Sources: New Jersey Statutes Annotated, 1937; Titles 13 and 23; 1992 Cumulative Annual Pocket Part.
STATE WILDLIFE POLICY
The legislature finds and declares: The policy of this state is to manage all forms of wildlife to insure their continued participation in the ecosystem; that species or subspecies of wildlife indigenous to the state found to be endangered should be accorded special protection to maintain and if possible enhance their numbers; and the state should protect species or subspecies of wildlife endangered elsewhere by regulating the taking, possession, transportation, exportation, processing, sale or offer for sale or shipment within the state any species or subspecies on any Federal endangered species list (23:2A-2).
PROTECTED SPECIES OF WILDLIFE
The Commissioner has the power to adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations, controlling and prohibiting the taking, possession, transportation, exportation, sale or offer for sale or shipment of any nongame species of wildlife on the endangered species list; and is authorized to conduct periodic inspections to determine compliance with the regulations and to charge and collect fees to cover the costs of inspections. Such fees shall be devoted entirely and exclusively to carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act (23:2A through 23:2A-13). Except as provided in the act, no person shall take, possess, transport, export, process, sell or offer for sale, or ship, and no common or contract carrier shall knowingly transport or receive for shipment any species or subspecies of wildlife appearing on the lists of: wildlife determined to be endangered pursuant to the act; nongame species regulated pursuant to the act; a federal endangered species list. Wildlife appearing on the foregoing lists which enters and is transported across the state and destined for a point beyond the state may be entered and transported without restriction in accordance with the terms of any permit issued under the laws or regulations of another state or the US (23:2A-5 and :2A-6).
The Commissioner shall conduct wildlife investigations to develop information relating to populations, distribution, habitat needs, limiting factors and data to determine management measures and develop management programs for their continued ability to sustain themselves successfully. On the basis of such investigations and other data the Commissioner by regulation may promulgate a list of endangered species and subspecies indigenous to the state, shall review such list periodically, and by regulation may add or delete species and subspecies (23:2A-4). The Commissioner shall establish programs, including acquisition of land or aquatic habitats, for conservation and management of nongame and endangered species of wildlife, and may enter into agreements for the administration and management of any area utilized for management of nongame or endangered species of wildlife. With the approval of the Governor, the Commissioner may cooperate with and receive money for the "Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act" and may establish a separate fund from these contributions for the support of nongame and endangered species programs. The Commissioner may authorize the taking, possession, transportation, exportation or shipment of nongame species and wildlife which appear on the state list of endangered species for scientific, zoological or educational purposes, for propagation in captivity of such wildlife, or for other special purposes. The Commissioner shall appoint a committee of experts to advise and assist in carrying out the intent of the act. Said experts shall include persons actively involved in the conservation of wildlife (23:2A-7).
Except as provided by law, rule, or regulation or by the code, no person shall pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill, or have in possession, living or dead, a wild bird. Except pursuant to a Department permit for scientific, zoological, or educational purposes or to a licensed wild bird breeder for obtaining stock to increase genetic variety, no person shall offer for sale, sell, offer to barter, barter, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, export, import, transport or cause to be transported, carry or cause to be carried, or receive or cause to be received for shipment, transportation, carriage, or export, living or dead, any wild bird, unless the wild bird was produced from an egg of captive parents and hatched and raised in captivity. A wild bird that is not native to the state is not a defense to a violation. Any wild bird from without the state may be transported across the state with a federal permit or the permit of another state. These provisions do not apply to the cockatiel, budgerigar or common canary. Except as may be provided by law, rule or regulation or by the code, no part of plumage, skin or body of a wild bird shall be sold or possessed for sale. If a person violates any of these provisions, the Department may institute a civil action for injunctive relief to prohibit and prevent such violation. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day is an additional, separate, and distinct offense. Violation: a penalty of $200-100 for each offense; a penalty of $500 for each bird or part that is subject to the violation; forfeiture of any bird or part that is a subject of the violation. The Department may sell any wild bird or part forfeited pursuant to these provisions and the proceeds of such sale together with any penalties collected shall be deposited in a fund for use by the Department in administering and enforcing these provisions and the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act (23:4-50).
A provision to the contrary notwithstanding, no person shall capture, kill, injure or have in possession, living or dead, or attempt to capture, kill or injure, a wild or passenger pigeon. Violation: $250 for each offense (23:4-53). No person shall hunt for, pursue, capture, kill, possess, injure or destroy any female English or ring-necked pheasant under a penalty of $20 for each offense. These provisions do not apply to a licensee operating under the terms of 23:3- 28 to 23:3-39 (commercial licenses for propagating game, operating shooting preserves), or to any other person authorized by said licensee to shoot female pheasants (23:4-8).
