Conservation and land-use planning is instrumental in balancing future growth and development with protection of priority lands and waters. Landowners, local municipalities, land trusts, watershed groups, regional conservation organizations, and state agencies all play a role, and at whatever scale they are conducting conservation work, they require accurate information about natural areas.

Inventory is a key step in gathering a foundation of natural resource information, which then can help to set priorities and develop the practices, plans, policies, and funding strategies necessary to achieve successful conservation outcomes. This section of the website describes the different steps in this process.