Forest Legacy Scoring Criteria
Importance
The environmental, social, and economic public benefits gained from the protection and management of the property. This criterion reflects the ecological assets and the economic and social values conserved by the project and its level of significance. National significance is viewed as activities that support Federal laws or initiatives (such as Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Clean Water Act) or interstate resources (such as migratory species, or trail and waterways that cross state boarders).
More points will be given to projects that demonstrate multiple public benefits with national significance. A project need not have all the attributes listed in order to receive maximum points for this category, but projects with multiple attributes of national significance should receive more points.
Attributes to consider
The descriptions listed represent the ideal project for each attribute.
Forestry and Potential Forest Productivity – This category includes three independent components: (1) Landowner demonstrates sustainable forest management in accordance with a management plan. Additional points should be given to land that is third party certified (such as Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship, and American Tree Farm System). (2) Forestry activities contribute to the resource-based economy for a community or region. (3) The property contains characteristics (such as highly productive soils) to sustain a productive forest.
Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – The site has documented threatened or endangered plants and animals or designated habitat for them. Federally listed species will be given more consideration than state-only listed species.
Fish, Wildlife, Plants, and Unique Forest Communities - The site contains unique forest communities and/or important fish or wildlife habitat as documented by a formal assessment or wildlife conservation plan or strategy.
Water Supply and Watershed Protection – (1) Property has a direct relationship with protecting the water supply or watershed, such as providing a buffer to public drinking water supply, containing an aquifer recharge area, or protecting an ecologically important aquatic or marine area, and/or (2) the property contains important riparian areas, wetlands, shorelines, river systems, or sensitive watershed lands.
Public Access – Protection of the property will maintain or establish access by the public for recreation; however, restrictions on specific use and location of recreational activities may exist.
Scenic – The site is located within a viewshed of a formally designated scenic feature or area (such as trail, river, or highway).
Historic/Cultural/Tribal – The site contains formally-documented features of historical, cultural, and/or tribal significance.
Non-timber Economic Benefits – Provides non-timber revenue to the local or regional economy through activities such as hunt leases, ranching, non-timber forest products (maple syrup, pine straw, ginseng collection, etc), guided tours (fishing, hunting, birdwatching, etc), and recreational rentals (bikes, boats, outdoor gear, etc).
Threatened
This criterion estimates the likelihood for conversion. More points will be given to projects that demonstrate multiple conditions, however, a project need not have all the conditions listed to receive maximum points for this category.
Attributes to consider
The descriptions listed represent the ideal project for each attribute.
Legal Protection - The degree of legal protections that currently exists on the property (e.g. current zoning or existing easements), whether these protections remove the threat of conversion, and to what extent.
Land and Landowners Circumstances – land and landowner circumstances such as property held in an estate, aging landowner, future use of property by heirs is uncertain, property is up for sale or has a sale pending, landowner has received purchase offers, land has an approved subdivision plan, landowner has sold subdivisions of the property, good land steward interested in conserving land, etc.
Adjacent Land Use - adjacent land use characteristics such as existing land status, rate of development growth and conversion, rate of population growth, rate of change in ownership, etc.
Ability to Develop - attributes of the property that will facilitate conversion, such as access, slope, zoning, water/sewer, electricity, etc
Third Party Ownership - If property has been acquired by a third party at the request of the state, threatened will be evaluated based on the situation prior to the third party acquisition.
Landowner Intention - During the evaluation of threat, a good land steward interested in conserving land should not be penalized.
Strategic
This criterion reflects the project’s relevance or relationship to conservation efforts on a broader perspective. When evaluating strategic value, three considerations should be made: 1) the scale of a conservation plan, 2) the scale of the project’s contribution to that plan, and 3) the placement of the parcel within the plan area.
Attributes to consider
The descriptions listed represent the ideal project for each attribute.
Conservation Strategy - does the project fit within a larger conservation plan, strategy, or initiative as designated by either a government or non-governmental entity.
Compliments Previously Protected Lands - is the project strategically linked to enhance previous conservation investments or protected land including past Legacy projects, already protected Federal, State, or non-government-owned lands, or other Federal land protection efforts (NRCS, NOAA, etc).
Last modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2011 14:25:36 EST
