Land Conservation Tools

Tool Comparison Summaries

Massachusetts Land Conservation Tools - Cheat Sheet

Massachusetts Land Conservation Tools: Exploring Climate Adaptation

This portal website compiles land conservation information resources, mapping products, and other tools, developed by a variety of organizations, that are available to guide the decision making of Massachusetts practitioners. We have summarized these tools, organized them in different ways to help you more easily choose the one(s) best suited to your conservation needs, and provided website links for direct access.

A variety of interests that can inspire and inform land conservation, and the tools included on this website tend to have a wildlife and habitat conservation perspective, rather than being focused on other important land conservation issues such as water supply or recreation.

The resources can be filtered by: 

(1) Conservation Tasks:

Some tools are more suited to supporting certain conservation purposes, such as applying for or awarding grants, land stewardship, land (open space) protection, assessing landscape connectivity and public outreach.

(2) Conservation Phases:

Motivation

Awareness and inspiration leading to a Plan and Action

→
Assessment

Analysis and data generation to inform a Plan

→
Plan

Selecting a blueprint to guide Action

→
Action

Specific implementation measures

 

This website is an output from a University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension project studying how these tools are used by those engaged in land protection and stewardship, with a particular focus on forest conservation with a climate adaptation lens. We hope that our work increases and improves the use of these tools through building practitioner awareness and understanding, influencing tool outreach efforts, and informing future versions of the tools - with the ultimate aim of improving the future of Massachusetts ecosystems. To learn more about our research project, please visit the Research section of this website.

To learn more about terminology used in this website, see the Glossary.

Please provide feedback that will help refine this website by emailing Scott Jackson, University of Massachusetts Extension, conservation@umass.edu 

Explore the Tools

The below dropdown filters can help you explore and identify the land conservation tools most appropriate for different conservation tasks and phases:

Adaptation Workbook website
Adaptation Workbook
Action
Helps identify and tailor climate adaptation actions for given land management goals, with a focus on forests, agriculture and natural resources, at a location of interest in the Northeast or Midwest.
BioMap
Motivation, Assessment, Plan, Action
Designed to guide strategic biodiversity conservation by focusing land protection and stewardship on the areas that are most critical for ensuring the long-term persistence of rare and other native species and their habitats, exemplary natural communities, and a diversity of ecosystems, and intact landscapes in Massachusetts.
DSL - Designing Sustainable Landscapes
DSL - Designing Sustainable Landscapes
Assessment
Provides data and assessments for strategic habitat conservation, by assessing the ecological integrity of ecosystems, evaluating regional connectivity, assessing risk of development, and modeling climate niche and landscape capability for key wildlife species in the Northeast.
MAPPR - Mapping and Prioritizing Parcels for Resilience
MAPPR - Mapping and Prioritizing Parcels for Resilience
Plan, Action
A decision support tool informing parcel based land conservation prioritization decisions in Massachusetts. *NOTE* The MAPPR website is being updated as of Spring 2023 and links to their tool may be unavailable for a time.
Massachusetts Climate Action Tool
Massachusetts Climate Action Tool
Assessment, Action
Provides access to information on climate change impacts and vulnerability of species and habitats, as well as adaptation strategies and actions to help maintain healthy, resilient natural communities, with a focus on Massachusetts.
MassCAPS - Massachusetts Conservation Assessment & Prioritization System
MassCAPS - Massachusetts Conservation Assessment & Prioritization System
Assessment
Calculates an Index of Ecological Integrity (IEI) based on human impacts and landscape characteristics, to highlight examples of ecosystems that are likely to maintain their natural composition, structure and function over time, in Massachusetts.
Nature’s Network
Nature’s Network
Assessment, Plan
A suite of decision support tools and datasets, including a conservation design that depicts a network of connected, intact, and resilient areas -- both lands and waters -- that are considered the best places to begin strategic conservation planning to support a sustainable future for both human and natural communities across the 13-state Northeast region.
New England Landscape Futures (NELF) Explorer
Motivation
A scenarios-based mapping tool which compares potential future land use outcomes in New England.
Resilient and Connected Landscapes
Assessment, Plan
Highlights resilient areas of diverse geology and topography, and the nature of their connections, with national coverage (excluding HI and AK).

Other Resources

Tool Comparison Summaries

At a Glance: Massachusetts Land Conservation Tools
This ‘cheat sheet’ provides an overview of the information sources and tools available to inform land conservation (protection and stewardship) decisions in Massachusetts (from our UMass Extension team).
Massachusetts Land Conservation Tools: Exploring Climate Adaptation
This resource is a guide to using the available information sources and tools to inform land conservation (preservation and stewardship) in Massachusetts with a climate adaptation lens (from our UMass Extension team).

Related Tools

Forest Carbon: An essential natural solution for climate change
This publication provides a framework for understanding the role carbon plays within forests, and the impacts and trade-offs of various land use options and decisions on forest carbon balances in New England (from UMass Amherst and the University of Vermont).
Incorporating Environmental Justice Criteria in Land Conservation
“a new prioritization system to help communities, state agencies, and conservation organizations identify specific opportunities for future conservation based on environmental justice criteria” (from Harvard Forest).
Increasing Forest Resiliency for an Uncertain Future
This publication provides a framework to help landowners assess and address a variety of stressors, including climate change, on their forest land in New England (from UMass Amherst and the University of Vermont).

Other Massachusetts Resources

Forest Carbon Market Solutions
This publication is a guide to help municipalities consider about how they could engage with forest carbon markets associated with their landholdings (by Mass Audubon and MA DCR).
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program Transferable Tools
"This webpage features deliverables from projects funded by Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program Action Grants that can be useful tools, templates, and examples for municipalities to use for climate resilience projects." Please note the TNC Nature-based Solutions tool, and the MAPC Climate Resilient Land Use Strategies.
Resilient MA
"Climate change clearinghouse for the Commonwealth" including curated information, interactive mapping, and grant funding opportunities.

Contact us
Scott Jackson, University of Massachusetts Extension, conservation@umass.edu