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News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: January 4, 2008
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402
Stephanie Powell 222-4700 ext. 4418

DEM TO PRESENT TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR THOSE INTERESTED AND/OR INVOLVED IN CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENT

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that it will present a conservation development workshop on Thursday, January 17, followed on Thursday, January 24 by a complimentary conservation design DVD workshop. The workshops are intended for those interested and/or involved in conservation development, such as municipal staff and councils, planning boards, conservation commissions, developers, land surveyors, landscape architects, engineers, and other interested parties.

Conservation development is a creative land use technique that allows a community to guide growth to the most appropriate areas within a parcel of land, in order to minimize negative impacts to the environment and community character.

The January 17th conservation development workshop will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at DEM headquarters at 235 Promenade Street in Providence. Workshop participants will learn about the benefits of conservation development and how it fits into the Rhode Island legal framework for subdivision review, and will participate in a hands-on exercise to practice applying conservation development principles to an actual site. There is a $20 fee for the workshop, which includes a light supper.

The January 24th conservation design DVD workshop will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Department of Administration building at One Capitol Hill in Providence. Conservation design DVD workshop participants will learn about a new mapping tool that complements DEM's RI Conservation Development Manual, an illustrated guide that shows how land can be developed to minimize impacts to natural resources and community character. The workshop will outline the basic mapping elements that are recommended to appropriately evaluate a site to be developed under the conservation development process and will show participants how to quickly and easily generate ready-to-print site analysis maps. Participants will be guided through the DVD's applications at their own computer stations, and will receive a copy of the conservation design DVD, which includes all required maps and software. There is a $10 fee for the workshop. Neither GIS software nor GIS experience is necessary.

Both workshops will be presented by the sustainable watersheds program and the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research coastal training program, both of DEM's Division of Water Resources. For additional information or to register for a workshop, contact Jennifer West at 222-4700, ext. 7413, or via e-mail at jennifer@nbnerr.org.

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