Some see forest, some see trees.
Some call it logging, others call it woodlands management.
Some say it is wildlife habitat restoration, others claim it is wildlife habitat destruction.
What is happening on Sparta Mountain is good or bad, depending on whom you ask.
For the golden-wing warbler, it's good. That's the idea, anyway.
"But what about the black bears, the turkeys and the bald eagles," said John Paul Endress, of nearby Beaver Lake. "They don't like an open forest. Where do they go?"
Most environmental battles have definitive lines. The green team vs. the black hats. Preservers vs. polluters. Open space advocates vs. developers.
The state Department of Environmental Protection's plan to cut down hundreds of acres trees on Sparta Mountain has drawn plenty of criticism. It's come from the Sierra Club, the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, the Friends of Sparta Mountain, elected officials and individual biologists. Along routes 23, 517 and 620, as well as local roads, there are dozens upon dozens of red "Stop the Chop" signs.
But one group absent from the protest is the New Jersey Audubon Society, which seems strange at first, since birds need trees.
"We're not always on the same page with DEP," said John Cecil, the vice president for stewardship at New Jersey Audubon. "But in this case, we are. We want to see more diversified forests, which are healthier for a wider range of animal and plant life."
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Diversifying forest, though, means cutting down trees. It means chainsaws and trucks. It means the use of pesticides to kill invasive species, such as the Japanese barberry, that dominate and strangle the forest understory.
Audubon not only supports the state plan, it is a partner and supplied much of the biological science.
The most recent plan is to cut down as much as 10 percent of the trees in what is officially called Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area. There were smaller cuts beginning in 2009, but larger cuts began in the winter of 2014, alarming environmentalists.
"We're not against management of our forests," said Elliott Ruga, policy director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. "We see the need, but the problem with the DEP and Audubon plan is it's on a much larger scale than necessary for ecological restoration."
The Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area borders Morris and Sussex counties, high up on Route 23. The tract is 3,461 acres of mostly 100-year-old forest. The growth generally dates back to when mining operations on the mountain ceased and the land returned to its natural habitat.
The DEP plan calls for a 3 percent to 9 percent reduction in old forest to create a new, growing forest - called "early successional habitat" - which is a more favorable habitat for some birds and other wildlife. The plan calls for state-contracted loggers to clear-cut some large swaths of acreage and for spot use of pesticides to kill invasive species.
The 10-year plan also calls for another 4 percent to 10 percent of forest being "managed in various stages for the development of old growth." That means the cuts will be smaller and more selective.
The total acreage of tree-fall could range anywhere from 250 acres to 345 acres.
"It's very wide open," said Emile DeVito, director of science and stewardship at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. "That concerns me."
DeVito said he first agreed with the "young forest initiative," but has concerns that it has grown too large without regard for endangered species of plants and other animals.
"They want to create a habitat for the golden wing-warbler, but at what expense?" he said, citing endangered plants such as the purple orchid, wood lily and yellow clintonia, which need a forest canopy. He also said the barred owl and red-shouldered hawk might be "negatively impacted" by the clear cuts.
"The trade-off is to help one threatened species at the expense of others," DeVito said. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
The golden winged-warbler is a small songbird that has a bright yellow helmet and epaulets high on its wings. It breeds in the low shrubs and understory of young forests.
Dave Golden, chief of Fish & Wildlife's land management bureau, put the Sparta Mountain plans in this perspective: It is one of 121 wildlife management areas in the state, and its full acreage is less than 1 percent of the 354,000 acres under Fish & Wildlife. There are another 450,000 acres in the DEP's inventory of state parks and forests.
"People get upset anytime you cut down trees," Golden said. "They have a view that nature will take care of itself. It will, but not always in the most beneficial ways."
Golden said that around the state right now, there are 50 "active habitat management programs." Some involve wetlands restoration or management growth on old farm fields.
What makes Sparta Mountain particularly controversial is that, just 20 years ago, the land was in the crosshairs of developers. A large golf-and-condo complex was in the works when residents formed a coalition to stop the development and lobbied to have the land protected. One of the moving forces in that was the Audubon Society.
"What we're doing now is accepted practice in places like New York State and Connecticut to diversify and manage forest habitats," said Cecil. "It is grounded in science. And in the end, it's still going to look like a forest."
But one with less trees.
Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.