Sanford Conservation Plan

SANFORD CONSERVATION PLAN 

Conservation Plan Cover

What is the Sanford Conservation Plan?
The Conservation Plan outlines goals and strategies for achieving open space and resource protection in the natural areas and working landscapes of Sanford.  Developed by members of the Sanford and Springvale community with help from regional conservation partners, the Plan addresses conservation goals identified in the Sanford Comprehensive Plan.

Why is it important?
Today Sanford has crucial opportunity to set the future character of its community.  Growth is slow but steady, as increasing numbers of people discover the advantages of a regional center in this beautiful part of the state.  Every year the need for housing and services increases, and the farms, woodlands, and rural lifestyle that we associate with Sanford, are in danger of being lost forever.  The Conservation Plan will demonstrate the economic value inherent in resource protection.

How was the Conservation Plan developed?
During the spring and summer of 2008, the Town of Sanford hosted a series of workshops designed to bring community stakeholders together, to share visions for the future of Sanford, and to craft a plan for realizing those visions.  The workshops utilized CommunityViz, a GIS planning tool for visualizing conservation scenarios.

How will the Conservation Plan be used?
The Conservation Plan will guide the protection of the values that natural places and open space provide, like clean water, farmland, wildlife habitat, flood control, and natural beauty.  The culmination of the project is the written Plan, along with recommendations for its implementation, presented to the town planning board and ultimately amended to the Comprehensive Plan with the approval of the residents of Sanford.

Who is involved?
Sanford Stakeholders  Marcel Blouin, Bill Botting, Lee Burnett, Hazen Carpenter, Mike Casserly, Jim Gulnac, Patti Gulnac, Maura A. Herlihy, Bud Johnston, Dennis Knowles, Gary Lamb, Bill Noon, Jean Noon, Jamie Oman-Saltmarsh, Jerry Rivard, Lionel Sevigny, Glen Wildes.

Conservation Partners  
Three Rivers Land Trust, Mousam Way Regional Land Trust, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, Spatial Alternatives, Kennebunk Conservation Commission, Wells Conservation Commission, Maine Association of Conservation Commissions, York County SWCD, Maine Rivers, Maine DEP, KKW Water District.

Sanford Conservation Maps (See Below)
An important product of the Conservation Plan is a set of Maps that depict key natural, cultural, and economic resources in Sanford.  These Maps were produced using GIS and correspond to five conservation values identified by the Conservation Plan stakeholders group:  Water Quality, Land Productivity, Health and Safety, Habitat, and Scenic, Cultural, and Recreation Value.

HABITAT INVENTORY MAP

HEALTH & SAFETY INVENTORY MAP

LAND PRODUCTIVITY MAP 

RECREATION, SCENIC & CULTURAL INVENTORY

WATER QUALITY INVENTORY