The indicators in the following list are those rated 5 or higher from Appendix A of the
The Guide to Sustainable Community Indicators, Second Edition, by Maureen Hart, 1999.
Biodiversity Indicators:
- Biodiversity -amphibian
- Biodiversity - plant
- Song bird diversity or population
- Number of species at risk
- Proportion of species approaching target population size
- Acres of occupied grizzly habitat
- Tailed frog population
- Stream miles opened for migratory fish
Fish Indicators:
- Fish species with consumption restricted
- Commercial salmon catch in watershed
- Overfished fisheries compared to fisheries not overfished
- Wild salmon returning to spawn
- Acres of closed shellfish beds
- Oyster Condition Index
Land Use Indicators
- Land use patterns
- Agricultural land loss / total arable land
- Open land lost to development in square km
- Total area in significant land-use categories
- Rate of change of wilderness area
- Number of acres of major terrestrial ecosystems
- Acres of cropland that have been converted to developed land
- Impervious surfaces
- Acreage of land used for streets
- Number of biogeographical regions with adequate protected areas
- Acres under integrated pest management
- Percent of new residential lots within 1/4 mile of services
- Land area in parks and wildlife refuges
- Percent of significant natural areas protected
- Forest land acres
- Loss of primary forests / total primary forests remaining
- Number of acres of public open space
- Area used for organic agriculture / area used for chemical intensive agriculture
- Proportion of original agricultural land reserve (ALR) still designated ALR
- Trees lost and gained through multi-family development
- Number of trees in urban 'forest'
- Open space in urban villages
- Parks and playgrounds as percent of urban area
- Land parcels greater than 80 acres, and greater than 160 acres
- Privately owned acres placed under conservation easement
- Number of trees on public property
- Area of lands under formal agreement for wildlife habitat
- Index of land naturalness
- Acres of environmentally sensitive areas
Soil Indicators:
- Soil erosion per acre of cropland
- Average soil erosion on cultivated cropland as a proportion of tolerable rate
- Area of land affected by soil erosion and salinity
Surface Water Indicators
- Percentage of estuarine areas not suitable for shellfish harvesting
- Quality of river water entering country / quality leaving country
- Number of days all beaches are open for swimmming
- Percent of streams you can drink from
- Fishable and swimmable river miles and lake acres
- Fecal coliform count in surface water
- Miles of rivers not suitable for fishing due to dioxin
- Percentage area of lakes fully suitable for swimming
- Index of watershed naturalness
- Bernie Fowler's Sneaker Index - water clarity
- Amount of road salt used on rural regional roads
- Compliance with dissolved oxygen standards
- River compliance with metals water standards
- Bay grasses recovering, in acres
Wetlands Indicators
- Acres of natural and restored wetlands
- Size and distribution of significant wetlands
Related Topics: