Eastford
Conservation Natural Resource
Inventory Map Data Layer Descriptions
(as of March, 2004): Soils, Agriculture, Surface Water, Ground Water, Co-Existing Resources, Open Space, Land Use/Land Cover, Natural Diversity Database, Historical & Cultural Resources, Wetlands and Watercourses. See Maps.
To assist in development of resource maps over time in Eastford, please report any vernal pool locations to the Commission.
Natural Resources Inventory Map Data Layer Descriptions
1. Soils - jump to map
Soil types within
Eastford as defined by the USDA
Natural Resource Conservation
Service. Descriptions of texture,
depth, drainage and other features
of each soil type may be found
at http://www.ct.nrcs.usda.gov:
- Prime farm soils of statewide
importance: Connecticut’s
most fertile, stone-free soils.
As a “hilltown” dominated
by stony glacial till soils, Eastford
has relatively few of these soils,
making them disproportionately
important. SOURCE: Connecticut
Department of Agriculture.
- Locally important farm soils:
Soils with the same fertility
but somewhat stonier. These soils
also grow timber and forest products
well. SOURCE: USDA Natural Resource
Conservation Service.
- Wetlands: Sites specifically
protected by state law because
of their many important ecological
functions, e.g. absorbing and
storing floodwaters, cleaning
water, wildlife habitat, etc.
SOURCE: USDA Natural Resource
Conservation Service.
2. Primary
Agricultural Resource Area - jump to Map
Geologic history
has created a roughly 7,000 acre
area in the geographic center
of Eastford within which the majority
of both prime farm soils and actively
farmed land exists. Nearly half
(47%) of the soils in this area
are prime or locally important
farm soils, as opposed to 9% in
the rest of town. This area also
includes our two village centers
(Eastford Center and Phoenixville).
Maintaining active commercial
agriculture in this area makes
economic sense for our town, will
protect our best soils for the
future and will help retain our
valued rural character. SOURCE:
Eastford Conservation & Historic
Preservation
3. Surface
Water Resources - jump to map
- Hydrography:
The rivers, streams, lakes and
ponds located in Eastford. SOURCE:
Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP).
- Known wild trout areas: Streams
where year-round populations of
native wild trout are known to
exist. Indicators of high quality
cold water aquatic habitat. SOURCE:
Connecticut Division of Fisheries
and Wildlife.
- Basins and sub-basins (watersheds):
The total land area draining into
a given water body or system.
SOURCE: DEP.
4. Ground
Water Resources - jump to map
Stratified
drift deposits: Course grained
alluvial deposits of sands and
gravels with the potential to
supply significant amounts of
clean water for future residential
or commercial use. The deeper
the deposit, the greater the water
yield is likely to be. SOURCE:
U.S. Geologic Survey; Green Valley
Institute.
5. Important
Natural Resource Areas Based on
Co-Occuring Resources - jump to map
While all undeveloped
lands have some natural resource
value, those with multiple resources
of importance on the same site
can be particularly valuable.
This map ranks all lands in Eastford
from least to greatest in terms
of the number of these resources
that are found there: forest,
farmland, prime farm soils, wetlands,
undeveloped riparian areas, stratified
drift deposits, adjacency to known
wild trout habitats, adjacency
to permanently protected or significant
open space, existence of a natural
diversity database site, and/or
located within a significant watershed,
an unfragmented open space block
or corridor, and/or the primary
agricultural resource area.
6. Permanently
Protected and Significant Open
Space - jump to map
Properties that
are permanently protected from
develop and/or otherwise significant
as open space because of their
large size, ownership or other
attributes. Includes state forest,
Yale Forest, municipal lands and
private lands on which the development
rights have been sold or donated.
SOURCE: DEP and the Green Valley
Institute.
7. Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) - jump to map
A 2003 map derived
from satellite photography showing
what is currently on the land
and/or how it is used (forest,
agriculture, developed, etc).
SOURCE: University of Connecticut
Center for Land Use Education
and Research. Thirty meter resolution
limits specificity.
8. Natural
Diversity Database Sites - jump to map
These are areas
where a confirmed sighting of
a plant or animal species that
is rare, endangered or of special
concern occurred within the past
30 years. SOURCE: DEP. To protect
the species the DEP will only
release ¼-mile radius circles,
somewhere within which the sighting
occurred.
9. Historical and Cultural Resources - jump to map
10. Wetlands and Watercourses - jump to map |
