Priority Mapping Tool Gets an Upgrade

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Conservation Prioritization Multi-Model Viewer Screenshot
The Multi-Model Viewer provides data for all parcels in the 36 communities around the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers.
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The Conservation Prioritization Multi-Model Viewer lets users zoom in on a region of interest.
The Conservation Prioritization Multi-Model Viewer lets users zoom in on a region of interest.
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The tool lets users zoom in on individual parcels.
Users can also zoom in to specific parcels--and even portions of parcels--to study their conservation values across the four themes.

SVT and our colleagues in the Metrowest Conservation Alliance have improved our interactive tool that helps conservationists study the undeveloped lands in our region and identify the parcels that are the highest priority for protection.

The tool, which we announced in 2022, provides data about how well each parcel supports four key conservation themes: Nature's Services, Habitat Diversity, Farmland, and Community Conservation.

Originally, the online tool had a separate data viewer for each theme. Users had to open multiple browser windows and zoom in on a parcel each time in order to study all of the data, and it could be difficult to switch back and forth between multiple views.

Now, the four viewers are available as tabs within a single browser window. After zooming in on a parcel in one viewer, a user can switch among the four views, and that parcel will automatically be displayed in each tab.

Just like the original tool, the new Multi-Model Viewer can help users identify priority areas at the boundaries of towns and should facilitate collaborative conservation partnerships in our region.

Check out the new Conservation Prioritization Multi-Model Viewer.
 

Project Background

The Metrowest Conservation Alliance (MCA) considers "cooperative land protection projects" to be a top priority for the 36 communities around the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers (SuAsCo). In 2022, after MCA partners expressed a need for a tool to assist in identifying the most valuable lands to protect, SVT and the MCA worked together to create such a tool.

We surveyed conservation decision-makers to learn which conservation values are their top areas of concerns when assessing land protection projects. The results centered around four general themes: Nature's Services, Habitat Diversity, Farmland, and Community Conservation.

We used numerous sources of data to design four online, interactive maps that help MCA members and other users assess the conservation values of every undeveloped parcel in the SuAsCo Region. We also created an accompanying Story Map to explain the foundation and formation of the project.

In 2025, we updated the online tool so all four data viewers are available from within a single browser window. Our revised Conservation Prioritizaion Multi-Model Viewer is freely available over the web for anyone interested in studying the data.