Northeastern Area

The Highlands of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update here. Read the technical reports here

Download the geographic information system data for the Conservation Values Assessment (Part 1) here

The USDA Forest Service has completed its inventory and evaluation of natural resources in the Highlands of Connecticut and Pennsylvania and determined the likely effects of land-use change on these resources.

Part 1 of the study determined where in the Highlands high natural resource values are found. Part 2 of the study analyzed the pattern and rate of land use change in order to model future growth. Results of the growth analysis will provide the basis to model changes in the quality and quantity of the region’s water resources. Implications of change for other Highlands resources will also be analyzed. The study team involved the public, stakeholder groups, and government agencies in a collaborative process to achieve a common understanding of the issues, challenges, and the most promising strategies to conserve resources in a region undergoing rapid and extensive land-use change.

Overview

Purpose

The study will form the basis for future collaborative efforts between Federal, state and local partners to conserve the resources of this nationally important region.

Key Issues

• Conserving landscape character and existing land use activities.
• Protecting surface and ground water quality.
• Conserving the landscape for wildlife, rare plants, and environmental quality.
• Sustaining important components of the forest ecosystem for long-term forest health.
• Retaining working forests and farms to ensure economic viability and livability.
• Providing appropriate recreational opportunities near the urban corridor.

Authorization

The authorizing legislation for the Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update to the Highlands Regional Study is contained in the Federal Highlands Conservation Act of 2004, PL 108-42.

Products

The final study will be available online, in a printed report and on CD. It will include a scientific resource analysis and an analysis of the impacts of future land use change in the region. A principal product will be a map showing areas of high conservation value, a necessary component of land conservation partnership projects. Another product will be strategies for conserving forest resources and their ecological services.

Completing the Study: Integrating Part 1 and Part 2

Comparing patterns of growth from Part 2 with the pattern of resource value from Part 1 will result in a map showing areas of important forest, agricultural, biodiversity, water, recreational and cultural resources most likely to be affected. Impacts will be summarized in terms of resource fragmentation and changes in impervious cover, riparian areas, prime agricultural land, interior forestland, or prime forest habitats.

Developing Strategies for Cooperative Conservation

Devising strategies for conservation will be a collaborative activity among representatives from Federal, State, and local governments; private for-profit and nonprofit institutions; and other nongovernmental entities in the Highlands, including interested citizens. One product of the Highlands study will be an array of conservation strategies reflecting what was heard from key stakeholders to guide decision makers in protecting the region’s natural resources.

Participants will develop a spatial and narrative synthesis based on the results of the resource analysis, a sort of executive summary to which every party has contributed. Complete agreement is not essential; the purpose is to reach a level of consensus sufficient to work as a team on strategies. The same group will then develop strategies, with an emphasis on those that can be achieved by some or all of the participants through collaborative efforts.

The aim of developing the conservation strategies is to:

• Enhance and integrate land stewardship in both the public and the private realms.
• Bring together stakeholders and decision makers to identify ideas for future conservation and environmental policies and initiatives.
• Facilitate the exchange of information and advice for successful partnerships.
• Build partnerships that can achieve on-the-ground results in cooperative conservation.

Forest Service Role

The Northeastern Area is responsible for coordination of the Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update. The Forest Service will be the primary contact and source of information for the public, municipalities, and stakeholders. It will maintain a Highlands web site to inform the public about the study’s progress, and convene public meetings and stakeholder working sessions at appropriate times during the course of the study.

Role of the Public

The study team will seek public comments through a variety of techniques early in the process. These will be advertised through the news media and through the Highlands web site.

Study Organization

• Steering Committee (provides advice and sets policy)
• Forest Service Team (oversees and coordinates the Federal and State partners)
• Highlands Coordinator (coordinates teams, monitors the study’s progress, compiles the report)
• State Teams in Connecticut and Pennsylvania (conduct the study, write sections of the report)

Study Teams include:

• Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
• State University of New York, Environmental Science and Forestry
• University of Connecticut Extension System
• Regional Plan Association
• Appalachian Mountain Club
• US Geological Survey
• Rutgers University, Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
• Pennsylvania State University
• Natural Lands Trust

State Land Management Agency Partners:

• Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Schedule and Budget

Part 1, started in April 2005, was completed in April 2007, at a cost of $500,000.

Part 2, started in July 2006, was completed in the summer of 2008 with a total budget of $1,135,000.