MassDEP and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst announce the release of 'Massachusetts Ecological Integrity Maps' and 'MassDEP Important Habitat Maps' for 112 cities and towns in Western Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Ecological Integrity Maps (IEI) are based on a computer software program and a method to prioritize land for conservation based on the assessment of ecological integrity for various ecological communities (e.g. forest, shrub swamp, headwater stream) within a particular landscape. The computer software program is known as the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) and has been under development by UMass researchers over the past several years. The results of the CAPS assessment are available as GIS data and IEI maps depicting an IEI score for each point in the undeveloped landscape.

Using the IEI values, the MassDEP Important Habitat Maps depict polygons representing 40% of the landscape with the highest wildlife habitat value. Activities subject to the Wetlands Protection regulations that are in areas mapped as important wildlife habitat require a detailed wildlife habitat evaluation. Some of the new maps replace the June 2006 preliminary version previously posted for the Highlands Communities Region and Housatonic River Watershed and therefore, Applicants and Conservation Commissions should be sure that they are using the most recent maps in these areas. Additional information on how to use these maps can be found in the "Massachusetts Wildlife Habitat Protection Guidance for Inland Wetlands" published in March 2006, http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/laws/wldhab.pdf (PDF, 5.2 MB).

The IEI Maps and the Important Habitat Maps are available for download from the Mass CAPS web site (www.masscaps.org). Funding for these maps is provided in part by the U.S. EPA Clean Water Act grants, MassDEP and UMass Amherst. Maps for the rest of the cities and towns in Massachusetts are scheduled to be available in early 2010. Questions should be directed to Lisa Rhodes at MassDEP (lisa.rhodes@state.ma.us) or Scott Jackson at the University of Massachusetts (413-545-4743; sjackson@umext.umass.edu).