A.
Applicants for major subdivision or major site plan approval shall document the occurrence of threatened and endangered species, and other species uncommon to the area, on the property to be developed and shall identify critical habitat areas needed to provide for the survival of any local populations of these species. No development shall be permitted, initiated or conducted unless it is designed to avoid irreversible adverse impacts on habitats that are critical to the survival of local populations of threatened or endangered plants and animals. No construction, grading or vegetation removal shall take place in critical habitat areas during breeding or mating of threatened and endangered species, and protection for the critical habitat area appropriate to the species shall be provided.
B.
Threatened and endangered plants and animals shall be defined as those which:
(1)
Appear on the national list developed by the Department of the Interior; or
(2)
Appear on the state list developed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy; or
(3)
Are designated in N.J.S.A. 23:2A-4 (The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act, state list of endangered species).