The Massachusetts Audubon Society released the third edition of its land use report, Losing Ground, which tracks land use and its impact on biodiversity in Massachusetts. The report found that 78 acres per day of agricultural land, forests and open space were lost to development between 1985 and 1999. (This is estimated to have fallen to 63 acres per day between 2000 through 2002, which may reflect the recent economic contraction). The loss of land primarily reflects sprawling large-sized-lot residential development. Only 19% of Massachusetts’ wildlife habitat had been permanently protected as of 2003.
Losing Ground provides a set of recommendations to the state that would protect fragile open spaces and address nonsustainable development. The report uses GIS and other data and tools provided by the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) and a customized version of a real estate database from The Warren Group.

Click here to view Mass Audubon’s Losing Ground: At What Cost?

For more environmental data and reports, please visit the Boston Indicators 2003 Environment home page.