Conservation Terms

Connectivity
One of the biggest threats to the survival of many plant and animal species is the destruction or fragmentation of their natural habitats. Connectivity creates wildlife corridors, where animal and plant species can move freely from one habitat to another. Scientists and practitioners working in conservation biology and natural resource management agree connectivity is essential to conservation or environmental protection plans. For more on the status of connectivity conservation science, see Kevin R. Crooks’ Connectivity Conservation (2006).

Conservation Buyer
A conservation buyer purchases real estate with the intention of protecting and enhancing the scenic, historic, agricultural, and natural resource values of the property. They often work with a local conservation organization to protect these values with a conservation easement that allows them to take advantage of Federal and State tax deductions and credits.

Conservation Easement
A conservation easement is a flexible and effective tool used to conserve and protect private property. It is a legal agreement that ensures property will be managed according to landowner wishes; at the same time it protects the land’s conservation values. It may also qualify the landowner for tax benefits. Every conservation easement document is individually crafted to reflect both the land’s special qualities and the landowner’s needs. Conservation easements assist landowners in protecting working farm and ranch land, water quality, wildlife habitat, scenic vistas and historic buildings.

Conservation Assets
Conservation assets are the ecological, biological, cultural and recreational features that make a given tract of land unique. These assets can include water quality; stream restoration; riparian buffers; Best Management Practices for farms and timberland; and habitat for hunting and fishing.

Conservation Value
According to the Internal Revenue Service definition, a conservation value provides public benefits when it is permanently protected. Examples include natural habitat for fish, wildlife and plants; historic land and buildings; recreation land; and open space for scenic enjoyment.

Biodiversity Banking
Biodiversity Banking builds up of biodiversity in one area to offset biodiversity loss in another area. It can be accomplished by cultivating native plant and animal species or by removing human activity from an area and allowing nature to reclaim it.

Carbon Sequestration
Carbon Sequestration is the storage of carbon in a solid material through biological or physical processes. A Carbon Offset is a financial instrument representing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent in other greenhouse gasses. Both companies and individuals can purchase carbon offsets, which are typically generated from emissions-reducing projects. The most common projects produce renewable energy using wind farms, biomass energy or hydroelectric dams. Other projects destroy industrial pollutants and agricultural byproducts or support forestry operations.

Ecological Assessment
An Ecological assessment evaluates all the natural assets, including raw land, forests, streams, wetlands and various species of flora and fauna, which have potential and manifest financial implications for a landowner.

Natural Heritage Area
A Natural Heritage Area (NHA) is an area considered important because it includes unique and rare natural resources, such as rare animals, rare plants and significant natural communities. NHA designations also apply to areas that hold species of plants and animals whose habitat needs protection. Some are tiny, such as a roosting place for rare bats. Others are large––a woodland or a lake, for example. A NHA designation focuses on protecting the unique and rare natural resources on a property. But it does not preclude other uses as long as they do not interfere with conservation and management of these resources. Designations are voluntary and made by the agency responsible for each property. They provide state land managers with the flexibility they need to balance myriad land uses and objectives.

Recreation Corridor
A recreation corridor is a ribbon of land and/or water along which people can travel for recreation purposes. It can be used as a means of getting to a particular destination, or as a recreational touring experience unto itself. The scenic aspect of corridors is key; therefore, for planning and management purposes, a corridor includes the corridor's viewshed (i.e., the land base visible from the corridor).

Recreation Land
Recreation Land is land that people can enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites and natural areas.

Water Quality
The term Water Quality refers to the characteristics of water as they relate to its suitability for a specific purpose. Most water quality is defined by its suitability for drinking, human contact, and supporting healthy ecosystems.

Watershed
A watershed is an area of land that drains downslope to the lowest point. The water moves through a network of drainage pathways, both underground and on the surface, and these pathways converge into streams and rivers. Every stream, tributary or river has a watershed, and small watersheds join to create larger ones. Watersheds are divided by major ridgelines and easy to see on a topographic map that shows stream channels. Every piece of land is within a watershed, and the watershed that a tract of land falls within is very important for conservation and development constraints and opportunities.

Stream Restoration
Stream Restoration re-establishes the structure, function and self-sustaining behavior of a stream system by modifying the physical and biological components of the stream and its watershed. Specific techniques include removing watershed disturbances; planting vegetation to protect stream banks and provide habitat; and reshaping streams to improve function and enhance floodplains. Valentine

Riparian Buffers
Riparian buffers are vegetated areas next to streams and rivers that filter out pollution, stabilize stream banks and provide aquatic and wildlife habitat. These natural buffers can include both grasses and trees. If reestablished or maintained, they can function amidst natural, agricultural, forested, suburban and urban land.

Farm and Timberland Best Management Practices
Best Management Practices for Farms and Timberland, (BMPs). Farm and timberland management can generate significant revenue for landowners and contribute significantly to the health of an ecosystem. Locally-grown produce, organic food, and sustainably-managed timber are viable niche markets. BMPs refer to those practices that protect water quality and promote soil conservation during farm and forestry activities. They also can refer to the technical criteria you need to meet when joining a niche market, such as organic farming. Specific examples of BMPs include silt fences, stream buffers, conservation tillage, integrated pest management, rotational grazing, cover cropping, prescribed burning and sediment basins.