible that some areas depicted as wetlands that have become developed may not have been wetlands when surveyed on the ground.