(Washington, DC) — A new book by scientist Rebecca Kihslinger and environmental lawyer James McElfish shows that American communities have ways to protect the regional environment.
Land development decisions present the most significant threats to wildlife and functioning ecological systems in the U.S. But there is often a mismatch between the scale at which land development decisions are made and the scale at which conservation must be addressed in order to succeed.
This unique book, Nature-Friendly Land Use Practices at Multiple Scales, 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.
Reviews:
“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 vital life support systems they provide. A must read for students and practitioners interested in how conservation can be advanced through land use planning.
—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. The 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
Biographies:
The authors are on the staff of the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC Rebecca Kihslinger is a science and policy analyst and James McElfish is senior attorney and director of the Sustainable Use of Land Program.
210 pages; Price: $39.95.
To order:
Call 800-621-2736, or order online through http://www.islandpress.org/bookstore/details.php?prod_id=1079.