The project aimed to provide comprehensive and current information to the public through an interactive online 'Mapping Portal' which would then facilitate multi-benefit planning in the eight counties. Ultimately, this resource aims to integrate stakeholders into land use planning across regional and jurisdictional boundaries.
The mapping tool has over 100 different layers of data that are made accessible to the public. This effort represents the completion of phase one, and currently the project is still working on a second phase, in which it aims to integrate itself more fully in land use planning within and across the counties lines.
Year Published: 2014
State: California
Landscape Context: Inland
Housing Density: Suburban, Rural
Funding Type: Public
Habitat Focus: Shrubland, Herbaceous, Planted/Cultivated
Organizations Involved:
Fresno Council of Governments, San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council, and University of California at Davis Information Center for the Environment (ICE)
Values:
Water Supply, Floodplains/Flood Prevention, Sustainability, Climate Resilience, Working Land, Biodiversity
Stakeholder Involvement:
Stakeholders were consulted; the project team conducted public meetings and analyzed the results of an electronic survey, both of which reached roughly 300 people. Public outreach is central to the next phase of FCOG's plan.
Planning Process:
The Steering Committee reviewed and compiled available spatial data, determined four broad conservation goals, and incorporated input from stakeholders to determine the conservation value across the study area. Following spatial analysis of the data, the team conducted community outreach by reporting out to residents and iteratively integrating their feedback. Fresno Council of Governments partnered with experts at UCD's Information Center for the Environment in order to compile the relevant and reliable data needed for the online Mapping Portal.
Desired Outcomes:
The Greenprint aims to help better manage land that is important for groundwater recharge and storage, plan for future development in a way that protects valuable natural resources, minimize flood damage and plan for drought, restore biodiversity and connect habitats, increase resilience to climate change, and build energy facilities strategically. The project is hoping to incorporate the Greenprint into land use projects, place it into meaningful context with state and federal initiatives, and secure lasting funding to update and revise the Greenprint.
What It Accomplished:
The Fresno Council of Governments has published Phase II of the Greenprint plan, which considers requests for projects that incorporate the data made available through the Greenprint mapping tool. The online mapping tool is functional, clear, and useful, and contains data layers that cover much of California, therefore making it an appropriate launching site for other regional greenprints statewide.