Department of Environmental Protection

CHRIS CHRISTIE Division of Fish and Wildlife BOB MARTIN

Governor Mail Code 501-03 Commissioner

PO BOX 420

KIM GUADAGNO Trenton, NJ 08625-0420

Lt. Governor David Chanda, Director

www.NJFishandWildlife.com

(609) 292-2965

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer l Printed on Recycled Paper and Recyclable

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January 15, 2014

Dear Panelist:

The Endangered and Nongame Species Program, within the Division of Fish and Wildlife, is evaluating the status of the state’s native amphibians and reptiles. I appreciate your willingness to help us with this undertaking. In case you are new to the status review process, the method of establishing the status of species in New Jersey is through a process called the Delphi method, which consists of a series of anonymous reviews allowing participants to comment and read the comments of others. Through this process, expert opinions and data can be shared to reach consensus on a species’ status. We anticipate this review will consist of a total of four rounds of evaluations.

The materials needed to complete the first round of the process are available online through the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ’s website: www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/delphi. On the website you will find three categories of information: Instructions, Tier 1, and Tier 2. We ask that you thoroughly read through all the materials in the Instructions and Tier 1Documents for further background on select species or species groups are cataloged under Tier 2.Please review the list of species, give each species a rank, and note your confidence level in that rank. We encourage you to provide an explanation for your decision in the appropriate space, particularly if you are suggesting the species may be endangered or threatened. The comments you include with your ranking will be visible to other reviewers in subsequent rounds, but, because this is an anonymous procedure, no names will be attached to the comments.

To facilitate this review process, a small group of amphibian and reptile experts compiled an initial list of 73 species for consideration. Since this list includes all native amphibian and reptile species in New Jersey there will be no additional species considered.

Please complete and return this evaluation by February 15, 2014. The website contains the assessment form in Word, and you can use this file to type in your responses. Please email completed forms to:

If you have any questions at any time in this process, feel free to call me at 609-292-9101 or email at

Thank you once again for your prompt response and valuable contribution to this task.

Sincerely,

Dave Jenkins, Chief

NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program