Open Space and Recreation Plan
"By choice, or by default, we will carve out a land legacy for our heirs. We can misuse the land and diminish the usefulness of resources, or we can create a world in which physical affluence and affluence of spirit go hand in hand." - Stewart Lee Udall
An Open Space and Recreation Plan consistent and compatible with a strategic growth plan will ensure that the natural, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values that make Sussex County special are sustained.
The document links below require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Final 2016 Open Space and Recreation Plan Update (233 pages, 30MB
Technical Report I: Land Preservation (22 pages, 41MB
Technical Report II: Land Stewardship (16 pages, 41MB
Technical Report III: Analysis and Recommendations (50 pages, 41MB
Sussex County OS Plan Update Presentation 6-23-2016
Farmland Preservation, Recreation, and Open Space Trust Fund Fact Sheet
2003 Open Space and Recreation Plan
- Full Plan (215 pages, 3MB)
Appendices
- Appendix A – Private Recreation Facilities
- Appendix B - Fishing and Hunting Programs
- Appendix C - Historic Sites
- Appendix D - Farmland, Recreation, and Open Space Trust Fund Grant Application, Criteria, Ranking Criteria
Tables
- Table 1 Municipal Recreation Facilities
- Table 2 Existing Athletic Fields Per 1000 of Population
- Table 3 Existing Athletic Fields Per 1000 of Population - Regionalized by High School Sending Districts
- Table 4 Resource Based Recreation Facilities
- Table 5 Trails on State & Federally Owned Facilities
- Table 6 Stream Reaches Accessible and Open to the Public
- Table 7 Publicly Owned Ponds and Lakes Open to Anglers
- Table 8 School Enrollment Survey Results
- Table 9 Open Space Inventory
- Table 10 Municipal Recreation & Open Space Inventory (ROSI) Properties
- Table 11 Goals Identified at Regional Meetings
- Table 12 Open Space Issues Identified at Regional Meetings
Maps
Open Space Web Map
- All Maps (7MB PDF)
- Map 1: Physiographic Provinces & Ridgelines in Sussex County
- Map 2: Geology in Sussex County
- Map 3: Glacial Sediment in Sussex County
- Map 4: Watershed Management Areas in Sussex County
- Map 5: FW1 & FW2 Surface Water in Sussex County
- Map 6: Category 1 & 2 Surface Water in Sussex County
- Map 7: Trout/Non - Trout Surface Water in Sussex County
- Map 8: Groundwater Recharge in Sussex County
- Map 9: Aquifer Rank in Sussex County
- Map 10: Aquifer Recharge Potential in Sussex County
- Map 11: Upland Forest in Sussex County
- Map 12: Potential Locations of Limestone Forest in Sussex County
- Map 13: Wetlands in Sussex County
- Map 14: Potential Locations of Limestone Fens & Ponds in Sussex County
- Map 15: Agriculture in Sussex County
- Map 16: Farm Assessed Property in Sussex County
- Map 17: Urban Land, Barren Land & Water in Sussex County
- Map 18: Slope Categories in Sussex County
- Map 19: Natural Heritage Priority Sites in Sussex County
- Map 20: Forested Habitat for Threatened & Endangered Species in Sussex County
- Map 21: Forested Wetland Habitat for Threatened & Endangered Species in Sussex County
- Map 22: Emergent Wetland Habitat for Threatened & Endangered Species in Sussex County
- Map 23: Grassland Habitat for Threatened & Endangered Species in Sussex County
- Map 24: Open Space in Sussex County
- Map 25: Existing Recreation Field Statistics in Sussex County
- Map 26: Rail Corridors in Sussex County
- Map 27: Wellheads & Wellhead Protection Areas in Sussex County