Natural Resource Inventory & MLCCS

Natural Resource Inventories (NRI) are an essential component to effective long term ecological management. NRIs can be completed at a large scale (i.e. city or count wide), or on a small scale (i.e. a single park or a private parcel). Information obtained through the completion of an NRI can be used to develop policies, inform land use decisions, prioritize management efforts, corridor planning, or help to target certain areas for long-term protection and conservation.

Completion of a NRI typically includes a review and compilation of many data sources including pre-settlement vegetation, national wetlands inventory, soils information, county biological survey records, and topography. A full NRI often includes a significant field component and full-scale land cover mapping effort using the Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS). MLCCS is a powerful tool used to classify land cover types within a specific project area in great detail. This five-level hierarchical system uses on-the-ground field evaluation and GIS-based mapping to map and describe natural and cultural land cover types. MLCCS mapping will help land use managers and decision makers to understand where certain features are located within a given project area . An example would be a five acre oak forest in need of buckthorn removal, or a 1.5 acre high quality fen in need of protection.

In addition to land cover mapping, NRIs can also include the development of a species list, a rare species inventory, a list of management goals, priorities, and long term budget parameters, as well as a compiled report with maps and figures as well as access to any created GIS-based data.

Some of our NRI clients include Sherburne County, Wright County, Hennepin County, City of Lino Lakes, and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization