Broome County

Natural Resources Inventory and

Management Plan

Draft –October 2013

Prepared by:

Broome County Environmental

Management Council

Acknowledgements


Contents

Introduction
Importance of Natural Resources and Open Space Planning
Intent of Plan
How to Use This Document
Brome County Overview
Demographics
Geography and Landscape
Management Issues
Existing Plans and Initiatives
Natural Resources Inventory
Protected Open Space
Inventory
Management Issues
Water Resources
Surface Waters
Aquifers
Floodplains
Wetlands and Stream Buffers
Management Issues
Working Landscapes
Farmland
Forest Land
Management Issues
Recreational Resources
Federal and State Recreation Areas
County and Municipal Recreation Areas
Fishing and Boating
Trails
Privately Owned Recreation Areas
Management Issues
Distinctive Character
Archeologically Significant Areas
Geologically Significant Areas
Scenic Landscapes and Byways
Management Issues
Biodiversity Areas
Endangered and Threatened Species
Publicly Owned Biodiversity Areas
Unique Natural Areas
Management Issues
Recommendations, Tools and Strategies

Introduction

Open Space is defined as “Any land that is not intensively developed for residential, commercial, industrial or institutional use, characterized by natural scenic beauty of whose natural condition or present state of use, if retained, would enhance the present or potential value of surrounding development or would maintain or enhance the conservation of natural or scenic resources.” The Environmental Management Council has worked within the content of this definition to developing an Open Space Plan for Broome County. The EMC recognizes the need for economic development within Broome County and believes that long-term growth is possible without jeopardizing the area’s natural environment. If preserved, the natural surroundings can be an asset to attract people and business to the County.

Throughout history the natural environment has shaped Broome County and the people that have resided here. Glaciers shaped the land, channeling out our distinctive rivers, valleys and steep hills. These were the water bodies, soils and forests that supported local communities from the Native Americans, to the early settlers, to our neighborhoods today. It is important that we recognize the abundance and value of the natural resources in Broome County, so that their benefits can continue far into the distant future, as they have supported our past.

Value of Natural Resources and Open Space Planning

Open spaces provide benefits to communities in three key areas. They improve the overall quality of life, improve the environment, and also provide tangible economic benefits. All types of communities, from inner cities and suburbs to rural areas can benefit from the preservation of open space. To the residents of Broome County, retaining its natural scenic beauty may be the pragmatic thing to do.However, it the direct and indirect, social, economic and environmental benefits must be made evident. Although larger protected open spaces provide the most advantages, even small preserved areas can also be beneficial.

Social Benefits

When people expand their perspective of natural open spaces by participating in some sort of outdoor experience they begin to make it an important part of their lives. The availability of open space can provide the opportunity to gather together and share a common ground. Surrounded by the natural scenic beauty of Broome County, with its many parks and miles of meandering waterways, residents can take part in outdoor recreation and escape their everyday routine. Social benefits of open space include:

Relaxation, rest and revitalization

Opportunity for community involvement and shared management of resources

Aesthetic beauty

Ethnic and cultural harmony

Recreational opportunities to the disadvantaged and disabled

Enhanced community pride.

Interaction with nature and environmental education

Encourages environmental stewardship.

Environmental Benefits

The provision and preservation of open space affords specific ecological benefits that serve to improve the health and well-being of both human and wildlife communities.

Supporting a wide variety of plant and animal species, preserving biodiversity

Water quality improvements, preserving drinking water and recreational opportunities

Flood mitigation and stormwater management

Air quality improvements

Economic Benefits

There is a direct connection between a healthy natural environment, a livable community and a strong economy. Communities around the country are learning that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits.

High quality of life attracts new residents and businesses.

Open space supports recreation related businesses

Parks, historic sites and recreation areas attract tourists

Open space increases property values which, in turn, increases local tax revenues.

Development involving open space preservation reduces infrastructure costs

Open space preservation is essential for farming and timber harvesting for continued agricultural productivity

Intent of the Plan

The preservation of open space and other critical environmental resources in Broome County is an essential element in planning efforts including comprehensive planning and hazard mitigation planning.Thisplan aims to promote awareness of these valuable resources, identifywhere and how these spacesarecurrently protected and where there is a need to preserve additional lands. Influences such as climate change and anticipated natural gas development are expected to have widespread landscape impacts. By outlining areas where significant open space resources are located, municipal agencies and other that are interested in open space preservation can use this plan to inform their planning efforts and apply the tools at their disposal to manage impacts and direct development appropriately.

The goal of this plan is not to restrict development throughout the county, but to highlight what natural and cultural features make the County unique and special, so that we can plan for strategic growth and development while maintaining that character. Embodied in the general goal are the following specific objectives:

  • Inventory and map existing protected open space.
  • Ensure the quality of water resources.
  • Preserve lands of distinctive character having local scenic, historic and heritage value.
  • Preserve, protect and promote responsible agricultural and forestry operations in our working landscapes.
  • Preserve and enhance the natural and cultural features which characterize the County’s unique qualities and characteristics.
  • Provide protection for environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, wildlife habitat areas and unique geological formations.
  • Preserve and enhance key entryways or gateways into Broome County.
  • Provide, expand and protect outdoor recreational facilities and opportunities.
  • Promote responsible land use and development within the capacity of our natural resources to provide services.
  • Establish and preserve buffers between open space and developed areas.
  • Preserve the biological diversity of the variety of life forms and the ecosystems they form.

This document should not be viewed as static. Periodic re-evaluation and reprioritization will reflect changing attitudes and circumstances surrounding the community’sgoals to protect open space.

Using ThePlan

The preservation and maintenance of open space lands requires a comprehensive view of resources on several scales, from lands of regional importance such as state and federal parks, to lands of local significance such as a local nature trail. As this document will show, the network of open space is comprised of parts under the ownership of a variety of players. Therefore, comprehensive open space planning requires coordination between multiple entities including local governments, state and federal partners, private landowners, conservation organizations and other interested parties. By documenting the open space lands that are currently protected and those that warrant additional protection, these groups can leverage resources and build support for a network that maximizes environmental, social and economic benefits that these resources provide.

The major ways to protect open space resources are planning for the protectionand enhancement of important open spaces, managing growth and development, directly acquiring open space, and bypracticing good stewardship.Local governments have an especially important roll due to their existing authority through local land use controls and existing ownership of open space areas such as parks. Local municipalities can utilize comprehensive planningand other local planning tools to achieve the open space goals outlined in this plan and shape healthy communities. Similarly, even though the County is limited in its land use authority, agencies can direct programming and planning efforts in a similar manner.

In addition, these entities can utilize the plan to guide infrastructure and acquisition investments.While some communities have found ways to establish a source of dedicated funds for this purpose, it is realistic to recognize that during difficult financial times, programs and policies of this nature may be difficult to finance. However, it is the hope that this plan can illuminate ways to incorporate open space preservation goals into existing processes and programming as well.

Furthermore,an inventory of local open space resources can provide a common baseline on which public private partnerships can be based. Using this plan as a springboard, nonprofit or private entities that share the common goals of open space preservation and sustainability can work for a shared vision, helping to leverage resources that may not be available in the public sector.

The information gathered during this planning process will also be made publicly available so that individual residents of our community can be aware of the resources that are valuable in their neighborhoods. This will allow them to make informed decisions about how they would like to manage their own properties and empower them to be more involved in land use decisions affecting their communities. Local business and developers can also use this information to inform their activities as well as assist them in complying with local and state environmental and land use regulations.

Content of the Plan

Broome County Overview - The first section of this plan lays the groundwork on which we will build the inventory and strategies, outlining the existing demographic and geological conditions within the county and the general issues facing the County that impact our open space resources. This section will also provide an overview of existing programs that inform or influence open space planning through direct management of our open space resources or indirectly through shared goals.

