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Green Infrastructure in Central Indiana

Green Infrastructure in Central Indiana. Cliff Chapman Conservation Director Central Indiana Land Trust www.conservingindiana.org. The Central Indiana Land Trust.

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Green Infrastructure in Central Indiana

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  1. Green Infrastructure in Central Indiana Cliff Chapman Conservation Director Central Indiana Land Trust www.conservingindiana.org

  2. The Central Indiana Land Trust • Formed in 1990 and based out of Indianapolis, The Central Indiana Land Trust is a 501c3 charitable non-profit organization working in 11 central Indiana counties Dutchmen’s Breeches

  3. The Central Indiana Land Trust • Through land protection, stewardship and education, the Central Indiana Land Trust preserves natural areas, improving air and water quality and enhancing life in our communities for present and future generations. White River at Burr Oak Bend Preserve

  4. The Central Indiana Land Trust • We have protected over 3,000 acres of land through partnerships, conservation agreements, and outright ownership. Forested wetland, Marion County

  5. The Central Indiana Land Trust • We manage 15 preserves and oversee four conservation easements. We own five state dedicated nature preserves supporting rare species, relict stands of Eastern hemlock and the state’s largest great blue heron rookery. State threatened flowering raspberry, Blue Bluff Nature Preserve

  6. Why do Conservation Planning? • The Central Indiana Land Trust sees the need to be strategic and proactive maximizing time and financial resources protecting our natural resources Great Blue Heron Rookery

  7. Why do Conservation Planning? • A regional conservation plan can serve more than a land trust, but be shared (both in conception and implementation) with private and public partners Eastern Box Turtle

  8. Why do Conservation Planning? • As urban growth pressures continue to threaten natural areas and open space, having a conservation plan for central Indiana can be a valuable tool for both natural resource managers as well as city planners, county commissioners and zoning boards Burnett Woods Nature Preserve

  9. Partnering with The Conservation Fund • The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust awarded Central Indiana Land Trust funds to draft a regional conservation vision • The Conservation Fund is a national conservation organization specializing in regional planning efforts • Combining local knowledge and relationships with planning experience and respect from a national organization is a successful formula

  10. Global Climate Air Quality Old-Growth Forest Habitat Top Soil Water Quality Aquifers Green Infrastructure – What is it? A strategically planned and managed network of natural lands, working landscapes, and other open spaces that conserves ecosystem values and functions and provides associated benefits to human populations

  11. Relating Green to Gray Green Infrastructure and Gray Infrastructure Both Require: • Ideally Are: • Planned simultaneously before development • Given equal priority in the planning process • Planned as complimentary systems • Given equal attention in the funding process • Strategic planning to ensure optimal / functional systems • Financing for design and maintenance • Management to maintain services & maximize benefits

  12. Conceptual Model of Approach CORRIDOR Hub Core Core Hub Core Core Core Core CORRIDOR CORRIDOR CORRIDOR Hub Core Core Core Core Hubs may contain core areas plus adjacent suitable natural lands Cores are unfragmented natural cover with at least 100 acres of interior conditions. Corridors link hubs and allow animal, water, seed and pollen movement between hubs

  13. Green Infrastructure – What Is It? 1. Lands and Water that Support Natural Ecosystem Values and Functions • Ecological communities with natural • and/or restored features • Fish and wildlife habitat • Watershed and aquatic resources • River and stream corridors • Aquifer recharge areas • Fish spawning areas • Working landscapes with ecological values • Farmland & rangeland with native habitat, fishing, hunting

  14. Green Infrastructure – What Is It? • Recreation and Health • Parks, trails and greenways • Public access points to recreational waters • Cultural and Historic Sites • Growth Pattern and Character • Greenbelts • Viewsheds and vistas • Working Land and Water • Working farms • Sustainably managed forests 2. Lands that Provide Associated Benefits to Human Populations

  15. Conservation Easement Historic Site Conservation Development Floodplain Regulation Mitigation Bank Park Site Working Lands BMPs Fee Simple Acquisition The Green Infrastructure Approach

  16. What Green Infrastructure is Not! • A regulatory program • A short-term solution • An isolated effort • No growth or anti-development • “Green” engineered • structures

  17. The Green Infrastructure Approach A process that includes three primary elements: • Leadership Forum • Convening of stakeholder group to articulate vision, goals and objectives • Network Design • Identification of key network lands • Implementation Quilt • Formulation of a framework for matching available resources to the needs of the network

  18. Land Use (2001)

  19. Source: 2001 Land Cover in Indiana, Derived from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2001) (United States Geologica Survey, 30-Meter Grid), digital representation by Chris Dintaman, 2007. Landscape Types

  20. Prime Farmland

  21. Outstanding Rivers List

  22. Impaired Streams

  23. Source: Wetlands: Indiana Statewide GIS database was produced under an Indiana Department of Transportation contract. Data is derived from the USFWS National Wetland Inventory. Native_Data_Set_Environment: ESRI ArcView version 3.2 shapefile format.

  24. TNC and Audubon Sites

  25. Focal Species • What makes for a useful focal species? • What are potential focal species for Central Indiana? • Could you name species for forest, wetland and aquatic resources? Steven Wayne Rotsch/Painet Inc USFWS Photo USFWS Photo US NPS USFWS Photo Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Robert Barber/Painet Inc.

  26. Focal Species: How do we choose? 1. Representative? 2. Can status be addressed realistically? 3. High conservation need? 4. Potential to stimulate partnerships? 5. GIS data available Source: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Focal Species for Migratory Birds: Measuring success in bird conservation, 2005.

  27. Landscape Type: Forest Species: Forest Interior Birds (FIBs) and others Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalist) Worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)

  28. Landscape: Type: Wetlands Species: Amphibian and turtles • Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) • Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

  29. Landscape Type: Aquatic Systems Species: fish, mussels, benthic macroinvertebrates Stream conditions: IBA scores, ecologically significant streams or high quality stream sites. River Otter (Lontra canadensis) Photo credit: US FWS Photo credit: Illinois State Museum

  30. Questions? Contact Information: Central Indiana Land Trust 324 W. Morris St. Ste. 210 Indianapolis, IN 46225 317.631.5263 www.conservingindiana.org Cliff Chapman cchapman@conservingindiana.org

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