Members of the Maine West initiative are using a new regional mapping tool to help prioritize community conservation projects with strong ties to other important community interests, such as health, education and the economy.

The GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping tool uses non-traditional metrics such as opportunity for educational programming, whether a project would help grow a town’s conservation infrastructure, and proximity to schools, hospitals, and town centers, to identify high priority projects. The tool encourages groups working on regional conservation efforts to think about conservation as a community engagement tool.