Resident Resources

We encourage you to learn more about conservation and the many benefits it brings.

General Resources

• Use the FEMA Flood Map Service Center to search properties and access floodplain maps.
• An overview of the Wetlands Protection Act and Wakefield's application process
• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MASSDEP) 
• Stormwater Solutions for Homeowners
  Learn a variety of options to effectively reduce runoff pollution and other stormwater impacts to help protect local waters.
• Stormwater information from the Public Works Department
• The benefit of "leaving the leaves" from the Audubon Community Nature Center
• Read more about the environmental and economic value of trees
• The University of Colorado reviews research about the impact beneficial microorganisms in soil have on mental health
• Learn the benefits of bats and how to help protect them, including making a bat house
• Before you add fertilizer, get your soil tested
• Report siting of Spotted Lanternfly

Land Use

• Guidebook to Involvement in Your Community
  This plain-language guide from Mass Audubon provides citizens with an understanding of how land-use decisions are made in Massachusetts, and how you can play a role in your own community's plans for land development and protection.
• Conservation: An Investment that Pays
  This whitepaper, developed by the Trust for Public Land, offers case studies of how land conservation has helped communities grow smart, attract investment, and more.
• The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation
  This Trust for Public Land report compiles views from scientists, economists, and researchers.
• These fact sheets focus on the value provided by five different ecosystems and pull from a literature review of over 100 technical papers: Forests, Coastal Areas, Wetlands & Waterways, Grasslands & Farmlands, Urban Green Space
• Forest Carbon: Forests as a natural solution for climate change
  A whitepaper authored by Paul Catanzaro of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Anthony D’Amato of the University of Vermont