Metro is now using The Conservation Registry’s online database to map and track environmental protection projects in the region.
The Conservation Registry, created by the environmental advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, features an online portal with project-mapping tools, dashboard displays and filter/search functions. Metro transferred its Regional Environmental Information Network data to the nationwide registry last month at a cost of $13,000.
The network, launched in 2006 as part of Metro’s Nature in Neighborhoods initiative, enables municipalities, nonprofits, schools and other partner organizations to enter environmental education, restoration, low-impact development, and natural area acquisition project information directly into The Conservation Registry’s online portal. Metro uses the quantitative and qualitative data to track the region’s ecological health over time and to encourage stakeholder collaboration.
"It’s a more user-friendly and powerful platform," said Nature in Neighborhoods Coordinator Corie Harlan. "You’re able to enter information in and pull information out more easily."
The Regional Environmental Information Network includes 435 projects at 569 sites; Metro's long list of project partners includes the Tualatin Basin Invasive Species Working Group, Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District and Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau.
The Conservation Registry’s interactive website enables users to view conservation projects by bird region, watershed and congressional district. The registry’s partner organizations include the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Potomac Conservancy, Wildlife Habitat Council and Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit.
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