Parcel Environment Benefit Assessment Tool
This tool generates a report of environmental benefits of a parcel based on its location.
Enter an address or coordinates of an undeveloped location in Minnesota. The tool will match your entry to the nearest parcel in our database and retrieve the benefit metrics associated with that parcel. If you have a shapefile, use the desktop version.
As part of the reserach undertaken in this project, we produced a report for the LCCMR applying this tool to conservation easements purchased with Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund dollars.
Results for:
The top graph compares the benefit scores for your parcel (orange bars) to the average benefit scores for other parcels statewide (green bars). The darkest green bars show the statewide average for each metric, where 1 represents the highest scoring parcel in the state and 0 represents the lowest scoring parcel (color variations represent the average plus one and two standard deviations). Compare the difference between the score for your parcel of interest (orange bar) and the statewide average (green bars). Compare the length of the green and orange bars for each metric, rather than comparing one metric's score to another. Scores are not comparable between metrics because of differences in how they are constructed. For example, high scores for wild rice are more common than they are for groundwater nitrate. A score of 0.05 is very good for groundwater nitrate, but is below average for wild rice. See the documentation to learn more about how metrics were created and how their distributions vary.
The bottom graph compares your parcel of interest to parcels acquired through past LCCMR-funded easements. Here, scores are presented relative to their cost of acquisition (in price per acre). Use this figure to visualize the relative value of your parcel compared to past parcels (benefit per cost). The blue bars are fixed and represent the average return on investment (adjusted for inflation) of past LCCMR-funded easements. Compare your parcel (orange bar) to the blue bars to see how your parcel scores relative to past easements based on its potential return on investment. Note that higher values reflect a better value (more benefit per cost), but the metrics are not comparable to one another. As above, compare the orange bar to the blue bar under it, rather than comparing the metrics to each other.
If a proposed parcel's return on investment is below average on all of the metrics, its asking price may be too high for the benefits it provides. This report is designed to give an overview of a broad suite of benefits for any parcel in the state and should be considered in conjunction with local knowledge of a parcel's benefits. An easement should not be rejected solely because this tool scored it poorly, rather that should be a starting point for better understanding the perceived values of a parcel.