Perlman - Practical Ecology for Planners, Developers and Citizens - Chapter 7 pot

Conservation biologist D. A. Falk once remarked: “The daily practice of conservation is as different from the world of theory and scholarly research as is the blackboard at a military academy from the battlefield.” 1 He went on to note that actual conserva- tion decisions are often influenced by economic, legal, real estate, regulatory, political, and public opinion considerations as much as, if not more than, by conservation science. These remarks are truisms to anyone who has worked in the land use professions, but it is telling that they appear in a book of scholarly scientific papers—a resource that few planners, designers, or developers would have the time or inclination to read and incorporate into their work. Throughout this book, we have tried to bridge this gap between scholarship and practice. In this spirit, the next five chapters move from the classroom to the “battlefield,” examining the ways that conservation sci- ence is, and could be, applied to land use planning and design projects. We begin in Chapter 7 with a discussion of conservation planning—the design of nature reserves and buffer areas—and then broaden the focus in Chapter 8 to include other types of natural and seminatural areas serving a range of needs, both natural and human. Chapter 9 introduces the burgeoning field of restoration ecology and discusses how planners and designers can reintroduce natural habitats and processes on degraded lands. This chapter also addresses the flip side of restoration: land man- agement, or preventing degradation in the first place by incor- porating ecological understanding into land stewardship. Chapter 10 focuses on specific planning and design tech- niques that can improve project outcomes. The book concludes with an opportunity to practice applying the lessons of ecology and conservation biology to a two-part planning and design ex- ercise, replete with much of the messiness of real-life profes- sional practice. Part Three APPLICATIONS [...]... can also be excellent sources of information * Land cover and land use data both describe the surface cover of the earth Land cover data usually distinguish among various types of forests, grasslands, or wetlands (e.g., coniferous forest versus mixed forest versus hardwood forest) and are especially helpful for ecological inventories Land use data often provide more information on human settlement patterns... mid-1980s Because conservation biologists refer to a wide variety of entities as “corridors,” confusion can arise when different people refer to different types of corridors Table 7- 2 and Figure 7- 5 describe a variety of landscape features that have been called corridors Keeping in mind the caveats discussed in Chapter 6, land use professionals should consider incorporating corridors into their land... and interpreting ecological information The following are a few possible low-cost as well as more conventional techniques for acquiring and analyzing ecological data Appendix B provides a list of sources where much of this information can be found Remote sensing Remote sensing data (i.e., aerial photos and satellite images) paired with geographic information systems (GIS) offer large amounts of information... in space? Key aspects of context include adjacent land uses, nearby protected areas, connectivity of the landscape, and abiotic flows, such as water and nutrients • What current and future human activities may change or influence the study area’s ecology? • What legal and regulatory protections restrict how lands within the study area may be used now and in the future? also be paired with field assessments... truthed” data about local ecosystems For example, if field studies associate the red-legged frog with pools located in moist forests, then other instances of the same habitat can be flagged as potential (though not certain) red-legged frog habitat Scientific literature and agency data and records Preexisting studies may offer surprisingly good information about the ecology of your study area In the United... scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”6 During the twentieth century, nature conservation became a continually larger and more sophisticated endeavor, beginning with the involvement of several government agencies and, by... U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, “Short History of the Refuge System,” http://refuges.fws.gov/history/over/over_ hist-a_ fs.html (accessed July 27, 2000) 6 From the National Park Service Act (the Organic Act) of 1916, 16 U.S.C 1, quoted in (and reference from) Michael J Bean and Melanie J Rowland, The Evolution of National Wildlife Law, 3rd ed (Westport, CT: Praeger, 19 97) , p 306 7 U.S Fish and Wildlife... entire landscape and to maintain viability into the future reserve shape The shape of a reserve can have a surprisingly large impact on its ability to perform its intended functions The most important aspect of reserve shape is the relative proportion of edge and interior habitats, because (as discussed in Chap- 1 47 148 A P P L I C AT I O N S Table 7- 2 Types of Habitat Corridors Type of Corridor and Description... spur the formation of such organizations as the Audubon Society This hat from Montana has birds from New Guinea and Southeast Asia Figure 7- 4 In 1908, as President Theodore Roosevelt grew concerned over the nearextinction of the bison, the U.S government created the National Bison Range in western Montana This 18,500-acre (7, 500 ha) reserve still exists today and is administered by the U.S Fish and Wildlife... biodiversity information can be found at states’ Natural Heritage programs (originally created through the joint efforts of The Nature Conservancy and state governments), while in Canada, a parallel network of Natural Heritage Information Centres and Conservation Data Centres operate at the provincial level State, provincial, and federal wildlife departments, local land trusts, conservation organizations, and . Land cover data usually distinguish among various types of forests, grasslands, or wetlands (e.g., coniferous forest versus mixed forest versus hard- wood forest) and are especially helpful for. 1 37 Box 7- 1 A Brief History of Nature Reserves Hunting preserves for royalty and sacred groves where hunting and resource collection were for- bidden were among the earliest portions of the landscape. the original reason for creating the park. Category 4: Multi-use managed areas. These are true multi-use lands, man- aged for production (e.g., timber, livestock, and mining), recreation, and bio- diversity