Supporting Conservation as a Land Use
March 12, 2013
Conservation has often been considered a non-use of land, what is left over when other human needs have been accommodated. More recently, the importance of conservation as an intentional land use has been recognized for its role in supporting a variety of human needs: cultural, recreational, and ecosystem services with significant socioeconomic benefits. However, conservation is different because the factors that make an area valuable for conservation are not nearly as flexible and transportable as other land uses that can use a variety of technologies to make sites suitable to accommodate nearly any type of development.
NatureServe, an international conservation nonprofit organization, supports assessment and planning for conservation land use through a variety of products and services. The NatureServe Network of state natural heritage programs collect and provide data on the location of rare and imperiled species and ecosystems as well as expertise in the conservation of biodiversity. NatureServe provides a variety of online tools to view, query, and access information on thousands of species. NatureServe Vista, a free GIS decision support system was designed specifically for land use planners to incorporate information and conservation methods to integrate conservation into land use plans.
The presenter highlighted these data and tools with some examples from around the U.S. to illustrate how they can inform better land use planning.