At a recent regional legislative conference on natural gas, environmental attorney Kimberly Rea stressed the importance of recording critical environmental areas with particular environmental and historical significance so as to identify places that need protection and trigger site-specific reviews in the case of development proposals for these areas.

Affected municipalities need the information that such a natural resources survey provides to protect water quality and supply, soils, unique natural areas, and forestland, as well as to plan thoughtfully for use of existing roads and any construction of new ones.

No such document currently exists for Otsego County. OCCA has recently resumed work begun in 2004 associated with its Natural Resources Survey Workshop – collecting and evaluating inventories from diverse sources, identifying gaps in our knowledge, and seeking local input regarding the county’s flora, fauna, and unique natural areas.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE OTSEGO COUNTY NATURAL RESOURCES SURVEY CONTENTS OUTLINE.

If your agency or organization is a repository of any of the information outlined in the survey categories, or if you can direct us to sources and/or partners you believe would be integral to this project, please e-mail Darla M. Youngs, OCCA administrative director.

Click here to read more about OCCA's efforts in the “Daily Star” article by Tom Grace titled “OCCA seeks to map Otsego’s resources."