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CPTC Webinar Series 2022

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2022 Fall Workshops

CPTC Fall Workshop Series has ended.

Previous Workshops

Massachusetts Land Conservation Data and Tools:

Landscape-based Ecological Assessments for Open Space Protection and Land Use Planning

The recording of this workshop is available on the video page.

  • Date: Monday June 13th, 6:00pm
  • Cost: free
  • Registration: closed

In Massachusetts, multiple landscape-scale analyses have been conducted to identify areas of high conservation value. These include BioMap, CAPS, Critical Linkages, Nature’s Network, and The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Network. The analyses vary in their objectives, methodologies, and scale of analysis (watershed, ecoregion, statewide, multi-state). In addition, there are data viewers and decision-support tools (MAPPR, MA Wildlife Climate Action Tool) that can be used to access and interpret these analyses. Information from these analyses and tools are particularly useful for the development of Open Space and Recreation Plans, but they are also useful for guiding development away from lands of high ecological value, via master plans, economic development plans, transportation improvement plans, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) plans, bylaws, and zoning. In this workshop, you will learn about landscape-scale assessments, conservation plans, and decision-support tools, the interrelationships among the data sources and tools, how they differ, and their intended uses.

We will also introduce the new Land Conservation Tools website from UMass Extension. It compiles the land conservation information sources and tools, developed by a variety of organizations, that are available to guide the decision making of Massachusetts practitioners. The website also summarizes the resources and organizes them in different ways to help practitioners more easily choose the ones best suited to their conservation work. Associated with the website are two summary outreach materials: a cheat sheet to the tools, and a view of the tools through a climate adaptation lens. Lastly, we will mention MassECAN – A community of practice for climate adaptation practitioners and researchers interested in ecosystem resilience and natural resource conservation in Massachusetts.

  • Presenters:
    Scott Jackson, Extension Professor, UMass Amherst
    Lee Halasz, master’s candidate, UMass Amherst
  • Moderator:
    Michael DiPasquale, Assistant Professor, UMass Amherst