No person shall sell, trap, take, capture, kill or possess a beaver, possess or sell a raw pelt of a beaver, whether caught within or without the state, unless it has been tagged by the fish and game warden of the county where such pelt is possessed or sale is to be made. No person shall set a trap within 20 feet of any beaver lodge or dam, except persons holding beaver permits, under penalty of $100 for each beaver. The Division may issue such permits to residents to trap beaver and the pelts may be sold if properly tagged under penalty of $100 for each offense. The Division may issue permits to owners or lessees of land, a portion of which is under cultivation, to kill beavers destroying property, but carcasses must be turned over to the Division (23:4-55).
HABITAT PROTECTION
"Conservation restriction" means an interest in land less than fee simple absolute, stated in the form of a right, restriction, easement, covenant, or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument, other than a lease, executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land, appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural, scenic or open and wooded condition, or for conservation of soil or wildlife, or for outdoor recreation or park, or as a suitable habitat for fish or wildlife, to forbid or limit construction; dumping; removal of vegetation; excavation; surface use except permitting the land or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition; activities detrimental to fish and wildlife habitat preservation; and other acts or uses detrimental to the retention of land or water areas. A conservation restriction may be acquired by gift, purchase or devise, and in the case of the state or other governmental entity, by condemnation. Such restrictions may be enforced in the same manner as other interests in land (13:8B-2 and :8B-3).
The Legislature finds and declares that freshwater wetlands provide essential breeding, spawning, nesting and wintering habitats for a major portion of the state's fish and wildlife, including migrating birds, endangered species, and commercially and recreationally important wildlife. The Legislature further finds and declares that the public benefits arising from the natural functions of freshwater wetlands, and the public harm from freshwater wetland losses, are distinct from and may exceed the private value of wetland areas. The Legislature therefore determines that where pressures for commercial and residential development define the pace and pattern of land use, it is in the public interest to establish a systematic review of activities in and around freshwater wetland areas designed to provide predictability in the protection of freshwater wetlands; that it shall be state policy to preserve the purity and integrity of freshwater wetlands from random, unnecessary or undesirable alteration or disturbance and that to achieve these goals it is important that the state assume freshwater wetlands permit jurisdiction (13:9B-2). [For details of the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," see 13:9B-1 through 13:9B-30].
The Legislature finds and declares that the pinelands area comprises pine-oak forests, cedar swamps, and extensive surface and ground water resources of high quality which provide a unique habitat for a wide diversity of rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species and that it is necessary to insure implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the pinelands area. The Legislature further finds and declares that the current pace of random and uncoordinated development and construction in the pinelands area poses an immediate threat to the resources, especially to the survival of rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species and habitat and it is necessary to impose certain limitations upon the approval of applications for development in such areas (13:18A-2). [For details of the "Pinelands Protection Act," see 13:18A-1 through 13:18A-49.]
No person shall put or place any petroleum products, debris, hazardous, deleterious, destructive, or poisonous substances of any kind, where it can find its way into fresh or tidal waters within state jurisdiction; provided that the use of chemicals by a governmental entity for mosquito or other pest control or the use of chemicals by a person on agricultural, horticultural, or forestry crops, or in connection with livestock, or aquatic weed control or structural pest and rodent control, in a manner approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, or discharges from sewage treatment facilities that conform to regulations, is not a violation. Unintentional dropping of scrap steel into state fresh or tidal waters during loading at ports is not a violation if the steel is removed when that area is next dredged. In case of pollution of fresh or tidal waters by any substance injurious to fish, birds or mammals, it shall not be necessary to show that the substances actually have caused the death of these organisms. Violation: a penalty of not more than $6,000 for each offense and each day is an additional, separate, and distinct offense. The Department may institute a civil action for injunctive relief to prohibit and prevent a person from violating these provisions (23:5-28).
No person shall shut off or draw off the waters of a pond, stream or lake or place a screen in a pond, lake or stream without Council permission. Violation: $100 for each offense. It is unlawful to construct a dam in state water which is a runway for migratory fish without installing a fish ladder or other contrivance to permit the fish to pass over the dam. Violation: $200 (23:5-29 and :5-29.1).
Lands acquired or controlled by the Division are refuges for all birds and animals whose pursuit or taking is regulated or prohibited under the provisions of Title 23. No person shall hunt, pursue, kill or take, or so attempt, within the limits of a game refuge, a bird or animal, the hunting for, kill or taking of which is prohibited by the code or by law. No person shall carry a shotgun or rifle within a game refuge unless authorized. Violation: $50 for each offense (23:8-9 through :8-11).
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New Mexico Center for Wildlife Law
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