Learn about progress with the Jackson County District 4 Conservation Plan, and meet our in-coming Chair of the Oconee Bell Chapter for 2025
Everyone is welcome to join this talk and then ask questions via Zoom!
Development brings permanent changes to our landscape, driving the need to look carefully at different aspects of existing land use, such as developed urban areas, open space, managed forest reserves, and agricultural property, and to consider how those uses may shift under increasing development. This talk will introduce an ongoing project for District 4 in Jackson County that seeks to inventory and map its diverse and unique natural assets, review existing ordinances and legal protections, analyze case studies, engage stakeholders and the public, and develop recommendations on how the District can balance the conservation of natural assets with ever-growing development pressures.
In their talk, Dr. Bill Horton and Owen Carson, who works for Equinox Environmental, will discuss the progress made to date, showing detailed maps to discuss land use in District 4 of Jackson County. All this is part of a project aimed at providing Jackson County Commissioners with a few new elements for a conservation plan that is critical to everyone in our community and to the integrity of our surrounding life systems. The ultimate goal of this work is to enable better stewardship of our natural resources across the county in ways that will also inform other counties, and to provide tools to sustainably manage growing regional development pressures.
Join the Zoom conference online at 6:45 pm for informal greetings and to meet newly elected Chapter officers for 2025. Enjoy the talk (7:00 pm - to be recorded) and then stay for questions, comments, and discussion with Dr. Horton, Owen Carson, friends, and members of our chapter.
The Zoom link will be distributed via email to those who register. Image Credit: https://equinoxenvironmental.com/make-ecosystems-matter-again/