Natural Resource Inventory - The second section of the plan is an inventory of several key categories of the County’s natural resources. This is necessary in order to assess where we are in achieving our open space goals as well as gaps in the available data. First it is necessary to evaluate what open space areas are currently protected, followed by an inventory of each of the open space categories.

The inventory will be utilized to identify general areas that should be targeted for preservation or protection and inform the recommendations of the plan. Each of these chapters will include a description of the resource and its value, an inventory of the associated features, and a description of the management issues that are currently impacting that resource. The open space categories that will be addressed are:

  • Water Resources
  • Working Landscapes
  • Recreational Resources
  • Distinctive Character
  • Biodiversity Areas

Recommendations, Tools and Strategies – The final component of this plan will outline the specific recommendations for overcoming the challenges and management issues associated with the County’s natural resources. It will also give an overview of the tools and strategies available to local communities to achieve these goals

1

Broome County Overview

Demographics

Subsequent to a period of growth, when the population reached about 222,000 in 1970, Broome County’s population declined by approximately 9.6% to 200,580 people by 2010,a decrease of 21,420 residents. This decline is largely due to a drop in the birth rate and the migration of individuals out of the county. While the population declined throughout this entire period, the largest loss (5.5%) began in the nineties and continued through the early part of the twenty-first century. The 2010 census, however, indicates that the pattern of decline has eased, with no significant change in the 2000-2010 decade.

Municipality / Population / Percent Change
1990 / 2000 / 2010 / 1990-
2000 / 2000-2010 / 1990-2010
Northern Broome Area
Barker / 2,714 / 2,738 / 2,732 / 0.9 / -0.2 / .0.6
Lisle / 2,486 / 2,707 / 2,751 / 8.9 / 1.6 / 10.6
Nanticoke / 1,846 / 1,790 / 1,672 / -3.0 / -6.6 / -9.4
Triangle / 3,006 / 3,032 / 2,946 / 0.9 / -2.8 / -2.0
SUB-TOTALS / 10,052 / 10,267 / 10,101 / 2.1 / -1.6 / 0.5
Triple Cities Fringe Area
Chenango / 12,310 / 11,454 / 111,252 / -7.0 / -1.7 / -8.6
Conklin / 6,265 / 5,940 / 5,441 / -5.2 / -8.4 / -13.1
Fenton / 7,236 / 6,909 / 6,674 / -4.5 / -3.4 / -7.7
Kirkwood / 6,096 / 5,651 / 5,837 / -7.3 / 3.6 / -3.9
Maine / 5,576 / 5,459 / 5,377 / -2.1 / -1.5 / -3.9
SUB-TOTALS / 37,483 / 35,413 / 34,581 / -5.5 / -2.3 / -7.7
Triple Cities Urban Area
Binghamton City / 53,008 / 47,380 / 47,376 / -10.6 / 0.0 / -10.6
Binghamton Town / 5,006 / 4,969 / 4,942 / -0.7 / -0.5 / -1.3
Dickinson / 5,486 / 5,335 / 5,278 / -2.8 / -1.1 / -3.8
Union / 59,786 / 56,298 / 56,346 / -5.8 / 0.1 / -5.8
Vestal / 26,733 / 26,535 / 28,043 / -0.7 / 5.7 / 4.9
SUB-TOTALS / 150,019 / 140,517 / 141,985 / -6.3 / 1.0 / -5.4
Eastern Broome Area
Colesville / 5,590 / 5,441 / 5,232 / -2.7 / -3.8 / -6.4
Sanford / 2,576 / 2,477 / 2,407 / -3.8 / -2.8 / -6.6
Windsor / 6,440 / 6,421 / 6,274 / -0.3 / -2.3 / -2.6
SUB-TOTALS / 14,606 / 14,339 / 13,913 / -1.8 / -3.0 / -4.7
Broome County Totals / 212,160 / 200,536 / 200,580 / -5.5 / 0.0 / -5.5
Table 1. Broome County Population and Percent Population Change,

