Waltham Land Trust
Open Space Evaluation Criteria
The criteria below are qualifying
standards for properties to help determine if the Waltham Land Trust would
become actively engaged in their protection, investing the organization’s
time and resources. The objective of any land protection project carried out
by the WLT should be to provide benefits to Waltham and carry out the mission
of the WLT. For a project to qualify, it must meet at least one of the
five resource criteria
1. Ecological characteristics [E]
- Wildlife habitat
- Intact natural community
- Minimal disturbance
- Rare native habitats
- Nesting/brooding sites
- Support landscape ecology functions (e.g. wildlife corridors)
- Viable size
- Wetland resources
- Vernal pools, riverfront, stream, marsh, pond, floodplain,
isolated land subject to flooding, wetland buffers
- Priority plant communities (defined by MA Natural Heritage Program)
- Rare species
2. Geologic features [G]
- Cave
- Cliff
- Large erratic
- Ledge
- Esker
- Kettle hole
- Promontory
3. Historical and cultural significance [H/C]
- Significant historic events/person
- Historic buildings or remnants
- Ancient tree or feature
- Working landscape (farm or forest)
- Drinking water resource
- Reaches under-served populations
4. Recreational/Educational significance [R/E]
- Contains areas currently used/ or with potential for:
- Environmental or cultural history education
- Classroom extension
- Scientific research
- Scenic views
- Trail systems
- Waterways
5. Connectivity [C]
- Links already protected areas (including playground, school, conservation land)
- Links to significant unprotected open spaces
- Near other protected area (if not contiguous)
- Provides public access to protected areas
- Provide wildlife corridors
To arrive at a numerical "value" of an open space parcel, the Waltham Land Trust's
Land Committee studies the parcel and assigns a number between 1 and 3 for each of
the five evaluation criteria, to indicate the degree to which the parcel possesses
that characteristic. The numbers assigned to the Ecological and Connectivity criteria
are then doubled and the 5 numbers associated with the 5 criteria are totaled to
give the final score.
For example, the "Indian Ridge" parcel (21 acres behind the Wal-Lex shopping center)
was rated as follows:
- Ecological [E] - 3
- Geologic [G] - 2
- Historical/Cultural [H/C] - 1
- Recreational/Educational [R/E] - 2
- Connectivity [C] - 2
After doubling numbers assigned to [E] and [C], the total score is computed as:
6 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 15
Visit the Parcel Evaluation Page to see the scores assigned to other open space
parcels in Waltham.
revised April, 2004