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A conservation plan is a vision for the future ecological health of an area and provides an action plan to protect these features over the long term.
The Natural Resource Inventory provides the basis for a conservation plan.
Conservation planning provides a structured process for achieving conservation goals. For example, if wildlife habitat protection is a priority, a conservation plan could include: identifying important habitat areas, conserving large habitat areas, connecting habitats (e.g., by using greenways), conserving habitats of rare species, and maintaining buffers around important habitats. Similarly, if water resources were a priority, the plan would identify key drinking water supplies (surface and ground water), conserving riparian areas and establishing protective buffers, protecting wetland areas, limiting impervious surfaces, etc.
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Voluntary land protection is one of the most effective ways to protect natural resources, resulting in more permanent protection than regulation alone. A NRI can be used to establish specific goals for land protection efforts - and the most effective way to do this is with a conservation plan.
The conservation plan does not need to be a lengthy document - keep it succinct and cross-reference the information in the Natural Resources Inventory.
- Review other community conservation plans for suggested formats and ideas for writing your community's plan.
- Focus on the priority areas you have already identified from the NRI. Include descriptions of the priority areas and reference these to a map of conservation priorities.
- Include appropriate conservation strategies
- Work with your local or regional land trust to connect on land conservation projects so you can incorporate local or regional conservation priorities they have identified.
- Examples of some regional conservation plans in New Hampshire include:
- Build support for the plan by keeping local residents and town boards informed throughout the process.