Citizen Planner Training Collaborative

Project Leader: Michael DiPasquale

Project Year: 2009

The Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) provides local planning and zoning officials with up-to-date learning tools to make effective decisions regarding their communities' current and future land use. CPTC offers a series of Fall Workshops, an annual Spring Conference and On-Demand Training. Information is also delivered through the CPTC website, and a through and an innovative web-technology (webinars) that allows users to participate in distance learning programs. The Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) is the only comprehensive training option targeted specifically to the citizens (mostly volunteers) that serve on boards in the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

This project is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program

Fish, Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation

Project Leader: Scott Jackson

Project Year: 2009

Massachusetts is the third most densely populated state in the nation. The rate of land consumption for residential development is steadily increasing far out of proportion to its population growth. Haphazard growth has impacted water resources, natural resource-based enterprises, open space, wildlife habitat, and community character. Nearly half the state's communities lack professional planning staff, while volunteer boards struggle with increasing levels of responsibility, liability, time demands and public mistrust. The Fish, Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation Project addresses these concerns through related initiatives that focus on habitat loss and fragmentation, establishing priorities for ecological restoration and mitigating development impacts on wildlife and ecosystems.

This plan is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program

Land Protection and Community Preservation

Project Leader: Robert Levite

Project Year: 2009

The extremely high population density and the dwindling natural resources of the Commonwealth demand that we look at new and better methods for developing land and growing our economy in ways that preserve the long term health and vitality of our, towns, communities and citizens.  To do this, we must design approaches and technologies that support sustainable growth.  The Land Protection and Community Preservation project encourages sustainable growth by providing the residents of the northern towns of the Quinebaug Shetucket watershed corridor with outreach, education and facilitation that will encourage capacity building and the consideration of land, water and sustainability issues in the day to day decision making processes of the towns and the region.

This project is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program