Minutes - Environmental Policy Board - 08/06/2007

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Acting Chairperson aids asked if corridors have different vegetation or characteristics that would define it as a corridor as opposed to Oak savannahs. Ms. Gould responded in the affirmative. She provided further information on how to build a corridor and define it. Acting Chairperson Olds asked if a deer trail or trail used by wildlife could be considered a corridor. Ms. Gould stated they looked specifically at land cover, under the assumption and knowledge that the land cover is going to determine what kind of animals will use it. If there is an abandoned agricultural field versus a parking lot, the corridor might be preferable to run through an open field. They are looking at opportunities to connect existing natural habitat through areas that are most favorable to animal and plant movement. Acting Chairperson aIds asked if it was more characteristic of the area rather than plant type. Ms. Gould responded that it is more the vegetative cover type. She indicated on the map examples of corridors and vegetative cover. She pointed out a natural area that is not within the corridor. The corridor stops at the lake, but in fine tuning the corridor map, she suggested possibly connecting the "B" ranked natural area with an "A" ranked natural area to increase and improve the overall habitat value. It wouldn't be ideal to go through a building. Board Member Bentz asked whether there was concern about non desirable migration when tying everything together. He wondered if one type of vegetation could over power another to introduce things like Purple Loosestrife. Ms. Gould explained that the plants will be limited by the habitat type. Some of the migration would be limited. Plant species are restricted by the habitat type, but 'sometimes the plant species is carried around by animals and birds. She stated the benefits of having the connectivity outweigh the negatives because it allows for more flexibility. Discussion by members of the EPB took place about where and how corridors would be determined and approaches for fine tuning the map. Board Member Max asked how fragmented the City is, and how much of the fragmentation could be eliminated with connectivity of corridors. Ms. Gould explained that the City has a total of about 28 square miles. They found five (5) square miles of area that is indicative of the level of fragmentation of natural wetlands. The largest natural area is 52 acres. What those numbers don't capture is whether there are adjacent communities next to each other. She stated that the size of the orange polygons can be looked at to get a picture of the fragmentation. She pointed out Environmental Policy Board! August 6, 2007 Page 5 of 10