This project uses Collaborative Learning (Daniels and Walker, 2001) and land use planning tools (EBM Network, 2006) to connect the practice of ecosystem management to municipal land use decision-making. Desire to incorporate water quality and habitat protection into economic development strategies is motivating the town of Sanford, Maine to examine existing resource conditions, ordinances, and Comprehensive Plan priorities.
This project also proposes to develop and pilot training to bring technology based tools of land use planning to municipal officials and the people they interact with. State and federal officials, consultants, academics, regional planning offices, NGOs and GIS specialists provide support and oversight to the municipal land use decision-making process. Training will be developed with input from this target audience. Training based upon the EBM Network's EBM Tools Database (EBM Network, 2006) will be presented to managers and practitioners. Managers will learn what the tools can do and how to select tools to match management needs. Practitioners will be trained to use selected tools based upon target audience input into the design of the training. The two-tier approach of this project is designed to enhance the diffusion of land use tools into the system of land use planning in Maine by linking tool use to observable environmental outcomes and involving potential tool users in all phases of the project.
This project takes advantage of geospatial tools, predictive models, and visualization technology to synthesize existing information about the condition of water resources and wildlife habitat in the town, to evaluate protection offered by current ordinances and to identify priorities for natural resource conservation. Decisions to balance economic and environmental concerns as well as trade offs between short term gain and resource sustainability will be deliberated within a series of Collaborative Learning workshops designed to produce a Conservation and Preservation Land Use Plan for Sanford.
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