Municipal Open Space Planning

within a 15-minute drive, one can travel from historic urban neighborhoods to productive working farms. Open space and natural features enhance all of our communities, from rural to urban. The need to plan for open space preservation is on-going. With the improving economy and accompanying development pressures, the need to plan to preserve open space is stronger than ever. This newsletter will present issues for communities to consider as they embark on an open space planning program. It will discuss coordination with municipal commissions and organizations; the importance of conducting a natural resource inventory; and implementation tools and resources that support open space planning. We will also present some of the open space planning initiatives underway in the Capitol Region. The diversity of our Region indicates that we need a range of tools to address preservation in all communities, from urban to rural.