Research efforts help drive conservation planning in the Northern Forest

The Northern Forest is a vast place — 26 million acres stretching for more than 450 miles from Lake Ontario to the eastern tip of Maine. How does one begin to comprehend the diverse landscape of such a broad region? More important, how does one begin to set priorities for land conservation when the available resources fall far short of the needs and opportunities? These are the questions that have occupied AMC researchers for the last decade.

The AMC began the process of collecting data on the physical, ecological and recreational resources and human use patterns of the Northern Forest of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in 1990. (While we have over time added information about New York, our primary focus continues to be the northern New England states.) This work has always had two primary purposes:

• to inform interested citizens and officials about the nature of the regional landscape, the distribution of important natural resource features, and the changes, threats, and opportunities facing the region.
  
  
• to identify high-priority areas for conservation, leading to the development of specific land conservation proposals where opportunities present themselves.

Since that time we have built an extensive library of geographical data on such features as lakes, rivers, mountains, wetlands, rare plants, trails, land cover, geology, topography, soils, roads, land ownership, and population density. We also maintain a library of recent and historical satellite imagery that allows us to assess patterns of human use (including settlement, agriculture, road building, and timber harvesting) across the landscape and to develop new information on clear-cutting patterns and roadless areas. New data is constantly being added as it becomes available. Our Geographic Information System software allows us to quickly view and analyze this information and identify concentrations of important resources at scales ranging from the entire region to an individual town or ownership.

Maps and Analyses
Providing a valuable source of information that is critical to region-wide conservation planning, the AMC's maps and analyses include:

• Northern Forest Inventory. In 1993 the AMC, in cooperation with the Audubon societies of Maine and New Hampshire, published "An Inventory and Ranking of the Key Resources of the Northern Forest Lands of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine." Though crude by today's standards, this study was the first attempt to identify and prioritize important physical, ecological, and recreational resources across this three-state region. (See map.)
  
  
• Identification of Wildland Areas. The information developed during the Northern Forest Inventory study formed the basis for the identification of large Wildland Areas across the region by the Northern Forest Alliance. These are large areas with little or no development or permanent population and a high concentration of important ecological and recreational resources that we believe should be a high priority for large-scale land conservation.
  
  
• Tracking large land sales. The AMC's maps highlight the location and extent of large land sales that have swept across the region in recent years, clearly showing the magnitude of the changes taking place and allowing the identification of natural resources at stake on these lands. (Read more about land sales in the Northern Forest.)
  
  
• Tracking completed and ongoing conservation projects. Large-scale land conservation can be compared to putting together a giant puzzle. By providing a comprehensive overview of land conservation efforts, the AMC's maps demonstrate how individual projects (the pieces of the puzzle) contribute to a long-term regional land conservation vision. They allow us to see how far we have come and how much remains to be accomplished. They also showcase projects where continued public support, advocacy, and fundraising is required. (See map.)
  
  
• Developing specific conservation proposals. Working with a wide range of conservation partners (including other conservation organizations, land trusts, grassroots groups, and public agencies), the AMC is helping to develop and promote specific conservation plans for lands where there is a significant near-term opportunity for conservation. Examples include:
  
  
  • Identifying conservation priorities on International Paper's lands in northern New Hampshire. (See map.) Two areas identified on this map (the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters and South Bay Bog) will be protected as natural areas in the final conservation plan for the property developed by the Trust for Public Lands. (Download a PDF with information and a map showing the final plan. If you do not have an updated version of Abobe Acrobat software, download it now.)
    
    
  • Developing a proposal for an ecological reserve on the State of Vermont's West Mountain property. (See map.) The final reserve proposal developed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources included much of this area but is only 75 percent as large. (See map.)

• Interactive mapping. Our new Interactive Mapping Service allows you to examine information about the Northern Forest and Central Appalachian regions, including large land sales, recent and ongoing conservation projects, and more. For each map, choose the data and level of detail you'd like to see.
  

The AMC will continue to serve as a leader in providing information, maps, and analyses to those committed to securing large-scale land conservation across this nationally significant region. Over the next year or two we will be paying particular attention to the identification of areas suitable for protection as large wilderness or ecological reserve areas — places that are especially important for conserving biodiversity and providing backcountry recreational opportunities but that are also very rare in the Northeast.