O26 Michelle Byers NJ Environmental Foundation Presentation

Factors for Determining Suitability for Preservation • Location, including proximity and/or connectivity to other preserved lands • Lack of or deficit of preserved open space in the community • Potential for linkages and wildlife habitat connections • Potential for connecting large landscape and creating interconnected open space systems • Natural resource features, including forests, wildlife habitat, wetlands, tributary streams, and meadows. • Degree of threat from development, deforestation, habitat loss, climate impacts, biodiversity loss • Potential for increasing community access to open space, “Nature in your Neighborhood” • Ecosystem services provided by the land, such as flood control and water quality protection • Relationship to the smart growth policies of the NJ State Development and Redevelopment Plan • Competing demands for other public purposes, e.g. housing, tax ratables, public facilities • Community goals and plans