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National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor

1. The 2005 Energy Policy Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs), areas in which the federal government can fast-track requests for use of eminent domain and construction of high-voltage, interstate transmission lines. An NIETC is designated by the DOE in response to a request from an entity such as a power company or a regional transmission operator. For more information, see www.conserveland.org.

National Register of Historic Places

1. The official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources. More information can be found at http://www.nps.gov/nr/about.htm

Native Plants

1. Those plants that were growing naturally in a specific area before humans introduced plants from distant places. Native plants typically grew in communities with species adapted to similar soil, moisture, and weather conditions. [http://www.for-wild.org]

Nature Preserve

1. An area dedicated to the preservation of natural resources, often those of a specific conservation value. Nature preserves are generally open to the public for study and for recreation which would not disturb the resources.

Negative Easement

1. A right granted by a landowner to an easement holder that empowers the easement holder to stop the landowner from doing something on their land (such as constructing a building that blocks sunlight reaching a neighboring property or blocking a neighboring property's scenic view)

New Urbanism

1. Planning and design movement that promotes "human-scale" development as an alternative to low-density, single-use development. Key components include mixed residential and commercial buildings, multi-modal transportation options, and vibrant public spaces.

Non-Native Plants

1. Plants introduced to an area by people.

Non-Point Source Pollution

1. Non-Point Source Pollution - "Pollution discharged over a wide land area, not from one specific location. These are forms of diffuse pollution caused by sediment, nutrients, organic and toxic substances originating from land-use activities, which are carried to lakes and streams by surface runoff. Non-point source pollution is contamination that occurs when rainwater, snowmelt, or irrigation washes off plowed fields, city streets, or suburban backyards. As this runoff moves across the land surface, it picks up soil particles and pollutants, such as nutrients and pesticides." [Source: U.S. Geological Survey, http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dictionary.html]
2. A substance that pollutes or degrades water that comes from lawn or cropland runoff, the atmosphere, roadways, and other diffuse sources [Source: U.S. Geological Survey, http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/nonpoint_source.html]