Watershed Protection Plan - Lower Rio Grande Valley Development ...

ELEMENTS OF THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN
Commercial development
Land Use
The ACW Partnership seeks to develop, promote
and achieve sound land use practices that protect and
preserve watershed resources, maintain water quality
and minimize pollutants entering the Arroyo Colorado.
The most notable change in land use occurring in the
Arroyo Colorado watershed is urban development. One
of the goals of the ACW Protection Plan is to increase
awareness of and promote development options that
incorporate elements of Smart Growth, conservation
design for subdivisions and Low-Impact Development
(SGN 2006).
Preserving Natural Areas
The ACW Partnership believes preserving large
areas of undeveloped land is an inexpensive and
important investment citizens can make to preserve and
protect water quality. Also, developing natural space
often produces increased fl ooding. It has been shown
that no other water quality improvement practices equal
the water quality benefi ts of undisturbed natural areas.
Preserving natural areas produces assets to manage
this problem.
The fi rst step in achieving preservation is to conduct
a natural area inventory. Initially, this can be as simple
as an inventory of developed versus undeveloped
land, which could be derived from an existing land use
map, for example. Eventually, all the natural areas
in a community need to be mapped out – wetlands,
woodlands, prairies, marshes and all the rest.
The next step is to prioritize natural areas in terms
of which should be preserved fi rst. In general, the
larger the tract and the more undisturbed it is, the more
valuable it is in terms of green infrastructure. Lands that
are adjacent to streams have particularly high value
because they act as a buffer to help cleanse stormwater
runoff before it enters the waterway.
Finally, there must be a plan for the actual acquisition
or setting aside of the properties. A variety of tools, too
numerous to mention in this document, are available.
Land can be zoned or regulated out of development,
but experience shows these options have political
costs and are not pursued in many communities. If
outright purchase is impossible, there are several
legal instruments that can be used to protect natural
areas. A simple conservation easement, for example,
might allow owners to maintain use of their property
but prohibit development. Such easements can
be purchased for much less than the sale price of
real property, and some landowners will donate the
easements or provide them at less than market value.
The ACW Partnership provides education to citizens’
groups and the public regarding the value of natural
areas in relation to water quality. The partnership also
provides a unique forum for citizens to discuss and
prioritize needs for the preservation of natural areas in
the Arroyo Colorado watershed. As part of the E&O
component of the ACW Protection Plan, the ACW
Partnership will extend this outreach effort to target
infl uential groups of citizens and organizations capable
of funding or developing partnerships to fund natural
area inventory efforts and land conservation projects
in the AC watershed. The ACW Partnership will also
provide resources for grant writing and help to establish
partnerships for resource sharing among non-profi t and
citizens groups to facilitate funding for conservation
projects.
Natural area
Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan 84 January 2007