Ranking Parcels for Open Space Acquisition

The purpose of this exercise is to develop a system for ranking parcels for openspace acquisition.  These rankings will be coupled with existing GIS data to help guide the creation of Charlestown's open space plan. This method of ranking land is adapted from on Critical Lands for Conservation, a study conducted at URI by Peter August.

In order to rank parcels, I would like to know how you score the following categories.  These rankings are out of a total of 100 points, so you should assign no more than 100 points in total.  Each category is listed below, along with the data that is used to determine which areas are important for each category.

 1.  Groundwater Protection: ____ Points

·         Community wellhead protection areas

·         Non-Community wellhead protection areas

·         Ground water recharge areas

·         Ground water reservoirs

2.      Habitat Protection:  _____ Points

·         300 ft Buffers of protected lands

·         300 ft Buffers around rivers

·         300 ft Buffers around wetlands

·         Wetlands

·         Forests and brush lands

·         Rare species habitat

3.      Cultural Resources:  _____ Points

·         Greenways

·         Historic districts

·         Scenic areas

4.      Farmland:  _____ Points

·         Agricultural Lands

·         Prime and important agricultural soils

5.      Growth Management:  _____ Points

·         Buildout

6.      Size of the parcel: _____ Points

·         Charlestown Parcels

Thank you for your help.