HARDYSTON -- Forestry work in two areas of the Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area could begin in two weeks, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

HARDYSTON -- Forestry work in two areas of the Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area could begin in two weeks, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The notice said work "will begin on or about Feb. 14, 2018, and end prior to April 1, 2018," but also noted work could resume after Nov. 15.

The April 1-Nov. 15 timeframes coincide with state regulations that ban all but the smallest forestry work in the spring, summer and early fall because of breeding habits and summer habitat for several endangered species, such as birds and bats.

The two Sparta Mountain WMA areas slated for forestry work are Stand 18, where about 18.5 acres of work will be done, and Stand 33, with about 17 acres of work.

Stand 33 will be the most visible of the two stands since it abuts Route 23 in the northeastern corner of the wildlife management area. But the work is aimed at leaving the entire acreage to become "old growth," and to protect the several species of rare and endangered plants known to be growing along the ridges. The full stand is 103 acres.

The "treatment" will be to selectively take out either single trees or small groups to "mimic gap-phase replacement," according to the final forestry plan for the wildlife management area.

Gap-phase is an attempt to mimic the smaller openings created by natural events such as wildfires or blow-downs from storms. It also creates an area that has a good representation of all ages of trees.

Stand 18 encompasses 250 acres on both sides of the power-line right-of-way. The immediate work will be in the area to the north of the power-line and away from the wetlands that drain into Ryker Lake.

This work will be more extensive, going down to "seed tree" level in which most trees are taken down, leaving scattered trees meant to provide seeds for future growth.

Part of the issue with the entire 3,461 acres of the wildlife management area is that most of the trees are of the same age, producing a forest that cannot sustain itself.

Greg Gorman, who chairs the Skylands Chapter of the Sierra Club, which had fought against the forestry plan as drafted, said he doesn't see an immediate problem with the announced plans for Stand 33, but expressed concerns about any work on Stand 18.

"There is the concern for vernal pools," he said, noting that taking out a large amount of trees can result in warming of the ground, and therefore the water that feeds the vernal pools.

"And we also have concerns about erosion," he said. "You take out too many trees, you can get washouts."

The overall forestry plan includes many areas that are known as the "young forest initiative," which creates early successional forest patches that provide the habitat for birds and small mammals, such as shrubs and small trees that don't exist in older forests where tall trees shade out that type of growth.

The updated forestry plan for the Sparta Mountain WMA, released in late December 2015, touched off a long dispute over what was the state's intent for the land, owned by the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

And earlier plan had been in place for the wildlife management area and the December plan was meant to be an update with a 10-year life until the next update.

One side in the dispute accused the state of setting up commercial logging operations, intent on "clear-cutting" the forest, while other sides claimed that creating habitat under the "young forest initiative" was too little and too late to save some of the endangered species, such as the golden-winged warbler, which, the argument went, had already left the area for more suitable habitat.

What usually is a three- to six-month process was not completed until March 2017, when the final plan was approved by department heads within the Department of Environmental Protection.

The state will have the work done either by trained volunteers or through contracts with qualified timbering operators.

The full plan can be viewed at: www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/sparta/index.html.