Management Assessment: Parker River/Essex Bay ACEC Project

A major component of the Special Area Management Model involved an assessment (link to assessment document) of local resource management strategies (both regulatory and nonregulatory). The assessment was carried out in two steps: 1) bylaws and regulations from the five ACEC municipalities were evaluated and resource protection mechanisms identified; and 2) local officials were interviewed to identify successes, case studies, and gaps in local resource protection.

• Complete Assessment of Resource Management Strategies in the Parker River/Essex Bay ACEC (PDF, 849K)

• INTRODUCTION (PDF, 83K)
• NATURAL RESOURCE ISSUES IN THE ACEC (PDF, 115K)
• NATURAL RESOURCE ISSUES IN ACEC MUNICIPALITIES (PDF, 182K)
• REGIONAL AND LOCAL CASE STUDIES (PDF, 425K)
• REGIONAL AND LOCAL STRATEGIES FOR ACTION (PDF, 99K)
• CONCLUSION (PDF, 33K)
• LITERATURE CITED (PDF, 29K)
• APPENDIX A: PARKER RIVER/ESSEX BAY ACEC CONTACTS (PDF, 79K)
• APPENDIX B: TABLE OF LOCAL REGULATORY STRATEGIES (PDF, 259K)
• APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (PDF, 38K)

CZM reviewed existing local zoning bylaws, planning board rules and regulations, and wetland bylaws in each of the five ACEC communities. The CZM Fellow also conducted in-depth interviews with members of conservation commissions, planning boards, open space committees, and some regional agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of regulatory strategies, identify potential non-regulatory tools, and better understand needs for and barriers to improving resource protection. The interviews proved useful for:

• Understanding the sometimes conflicting perspectives and priorities of different boards, commissions, and committees operating in a single community.
• Identifying common natural resource goals and issues among towns.
• Distinguishing differences in priorities and needs among towns.
• Identifying innovative management case studies that can be transferred to other ACEC communities.

CZM's goal for this assessment was to use local knowledge to identify case studies, gaps, and options for resource protection. CZM selected this approach in recognition that each community is unique, has different priorities, has different levels of staffing and expertise, and must allocate scarce resources among competing demands. Complete Management Assessment

Results, compiled in An Assessment of Resource Management Strategies in the Parker River/Essex Bay ACEC (PDF, 849K), are intended to serve as an information link among the five ACEC towns. Case studies include resource overlay districts, wetland bylaws and regulations, stormwater standards, open space acquisition, and growth management techniques, among others.

CZM and other agencies and conservation organizations in the region are available to help communities identify both regulatory and nonregulatory resource management approaches.