In 2013, we partnered with Cornell colleagues at the Center for Conservation Social Sciences to evaluate our program. A survey of more than 200 past participants found that 79% of respondents had used our program assistance and information to take at least one municipal action. The evaluation also demonstrated that program participants improved their biodiversity and conservation literacy through improved understanding of conservation principles, factors that contribute to the loss of biodiversity, and the importance of biodiversity to their municipalities. They also increased their ability to identify specific land-use practices to conserve or enhance habitat, and were better able to inform land-use decisions in their communities.

Read more about the evaluation results:

• Incorporating Biodiversity in Municipal Land-Use Planning: An Assessment of Technical Assistance, Policy Capacity, and Conservation Outcomes in New York's Hudson Valley (Land Use Policy Vol. 104, 2021)
• Building Local Capacity for Conservation and Land-Use Planning in the Hudson Valley: Evaluation of the Hudson River Estuary Program’s Biodiversity Outreach Program (full evaluation report, 2015)
• Conservation and Land Use: Linking Municipal Capacity and Biodiversity Outcomes (CaRDI Research & Policy Brief - 2-page summary of survey, 2015)
• Building Local Capacity for Natural Resource-Based Planning (NYS Association of Counties News, 2016)