Integrating Land Use Planning and Biodiversity - Defenders of Wildlife

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LAND USE PLANNING AND BIODIVERSITY in the planning area's many communities. The plan should identify available open space, gather existing species data, and include specific regulations and incentives for preserving biodiversity. It should also provide for the mitigation of past or future habitat losses. Local officials should take a broad and creative view of how zoning ordinances and other land use laws and regulations may be used to conserve biodiversity. Zoning laws and regulations can undermine biodiversity by increasing habitat fragmentation, or they can help conserve natural habitats, although not necessarily by establishing preserves. A variety of measures, including conservation easements, transfer of development rights, special augmentation of existing zoning, and tax incentives can, if employed in ecologically sound ways, help create or maintain existing open spaces in working landscapes, such as ranches, farms and private forests. Working landscapes can promote conservation while maintaining the economic value of land and forestalling the kind of intense development that destroys or fragments natural habitats. If used strategically, rezoning can be extremely useful in conservation, especially where purchasing land for preservation is either not possible or desirable. There is, however, an ongoing debate over the merits of "up-zoning" and "down-zoning." Up-zoning increases density (by allowing more lots per acre) and is generally favored by "smart growth" advocates as a way to contain sprawl. Down-zoning decreases density (by allowing more acreage per lot), and has been used by many communities to protect open space from sprawl. Because it is thought to discourage ranches and farms from being divided and subdivided, downzoning is usually employed when communities seek to preserve agricultural land from development. BOX 4. REGIONAL/STATE PLANS INFORM LOCAL LAND USE PLANNING AT THE FOLLOWING POINTS: • Community vision and goal setting. • Local open space planning. • Regulations or incentives to conserve biodiversity. • Review of development proposals and projects. • Siting of infrastructure facilities in the community (e.g. roads, schools, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, etc.). • Comprehensive or master planning process. • Applications of local planning measures (e.g. zoning, conservation easement programs, transfer of development right programs). • Creation of intermunicipal planning councils and agreements. • Habitat mitigation for development, transportation projects, etc. • Discussions with public agencies and elected officials should focus on environmental benefits of biodiversity rather than environmental constraints. adverse impact on wildlife and biodiversity. Dense development can eliminate wildlife habitat completely. If managed properly, farms and ranches can provide some wildlife habitat; if not, they can contribute to its degradation. Historically, wildlife has rarely been considered in rezoning, but regional or statewide conservation planning can help change this situation. A notable example is the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, a Wildlife Conservation Society program that works in the New York City metropolitan area. In many developed communities, zoning may be the best and only option for protecting the area's remaining wildlife habitat. Either scenario, however, may have an THE ROLE OF CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS Workshop participants were asked to suggest how Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation and 23
WORKSHOP DISCUSSION environmental organizations can help integrate habitat and biodiversity conservation into local land use planning. The list of tasks was long, and included education campaigns that would communicate the importance of biodiversity and habitat preservation to local and state officials, and the public. Another suggestion was to have nonprofit organizations help build on existing knowledge by sharing information (scientific, technical and procedural) from other communities with local planners. Participants felt this would help states define the core elements of a biodiversity plan, and help planners and the public understand the costs and benefits of implementation. Conservation groups can help improve and expand public involvement in the comprehensive wildlife conservation plans being created under the State Wildlife Grants Program. State fish and wildlife agencies should be encouraged to make their comprehensive wildlife conservation planning a collaborative process that involves a variety of interest groups, including conservation organizations. Defenders and others should also continue working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop policy guidelines for the State Wildlife Grants Program. BOX 5. RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS FOR NONPROFIT CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS • Promote awareness of state and regional conservation plans around the country. • Define the core elements of state biodiversity plans. • Encourage states to create plans involving multiple public agencies and private partners. • Assist in translating regional conservation to local planning decisions. • Work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop guidelines for the State Wildlife Grants Program. • Work with and support state fish and wildlife agencies, and encourage them to develop high quality statewide wildlife conservation plans. • Showcase specific habitat conservation projects. • Inform states about conservation planning through examples, process recommendations, and technical assistance. • Provide information about the connection between biodiversity and other community values. • Communicate costs and benefits of implementing plans. • Build constituent support for plan development and implementation. 24
Page 2 and 3: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to thank a
Page 4 and 5: TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 6 and 7: LAND USE PLANNING AND BIODIVERSITY
Page 12 and 13: CONSERVATION PLANS IN PROGRESS he m
Page 14 and 15: WORKSHOP DISCUSSION n recent years,
Page 22 and 23: CONCLUSIONS nformation that would e
Page 24 and 25: Massachusetts BioMap CORE HABITAT S
Page 26 and 27: Oregon Conservation Opportunity Are
Page 28 and 29: APPENDIX A: PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS hi
Page 30 and 31: APPENDIX A: PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS WE
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Page 56 and 57: LITERATURE CITED Benedict, M.A. and
Page 58: We gratefully acknowledge the suppo

Integrating Land Use Planning and Biodiversity - Defenders of Wildlife

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