Course Overview
“They aren’t creating more land,” as the old saying goes. Open spaces—in the form of parks and preserves and farms and other rural landscapes—provide a wide variety of environmental, economic, and quality of life social and cultural benefits to communities that extend beyond the obvious aesthetic beauty of undeveloped land. This session addresses the importance and benefits of preserving open space and the tools to maintain rural character or conserve important parcels of land, depending on the needs of the municipality. Strategies for how communities might prioritize what open spaces to protect are also discussed.
This course is 1.5 hours in length.
Resources Provided by DOS
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Local Open Space Planning Guide
This guide is a collaborative project of the Departments of State and Environmental Conservation. It sets forth a simple, step-by-step process for preparing a local open space conservation plan; and recommends specific strategies and techniques for conserving open space.
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