New Branford “Natural Resources Inventory” makes trove of town environmental data searchable online

The Town of Branford has activated an innovative new online Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) that for the first time combines dozens of databases about wetlands, water resources, plant and animal habitats, geology, and other natural-resource information into one easily accessible and searchable analytical platform.

Updating and expanding previous NRIs published in 2003 and 2013, the inventory can serve as a comprehensive educational tool for students and the general public to learn more about natural resources in the town, including wildlife habitat, wetlands, and environmentally sensitive areas, and research how they could potentially be affected by future rising sea levels, flooding, and other weather events. 

Harry Smith, Town Planner said: “The updated Natural Resources Inventory is a wonderful compilation of information in the format of an instantly searchable online database of information that used to be contained in dozens of separate sources. The Inventory allows users to quickly combine information from multiple data sources to develop an environmental assessment on a particular property or much larger area practically on demand. This can only lead to better land use informed decisions on plans for both individual properties and the Town as a whole.”

Bill Horne, Advisor to the Branford Land Trust, said: “Branford’s new Natural Resources Inventoryis a wonderful and valuable asset for Branford’s residents, volunteers and officials who want to know more about our town. It offers a tremendous model for how cities and towns throughout Connecticut and our country can take all kinds of valuable environmental information that municipalities have compiled—often over years and at great expense--and make it easily searchable, usable, and actionable. I wish that it had been available to me during the three decades that I’ve been involved with the Branford Land Trust, the Conservation and Environment Commission and the Planning & Zoning Commission.”

Among the many types of information compiled in Branford’s NRI are water resources, physical features, biological communities of plants and animals, known environmental issues, and flooding/resiliency. The NRI brings together information from multiple Town and State geographic information systems (GIS) databases, including the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), CT ECO (Environmental Conditions Online), the Town Planner's Office, and the Inland Wetland & Watercourse Agency, as well as private-sector databases. 

Leading the development of the NRI was the Branford Environment Conservation Commission (BCEC), with NRI committee Chair Christie Day and Commissioners Carol Kaminsky, Heather Wells-Sweeney, and Patrick Sweeney serving on a special subcommittee that oversaw development of the inventory. The BCEC also thanked the offices of the First Selectman, Town Engineer, Parks & Recreation Department, the Branford Land Trust, the Town Historian, and project consultants GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., for their work on and support of the NRI.

The inventory may be found online at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a2e7c59d5cfc4b95bd014aea0354d3a8/page/About/, which includes a link to a PDF guide with tips on how to use and explore the NRI.