Jericho Natural Resources Overlay District

Project description (English)

The Jericho Natural Resources Overlay District (NRO) was created to preserve the ecological characteristics of specific natural resources and prevent the degradation of ecological functions. The NRO District identified primary and secondary conservation areas with natural resources that may be rare, irreplaceable, unique, or perform functions critical to the health of the larger landscape. The passage of this land use regulation in Jericho was the result of seven years of working with the community, mapping natural resources, and collaborating with neighboring towns. In 2011 the towns of Jericho, Bolton, Huntington, and Richmond all participated in the Science to Action (STA) project. As part of this project Arrowwood Environmental completed an ecological inventory of all four towns. Local scientists and naturalists hosted community walks and talks to celebrate their town and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department facilitated community values mapping. These partners and events all provided guidance in strengthening land use planning and regulatory frameworks in Jericho. The Planning and Conservation Commissions worked closely to integrate the best available science with their community values and in 2018 the new NRO District was approved. The following year the Jericho Planning and Conservation Commissions received an award from the Vermont Planners Association for the collaborative conservation of their town’s most valued natural resources.

Project description (French)

Main contact organization for the project

Jericho Conservation Commission

Partner organization(s)

Vermont Natural Resources Council

Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department

Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission

Audubon Vermont

Part of larger network(s)

Science to Action Project

Project status

Ended

Start year of project

2011

Date of completion

2018-12-20

Primary ecosystem focus

Forested

Agricultural

Freshwater

Riparian

Connectivity action

Mitigation of infrastructure impacts

Policy and governance

Land protection

Land use planning

Standard keywords

Corridors

Wildlife species with a special status

Plant species with a special status

Keywords

Natural Resources Overlay District (NRO)

Taxonomic Coverage

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians

Reptiles

Fish

Vascular plants

Geographical coverage

Jurisdiction(s)

Vermont

Chittenden

Location name

Jericho, VT