Description: Area within Berks County, Pa. used as study area for Berks Nature ROE Project.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: Provides parcel level data used in the Return on Environment (ROE) findings for the 2023 Berks Nature Business of Nature project. The data is used in decision support tools used to support conservation decisions for staff and partners. The parcel data was extracted in the fall of 2024; it includes property descriptions and data related to ecosystems services and values attributed to the parcel location. Additional information on the decision support tools for the Business of Nature program can be found at https://berksnature.org/land-protection/business-of-nature/.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: Mapped riparian buffer areas for the Berks Nature ROE Project. Areas include riparian buffers within 100 feet of surface water features. ROE values account for riparian area conditions such as stream hierarchy, vegetative cover and adjacent land uses. Restoration of riparian areas is accounted for in determining potential ROE values due to impacts associated with increasing water quality, supporting habitat, and providing recreational opportunities.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: Mapped Green Ribbon Landscapes areas for the 2023 Berks Nature Return on Environment (ROE) Project. Green Ribbon Landscapes are defined as avoluntary setback that expands ROE and supports a sustainable economy. Promoting a GRL helps residents understand how important these areas are and helps maximize natural systems services. A GRL is a linear, 300-foot setback that expands ROE along parks, trails, preserves, riparian areas, and large forests (over 200 acres). The 300-foot distance protects the core forest from light that enables invasive species. Invasive species often out compete native species and destroy native habitat. 300 feet is the distance that light can penetrate a forest edge due to sun angles. ROE values account for Green Ribbon Landscapes conditions such as vegetative cover, surface water connectivity and adjacent land uses. Restoration of Green Ribbon Landscapesis accounted for in determining potential ROE values due to impacts associated with increasing water quality, supporting habitat, and providing recreational opportunities.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: The map layer shows Return on Environment (ROE) values on natural systems services by acre in Berks County. The values represent the amount of savings provided by ecosystems services each year per acre.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: Recommended actions are priority designations created as part of Return on Environment modelling. Designations are defined by grouping ROE Values into categories (valuable, more valuable, or greatest value). Properties defined as protected open space such as parkland, conservation or agricultural easements, or similar open space designations are further categorized as "protected", others are designated as "not protected" under the designations. The preliminary designations are used to provide an overview of areas of greatest conservation need based on Return on Environment modelling - more detailed evaluations are recommended to provide a comprehensive determination beyond this preliminary assessment.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: Areas of forested cover mapped by size used to determine ecosystems services. Mapped data derived from National Land Cover Dataset (2019) for Berks County.Forests and understory areas are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biological diversity. In terms of habitat, it is important to understand that the size, location, and types of woodland cover affect the value they provide. Forests that are larger than 750 acres provide the habitat required to sustain breeding populations of wildlife. A broadwinged hawk, for example, uses a breeding area of mostly forest (80%); and of that forest, half or more of it is core, which equates to around 750 total acres. 28 Areas over 500 acres are needed by migrating songbirds. Tolerance to forest fragmentation varies, and the amount of edge can affect a forest’s quality. For instance, forests less than 150 acres, or formed in long strips, are lower quality than forests 150 acres square.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
Description: The map layer shows Return on Environment (ROE) values on natural systems services by acre in Berks County. The values represent the amount of savings provided by ecosystems services each year per acre.
Copyright Text: Berks Nature with assistance provided by Audubon Mid-Atlantic through a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.