Did Murphy DEP Abandon Plans To Delist Bald Eagle? Or Is NJ Conservation Foundation Corrupt?
NJCF Article Ignores The Bald Eagle Delisting Issue
Should I Declare Victory Or Denounce NJCF?
[Update: We have a quick response from Alison Mitchell of NJCF:
I wasn’t aware of this – thanks for letting me know.
That’s her full response. No regrets for getting played by DEP PR scheme. Wow. ~~~ end update]
Just 6 days ago (Feb. 20), based on a quote from DEP buried in what appeared to be a NJ Spotlight cover story, we warned that DEP was planning to delist the bald eagle from the DEP’s endangered species program, and urged people to get the word out and nip this bad idea in the bud, see:
So, I was shocked to read a February 15 piece by Alison Mitchell of NJ Conservation Foundation (NJCF) this morning that did exactly the opposite.
NJCF touted bald eagle recovery, but failed to mention anything about DEP’s delisting plans, see:
So, logically, this egregious omission of DEP’s delisting plans could mean only one of 2 things:
1. NJCF is running cover for the DEP delisting plan by laying the same “good news” on recovery groundwork as NJ Spotlight did, to justify the DEP’s delisting.
There are two possible variants of this option:
a) they could be running this cover intentionally, (this total corruption is unlikely); or
b) they could be unaware of the DEP delisting plans and are being used by DEP to provide cover for it (this less corrupt option is likely).
OR
2. NJCF somehow knows that DEP has abandoned the delisting plan.
This is unlikely given the timing, i.e. NJCF published on February 15, five days before the delisting plans were first reported by NJ Spotlight.
I sent Alison Mitchell, NJCF Co-Director and author of the piece an email to ask her why she failed to report the DEP delisting plans and if she somehow knows that DEP abandoned it.
We’ll let you know if she replies (doubtful) and what she had to say.
I urge readers to reach out to Alison and ask the same question – here: alison@njconservation.org