Summary: This project will design and deliver a multi-phased open space planning program for four counties in western North Carolina. The goal is to create a regional framework that guides future growth while respecting the integrity of the region's ecosystems. The Linking Lands and Communities (LLC) project will engage community leaders and regional stakeholders in the Land-of-Sky Region to promote systematic thinking about open space planning and protection; to look at conservation action in concert with growth management, land development and built infrastructure planning; and to enhance smart growth efforts at the regional and community scale. LLC will incorporate existing data and plans - local land use, parks and recreation, greenways, transportation, farmland preservation and open space plans - into an integrated regional plan which will help strengthen local planning and conservation efforts.

Project Status: The Land of Sky Regional Council signed its contract with FHWA and held its official kick off meeting.

Land-of-Sky Regional Council (LOSRC) held two Conservation Leadership Workshops in April and May to recruit individuals for the project's Leadership Group and Science Team and to educate a large number of people (103 attendees total) about the project and the green infrastructure approach. A Leadership Group has formed to guide the project; it began meeting monthly in June. A Science Team has formed and began meeting monthly in May. The Team has begun pulling together data and resources to conduct an ecological assessment of the region.

Contact: Jim Stoke
Senior Regional Planner
Land of Sky Regional Council
(828) 251-6622 Ext. 116
jim@landofsky.org

Linda Giltz
Regional Planner
Land of Sky Regional Council
(828) 251-6622 Ext. 138
lindag@landofsky.org

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