North Shore Community Features: Aquatic resources and growth scenarios

Abstract

North shore communities have recently been growing rapidly, and coastal streams are showing signs of stress. One third of north shore streams are on the MPCA list of impaired waters, including the Lester-Amity system (www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/tmdl-303dlist.html) . Similar rapid development has been happening all around the coasts of the U.S. (Bartlett et al. 2000). However, few communities have the tools to forecast the potential effects of future growth on their natural and aquatic resources, or to evaluate various growth or zoning scenarios. Nor is it always obvious how the effects of various zoning regulations will be manifested on any given landscape. Insidious cumulative effects of small incremental land use changes can be quite difficult to detect or predict until much of the damage has already occurred. These effects and interactions can be made much more specific and obvious by creating GIS-based maps of the landscapes in question, showing potential development of particular areas of land based on a community’s current zoning and also on alternative zoning options. These location-specific maps can highlight areas where current zoning scenarios have the potential to allow degradation of important aquatic resources and natural features. This knowledge can allow a community to act and create alternative, more protective, zoning scenarios that will reduce future restoration costs by reducing or preventing the harm from occurring in the first place.