Five Rivers MetroParks Management Planning and Habitat Classification

A management planning framework supported by spatial analysis provides consistent guidance for prioritizing and enhancing stewardship within an 18-site park system.

Since 1963, Five Rivers MetroParks, a system comprised of 18 parks, has worked to preserve natural habitat in the surroundings of Montgomery County, Ohio. To enhance the park system’s overall resilience and holistic management Biohabitats helped MetroParks create a Natural Areas Management Planning framework for the entire Five Rivers system and full template management plans for Germantown MetroPark and the Stillwater Conservation Area.

The framework provides a consistent spatial method for comparing each park’s ecological potential based on an index of its conservation value, and sets management standards, indicators, and thresholds for each of its habitat types. The two detailed management plans are in sharp contrast. Originally opened to maintain flood control while promoting nature exploration, Germantown MetroPark is the system’s most diverse natural area, with steep canyons and old-growth groves of mature forest. Stillwater Conservation Area is a growing network of riparian properties buffering the scenic, biologically rich Stillwater River, through a landscape that historically supported agriculture right to the river’s edge. The two plans serve as a model for planning across the broader system of parks, as they enable staff to employ a consistent planning framework and adaptable tools while also ensuring alignment with Five Rivers’ overall priorities.

This effort was supported by detailed remote habitat mapping for which Biohabitats created a LiDAR Normalized Difference Surface Model and trained an object-based image analysis to create a system-wide habitat classification report that can serve as a baseline for future spatial analysis.

The framework and plans support Five Rivers MetroParks’ ongoing leadership in conservation and stewardship and help advance their mission of connecting people to protected open space and natural areas.

TAGS

• Analysis+Planning
• Assessment+Monitoring
• Conservation