Green Infrastructure in Central Indiana

Cliff ChapmanConservation Director

Central Indiana Land Trustwww.conservingindiana.org

The Central Indiana Land Trust

• Formed in 1990 and based out of Indianapolis, The Central Indiana Land Trust is a 501c3 charitable non-profit organization working in 11 central Indiana counties Dutchmen’s Breeches

The Central Indiana Land Trust

• Through land protection, stewardship and education, the Central Indiana Land Trust preserves natural areas, improving air and water quality and enhancing life in our communities for present and future generations.

White River at Burr Oak Bend Preserve

The Central Indiana Land Trust

• We have protected over 3,000 acres of land through partnerships, conservation agreements, and outright ownership. Forested wetland, Marion County

The Central Indiana Land Trust

• We manage 15 preserves and oversee four conservation easements. We own five state dedicated nature preserves supporting rare species, relict stands of Eastern hemlock and the state’s largest great blue heron rookery.

State threatened flowering raspberry, Blue Bluff Nature Preserve

Why do Conservation Planning?

• The Central Indiana Land Trust sees the need to be strategic and proactive maximizing time and financial resources protecting our natural resources

Great Blue Heron Rookery

Why do Conservation Planning?

• A regional conservation plan can serve more than a land trust, but be shared (both in conception and implementation) with private and public partners Eastern Box Turtle

Why do Conservation Planning?• As urban growth

pressures continue to threaten natural areas and open space, having a conservation plan for central Indiana can be a valuable tool for both natural resource managers as well as city planners, county commissioners and zoning boards

Burnett Woods Nature Preserve

Partnering with The Conservation Fund

• The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust awarded Central Indiana Land Trust funds to draft a regional conservation vision

• The Conservation Fund is a national conservation organization specializing in regional planning efforts

• Combining local knowledge and relationships with planning experience and respect from a national organization is a successful formula

Green Infrastructure – What is it?A strategically planned and managed network of natural lands,

working landscapes, and other open spaces that conserves ecosystem values and functions and provides associated benefits to human populations

Global ClimateGlobal Climate

Air Quality Air Quality Old-GrowthOld-GrowthForestForest

Water QualityWater Quality

AquifersAquifers

HabitatHabitat

Top SoilTop Soil

Both Require:

Relating Green to Gray

Green Infrastructure and Gray Infrastructure

Ideally Are:

Planned simultaneously before development

Given equal priority in the planning process

Planned as complimentary systems

Given equal attention in the funding process Management to

maintain services & maximize benefits

Strategic planning to ensure optimal / functional systems

Financing for design and maintenance

Conceptual Model of Approach

CORRIDOR

CORRIDORCORRID

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CORRIDORCore

Core

CoreCore

Core

Cores are unfragmented natural cover with at

least 100 acres of interior conditions.

CoreCore

CoreCore

CoreHubHub

HubHub

HubHub

Hubs may contain core areas plus adjacent

suitable natural lands

Corridors link hubs and allow animal, water, seed and pollen movement between hubs

1. Lands and Water that Support Natural Ecosystem Values and Functions

Ecological communities with natural and/or restored features Fish and wildlife habitatWatershed and aquatic resources

River and stream corridorsAquifer recharge areasFish spawning areas

Working landscapes with ecological values Farmland & rangeland with native habitat, fishing, hunting

Green Infrastructure – What Is It?

2. Lands that Provide Associated Benefits to Human Populations

Recreation and Health Parks, trails and greenwaysPublic access points to recreational waters

Cultural and Historic SitesGrowth Pattern and Character

GreenbeltsViewsheds and vistas

Working Land and Water Working farms Sustainably managed forests

Green Infrastructure – What Is It?

The Green Infrastructure Approach

Mitigation Bank

Fee Simple Acquisition

Conservation Development

Historic Site

Working Lands BMPs

Floodplain Regulation

Conservation Easement

Park Site

What Green Infrastructure is Not!

A regulatory program

A short-term solution

An isolated effort

No growth or anti-development

“Green” engineered structures

The Green Infrastructure Approach

Leadership Forum Convening of stakeholder group

to articulate vision, goals and objectives

A process that includes three primary elements:

Network Design Identification of key

network lands Implementation Quilt

Formulation of a framework for matching available resources to the needs of the network

2001 Land Use/Land Cover

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Source: 2001 Land Cover in Indiana, Derived from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2001) (United States Geologica Survey, 30-Meter Grid), digital representation by Chris Dintaman, 2007.

Landscape Types

Prime Farmland

Outstanding Rivers List

Impaired Streams

Source: Wetlands: Indiana Statewide GIS database was producedunder an Indiana Department of Transportation contract. Data isderived from the USFWS National Wetland Inventory.Native_Data_Set_Environment: ESRI ArcView version 3.2 shapefile format.

TNC and Audubon Sites

Focal Species • What makes for a useful focal species?• What are potentialpotential focal species for Central IndianaIndiana?

• Could you name species for forest, wetland and aquatic resources?

Steven Wayne Rotsch/Painet Inc

Robert Barber/Painet Inc.Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission USFWS Photo

USFWS Photo US NPS USFWS Photo

Focal Species: How do we choose?

1. Representative?

2. Can status be addressed realistically?

4. Potential to stimulate partnerships?

3. High conservation need?

Source: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Focal Species for Migratory Birds: Measuring success in bird conservation, 2005.

5. GIS data available

Landscape Type: ForestSpecies: Forest Interior Birds (FIBs) and others

Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalist)

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)

Worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum)

Landscape: Type: WetlandsSpecies: Amphibian and turtles

• Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

• Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Landscape Type: Aquatic Systems

Species: fish, mussels, benthic macroinvertebrates

Stream conditions: IBA scores, ecologically significant streams or high quality stream sites.

River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

Photo credit: US FWS

Photo credit: Illinois State Museum

Questions?

Contact Information:Central Indiana Land Trust324 W. Morris St. Ste. 210Indianapolis, IN 46225317.631.5263

www.conservingindiana.orgCliff Chapmancchapman@conservingindiana.org