While Broome’s population has generally declined, the loss is most evident in the Triple Cities Urban and Fringe Areas (Vestal is the exception) which fell by 13.1% in the 2000-2010 decade. In Northern and Eastern Broome the municipalities of Barker and Lisle were the only towns to show an increase.3 (See Table 1)

Considering overall population decline it may appear that Broome is not faced with development pressure on open space resources.However, population decline in urban areas and growth in rural areas suggests a migration of the population to areas where existing open space resources are concentrated.As Broome County municipalities make efforts to reverse the trend of population decline and attract more people and businesses to the community. The protection of scenic areas and habitat regions is essential to having long lasting positive effects on the quality of life to attract these future residents.

This is also supported when you look at the data associated with the number of households. The number of households in the County increased by 5.1% from 1980-2000. Most of the increase occurred in the eighties, but continued to a lesser extent in the nineties in some areas. The increase is most evident in the rural Northern, Eastern and Triple Cities Fringe Areas which grew at a rate of 38.7, 21.4 and11.3 percent respectively. During this same period, the Urban Area increased by only 1.0 percent.

In the 2000-2010 decade, the growth in the same areas, Northern, Eastern and Triple Cities Fringe, exhibited a growth only 2.6, 1.7 and 1.5 percent while growth in the Urban Area amounted to 1.7 percent.

Overall, the number of households in Broome County grew at 0.4 percent in the twenty- year period 1990-2010

Residential development in the core urban area has declined since 1980. At that time 46% of building permits were located in this part of the County. This number declined to 30 percent in 1990 and even further to only 18 percent in 20011. Many rural towns, particularly in northern Broome had a relatively large number of building permits, with many appearing to be for mobile homes.1

The patterns exhibited by changes in the number of households seem to reflect the shift in population distribution to the more rural areas of the County. It is important to recognize with the shift to rural areas, land that had remained open space as forest or agricultural land may experience additional development pressures for residential land use and any commercial development to service these households. Therefore, the preservation of these open spaces may become increasingly important as the number of households continues to grow.

Population Trends

The Broome County population has aged significantly from 2000-2010. The population over age 65 increased dramatically, (15.8%), while increasing a modest 3.2% during the 1990-2010 time frame.

Trends in the 18 and under and 18+ groups could be tracked in earlier years. In the 1980-2000 span details showed that the 18 and under bracket decreased by 17% while the 18-34 cross-section diminished by 27%. However, methodology changes in the 2010 Census centered around the age of 19 instead, making it impossible for further tracking of trends in the over/under 18 age grouping. Based upon past history we can judge that there would be a decrease, but it would only be an estimate.

While it is difficult to compare racial distribution due to changes in Census Bureau practices, in general Broome County has become increasingly diverse, with minority races comprising12% of the population in 2010, compared to only 3% in 1980. However, the County is not as diverse as New York State, in which minority races comprised 30% of the population.

Economic Trends

Broome County has suffered economic difficulties since the early 1990’s, similar to many other upstate New York Communities. The area’s economy has historically been largely dependent on a traditional and key manufacturing economic base, which has eroded significantly. Significant high tech industries have downsized, closed, or left the County.

The total number of wage and salary jobs in the County has declined significantly since 2000,

a major factor in the substantial decline in county population. The total number of employed has decreased from 83,003 in 2000 to 72,363 in 2010, a decline of 12.8%. The manufacturing sector of the County fell from a total of 17,289 in 2000 to 8,869 in 2010, a drop of nearly 50 per cent. In the same decade, the transportation, real estate health care, professional and food service sectors experienced some growth.1

The demographic trends in Broome County over the last several decades, changes in the economy, residential and nonresidential development and the population as a whole, have reflected a general shift from the core urban areas to the urban fringe and more rural portions of the County. This may have a dramatic impact on open space lands as urban brownfields remain abandoned and greenfields in the fringe and rural areas, which house a great deal of open space, are more attractive to residents and businesses. If this trend continues, it is essential to establish boundaries and guidelines about where and how development occurs to preserve the economic and ecological benefits of these open space lands.