Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	76.93
Liaison	Ezra Small
Submission Date	March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	1.00 / 1.00 This credit is weighted more heavily for institutions that own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to any of the following: Legally protected areas (e.g., IUCN Category I-VI) Internationally recognized areas (e.g., World Heritage, Ramsar, Natura 2000) Priority sites for biodiversity (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites) Regions of conservation importance (e.g., Endemic Bird Areas, Biodiversity Hotspots, High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas) 2 points are available for this credit if the institution owns or manages land that includes or is adjacent to any of the above. 1 point is available for this credit for all other institutions. Close	Ezra Small Sustainability Manager Physical Plant

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:

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Endangered and vulnerable species

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

In 2019 during the MS4 Stormwater reporting process, the institution reported the following Species have been found on campus:
• The Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis): Threatened
• The Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides): Threatened
• There are no listed critical habitats at this time

Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

Prexy's Ridge Forest: Prexy‘s Ridge Forest is an old growth forest on the westward steep slope southeast of the intersection of Eastman Lane and North Pleasant Street. Part of the Waugh Arboretum, the Forest is a unique educational, research, and recreational asset for the campus and should be preserved.

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

UMass assessed whether any endangered species, threatened species or critical habitat can be found on our main campus and at our Mt Ida campus as part of the covered MS4 areas. In 2018 the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Information for Planning and Consultation” (IPaC) online system was utilized to determine if we have any endangered species, threatened species or critical habitat on our campus for the NOI. The IPaC website can be found at:
http://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/

UMass Environmental Health and Safety will review this annually.
The last review date: June 28, 2019

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

There are no ongoing assessments other than students doing wildlife habitat assessments as assignments for coursework in Environmental Conservation courses.

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

Every time we go to build a new building, the process always includes the consideration for the preservation of wildlife habitats. Preservation of wildlife habitat is rooted deep in the culture of planning at UMass Amherst. The UMass Amherst Extension Citizen Planner Training Collaborative program offers resources for developing bi-laws in local governments for wildlife habitat protection (see link below).

https://ag.umass.edu/cafe/nifa-planned-extension-initiatives/citizen-planner-training-collaborative

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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