Environmental Planning

Preserving Bucks County

Natural resource features define the Bucks County landscape, and understanding the basis and importance of environmental attributes can help effectively guide land use planning policies. Natural resources include rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes, forests and woodlands, farmland and agricultural soils, plant and animal habitats, and areas of steep slopes. The preservation and conservation of these natural resource features is important as they provide habitat and maintain biodiversity for a range of plants and animals, protect and enhance water quality, provide for groundwater recharge of aquifers, provide recreational opportunities, provide protection against flooding, and help prevent erosion. 

Flooding, water pollution, soil erosion, insufficient water supply, and the loss of critical vegetation and habitat are a few of the negative consequences of development that can result when the limitations of the natural environment are not considered.