Communities throughout the Atlanta Region place emphasis on the importance of conservation and recreation areas to maintain quality of life, health, and welfare. Within the context of the Regional Resource Plan, areas of conservation and recreational value include State Vital Areas such as water supply watersheds, wetlands, river corridors and mountains; also regional trails and greenways; regional reservoirs; and national and state park service sites.
Water Supply Watersheds are identified within the context of regional river basins and protect community drinking water sources.
Wetlands protect land areas adjacent to surface water bodies that sustain vegetation typically found in areas with saturated soil conditions. These areas support a variety of ecosystems that make dynamic environmental contributions and are important to sustainable planning and practice.
Protected River Corridors focus on preserving the land adjacent to rivers to support a diversity of wildlife, recreational interests, and water quality. Limitation of development along river corridors enhances the environmental quality within a community and protects investments in real property from damage due to flooding.
Protected Mountains are designed to limit development activities on sensitive mountain slopes to protect the general health, safety and public welfare of a community. Located at the convergence of the Blue Ridge and Piedmont Regions of the state, limited areas of Protected Mountain resources are found within the Atlanta Region.
Regional Reservoirs in the region serve multiple purposes, including preservation of wildlife habitat, recreational amenities and critical drinking water supplies.
Greenways and Multi-Use Trails have both conservation value and function as points of connectivity within larger green infrastructure and transportation networks. Greenways are enhanced by active conservation measures and/ or recreational use of their greenways. Trail systems can be combined with river greenways, but as often can be found utilizing other corridors such as city streets, public utilities, linear parks, or abandoned rail lines.
The National Park Service has created several classifications for park sites, a variety of which are found in the Atlanta Region. Collectively, these sites encompass several thousand acres and offer unique opportunities for environmental conservation, heritage preservation and recreation.
State Parks also provide opportunities for environmental conservation, heritage preservation and recreation, and protect hundreds of acres of land in the Atlanta Region.
Additional Links
- For more information on Georgia’s State Vital Areas, review the Georgia Rules for Environmental Planning Criteria.
- For more information on Regional Reservoirs, information from the US Army Corps of Engineers can be found at:
- For more information on Regional Greenways and Multi-Use Trails
- For more information on National and State Park Service Sites, and other areas of interest: