Protected Open Space Inventory

DVRPC maintains an inventory of protected public and private open space in the Delaware Valley. The inventory tracks all publicly-owned open space, preserved farmland, and non-profit protected open space. State, county and municipal programs preserve farms by purchasing development rights with public funds. Non-profits (land trusts and conservancies) protect privately owned open space lands by purchasing easements or by acquiring land outright with a combination of public and private funds.

DVRPC updates this inventory as new information becomes available. The most recent update was completed in January 2012.

[1.7 MB pdf]

Open Space Highlights and Trends

• Protected open space makes up 23% of the Delaware Valley nine-county region. This is divided into 15% public open space and 8% private open space.
• Across the region, the largest type of protected open space is state-owned land, which makes up 39% of all protected open space. This is followed by preserved farmland, which makes up 20% of all protected open space.
• The inventory of protected open space increased by 74,464 acres, or 16%, between 2007 and 2011. An unknown portion of this increase may be due to data that was missing from the 2007 inventory.
• The biggest gains in protected open space since 2007 were in preserved farmland, which increased by over 25,000 acres between 2007 and 2011.
• The county with the greatest rate of increase in land protection was Gloucester County, which saw a 51% increase in its protected open space.
• Burlington County has by far the greatest amount of protected open space, both in total acreage and as a percentage of the county, due primarily to land protection in the Pinelands.
• About 68% of the increase in protected open space was located in a Conservation Focus Area or the Greenspace Network, areas designated for preservation in Connections - The Regional Plan for a Sustainable Future.

View Data and Tables [0.1 MB pdf]