H144-0008
Tipping Points Planner – Supporting Better Informed Land Use Planning Policies in the Great Lakes Region

Monday, 14 December 2020
Poster
Quercus F Hamlin1, Kara Salazar2,3, Daniel Walker2, Lydia Utley2,3, Edward Rutherford4, Kristen Bellisario3, Anthony D Kendall1, Sherry L Martin1, David W Hyndman1 and Bryan Christopher Pijanowski3, (1)Michigan State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, East Lansing, MI, United States, (2)Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, West Lafayette, IN, United States, (3)Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Lafayette, IN, United States, (4)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Abstract:
In the United States, land use policy is developed and enforced locally by appointed and elected officials. Land use is largely guided by the policies set forth in comprehensive plans that are developed by planning departments, and adopted by local legislative bodies. These policies impact the future sustainability and quality of natural resources and are the result of complex local dynamics in which environmental concerns are one of many issues.

In the Great Lakes region, nutrient runoff, water quantity, and sedimentation are threats to water quality, ecosystem services, and potable water supplies. One particular area of focus is on nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient inputs to the landscape, and how those nutrients are transported to streams and to the Great Lakes coastline. These threats are influenced by where and how land is used. The Tipping Point Planner decision support tool provides information, structure, and community engagement methods that help leaders and stakeholders understand the status of these threats, visualize links between land use and water quality under different assumptions, and to review, consider, and discuss local policies that can help avoid undesired impacts to natural resources.

We will present how research and extension efforts have put science-based data and modeling in the hands of land use planners, interest groups, residents, and government officials by summarizing two case studies of community implementation. The case studies, both from the Great Lakes region, illustrate how the decision support tool operates, highlight the research communicated through the tool, and demonstrate how the facilitated process is used in communities with stakeholders of all levels of scientific and technical expertise. Finally, the case studies will provide a discussion of the community action plan, which is the final product of the Tipping Point Planner program implementation, and an update on the current status of local efforts.

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