Development due to urbanization is the most significant threat to U.S. wildlife conservation. According to estimates, the nation will need approximately two million new housing units a year to meet the demands of the next 100 million U.S. residents. However, there are significant opportunities to influence the pattern and extent of development in order to meet conservation goals.
This unique book is organized around eight detailed case studies of private land developers, local governments, and public agencies that have worked across jurisdictional and ecological boundaries to effectively address habitat conservation. The book includes two essays by leading conservation biologists who link planning at scale with sound land use decisions.
The book articulates six lessons or “best practices” for the design and implementation of programs and projects that incorporate effective conservation at multiple scales:
• creating and sustaining an independent entity focused on habitat, including regional conservation efforts;
• maintaining dynamic access to conservation science;
• “branding” a project or place as wildlife-supporting;
• identifying regional habitat conservation opportunities and funding sources;
• educating the community in order to increase citizen involvement;
• achieving external certification in order to maintain a project’s continuity as nature-friendly over time.
These key elements provide planners, developers, and government agencies with attainable objectives for the design and implementation of land use programs that incorporate wildlife conservation at multiple scales.
"This remarkable book aims to bridge the gap between conservation science and land use planning. Through in-depth case studies of innovative site development designs, local government plans, and federal and state conservation programs the authors offer a range of workable solutions to protecting critical natural resources and the vital life support systems they provide. A must read for students and practitioners interested in how conservation can be advanced through land use planning."
—Dr. Phil Berke, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina
"Conservation biologists and planners have long agreed that development decisions are too often made independently of regional conservation planning, and that regional conservation planning too often fails to be infused into local land use planning and individual developments. This book’s case studies, legal analysis, and analysis of scientific efforts all come together in remarkably practical recommendations on how to resolve the scale issue."
—Laura Watchman, LEED AP, Watchman Consulting
