SEAFWA 2015

George R. Hess, NC State University; Christopher E. Moorman, NC State University; Janette R.R. Thompson, Iowa State University; Courtney L. Larson, Colorado State University

In his address to the 1986 National Wildlife Federation symposium, Executive Vice President Jay Hair said … “Very simply, the individuals who plan and build our cities and our growing suburbs determine both the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat that remains.” He was talking about architects, developers, landscape architects, and urban planners as de facto wildlife managers. Wildlife professionals working in metropolitan regions should become familiar with the languages and processes by which they grow. Comprehensive plans describe the desired future for a community, zoning ordinances divide them into districts and describe the development allowed in each, and development ordinances enumerate regulations for each zone. The emerging framework of green infrastructure provides an opportunity for wildlife conservation to become integrated into these planning processes. For this to occur, wildlife professionals must become involved in these processes, either directly or through alliances with people and organizations who are. We will present two case studies, illustrating different approaches to integrating wildlife conservation into the fabric of metropolitan regions. The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, adopted as part of its comprehensive plan by Pima County, AZ, in 2001, is a landscape-scale approach to conserving biological diversity. The WakeNature Preserves Partnership is a voluntary collation of land management agencies in Wake County, NC, devoted to organizing and providing resources to identify the most valuable open spaces within Wake County and build capacity for their appropriate management and long-term stewardship. Our chapter on this topic is part of the recently released book, Urban Wildlife Conservation.