STEWARDING LANDS, RESTORING OUR ECOSYSTEMS

By John Bradley

In the past year Claverack and neighboring towns have launched initiatives to update their comprehensive plan. In addition, the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) developed a regional conservation plan. Climate change figures prominently in these planning discussions, an important new development from a decade ago. Resilience in the face of climate change and ecosystem health are now becoming key considerations.   

The CLC’S Plan to Conserve Columbia County (CLC Plan ‘26 ) sets four goals, two of which are central to our discussion here:

Goal 1 is to conserve high quality and large forest areas and

Goal 4 is to demonstrate best habitat management practices

To identify the most resilient and ecologically healthy areas in the county, the plan uses GIS maps that have assigned ecological ratings (Healthy Habitats Scoring) to land areas, ranging from highest, higher, high, average and below average for ecosystem health and

resilience. Their methodology is well designed. Healthy resilient areas are characterized by strong forest cover, high biodiversity of all life forms, rich nourishing soil, good water flow and retention, low levels of invasives, various microclimates, contiguous landscapes or connectedness and minimal disruption from development. The CLC plan, for instance, identifies the heavily forested mountainous area along the eastern border of the county as highest priority for conservation.