**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PERMANENT LAND PROTECTION, WHETHER BY FEE OR EASEMENT, PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ENSURING THE LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE OF FOREST AND AGRICULTURAL LANDS. YET OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF PROTECTION IS BASED OVERWHELMINGLY ON STUDIES OF LARGE PUBLIC PARKS AND RESERVES, NOT THE DIVERSE MOSAIC OF LAND USES THAT CHARACTERIZES MODERN CONSERVATION. OUR GOAL IS TO ASSESS THE LOCAL ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF NEW PROTECTIONS USING AN UNPARALLELED SPATIO-TEMPORAL DATABASE DESCRIBING THE NEW ENGLAND LAND-SYSTEM DURING THE PAST 30-YEARS, WHEN LAND PROTECTION DOUBLED FROM TWELVE TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT.WE HAVE TWO MAJOR QUESTIONS. FIRST, HOW HAS LAND PROTECTION IMPACTED INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC WELLBEING AND ECOLOGICAL QUALITY ACROSS THE RANGE OF RURAL AND PERI-URBAN COMMUNITIES? WE WILL FOCUS ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUES, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, AND BUSINESS FORMATION AND GROWTH. ON THE ECOLOGICAL SIDE, WE WILL ASK IF LAND PROTECTION HAS PREVENTED LOSS OF FARMLAND AND FORESTS AND REDUCED ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION. SECOND, WHAT CHARACTERISTICS OF TOWNS AND PROTECTED LANDS LEAD TO THE GREATEST ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS? HERE WE SEEK A BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IMPACTS OF LAND PROTECTION CHANGE ACROSS LOCAL CONDITIONS, WHICH WILL INFORM DECISIONS ABOUT THE TYPE AND LOCATIONS OF ADDITIONAL PROTECTION.TO ENSURE OUR RESEARCH IS IMPACTFUL FOR LAND-USE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION, WE WILL DEVELOP A CONSERVATION DASHBOARD THAT BUILDS ON OUR POPULAR WEB MAPPING PLATFORM. THE DASHBOARD WILL PROVIDE BROAD ACCESS TO OUR DATA AND SYNTHESES, SO THAT PRACTITIONERS CAN MAP AND EVALUATE OUR FINDINGS AT THEIR SCALE OF INTEREST.