TEST. Our communities are home to both humans and wildlife. Extensive development such as that found in New Jersey not only impacts natural habitat but also brings people into close and frequent contact with wildlife that share our environment. Conflicts can arise when communities experience nuisances, health risks, or economic damage related to wildlife activities. Community leaders can promote coexistence and improve environmental stewardship by creating a Wildlife Interaction Plan. 

The Wildlife Interaction Plan enables municipalities to develop and implement practical community-based approaches for fostering positive human-wildlife interactions and resolving wildlife conflicts with specific species. While the species and issues addressed by the Plan will vary by municipality, all solutions should seek to balance community members’ needs. The goal is to reduce problems resulting from human-wildlife interaction to a manageable and acceptable level and to ensure that indigenous species can continue to thrive within the community. 

This action provides the tools for a municipality to articulate an implementable plan for mitigating human-wildlife conflict using approaches that are: 

• Appropriate to the geographical context of the community (rural, suburban, urban) 

• Science-based 

• Legal (reflect existing regulations) 

• Safe for both people and the environment 

• Effective in the long term 

• Humane (minimize suffering) 

• Consultative 

• Reflecting the values of the community 

The development of a Wildlife Interaction Plan must contain clearly defined goals, objectives, and methods of evaluation to demonstrate that successful implementation is measurable. It must also involve relevant stakeholder groups. 

Why is it important? 

This action promotes community well-being and the preservation of New Jersey’s wildlife heritage. Improving human-wildlife interactions can provide valuable savings of community resources, a reduction in human-animal and human-human conflicts, elevated civic pride, improved human and animal health, preservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity, and new social and recreational opportunities.

Because issues surrounding wildlife in the community often involve conflicting values among stakeholders, any lasting, effective solution will require an inclusive process that engages the full range of stakeholders. By providing communities with a framework for informed participation in the decision-making process, a municipal wildlife interaction plan can help to avoid ill-informed decisions, or decisions that are not understood or supported by the community, which can then lead to conflict and an inevitable drain on valuable community resources.