Willowsford Conservation Plan and Residential Development

Willowsford is a 4,058-acre planned residential development featuring half of its community acreage set aside as conservancy lands that span protected woodlands, agricultural fields, and natural and constructed wetlands. The extensive site – with its unique objective of natural and cultural resource preservation – required complex infrastructure and land development planning. WSSI had evaluated the natural and cultural resources on the project site prior to Willowsford’s ownership, and our early evaluations played a key role in helping Willowsford establish initial land use plans for the community. This site knowledge, along with a deliberate permitting strategy, was critical for meeting local zoning requirements and further cementing the vision for this unique planned community.

The Challenge

Work with Willowsford land planners and engineers to help support a complex land conservation strategy for preserving over 2,300 acres in the residential development planning, permitting, and construction process.

Our Solution

Our knowledge base was a springboard for moving the project ahead in the necessary studies to meet schedule and regulatory requirements. We delineated and survey located wetlands and streams in the project area within a compressed timeframe, and provided on-site riparian buffer preservation and coordinated off-site mitigation for impacts.

Our environmental scientists completed endangered and threatened species studies, searching for and documenting protected rare birds and plants across the project site, and our archeologists completed Phase I Archeological Investigations, Phase II Evaluations, and Phase III Data Recovery Excavations, as well as cemetery delineations. We also worked with Willowsford to develop the formal Conservation Plan that protects the natural, cultural, and historical resources within the community.

At the request of Willowsford, we interpreted architectural and archeological artifacts and historical markers to integrate them into various community amenities where residents and the public can experience the history of the site in their day-to day activities.

WSSI has monitored environmental compliance on the site for more than a decade to ensure that development activities follow local, state, and federal environmental permits through the life of the project.