Abstract
Collaborative conservation efforts, in general, struggle with implementation as a result of the multiple scales and institutions involved in the process. The planning process from research to implementation gets disconnected at some phases, and often fails to result in conservation actions. This research investigates the gap between science and action when implementing large-scale conservation plans through land use planning. The specific focus is implementation of wildlife corridors in the Northern Appalachian eco-region.
The Staying Connected Initiative (SCI), a federally funded multi-partner initiative, identified seven landscape linkage areas in this region to implement conservation actions. Two of the landscape linkage areas located in New York and Vermont were investigated through this study. From the conservation planning standpoint, this research asked where disconnects are likely to emerge during the implementation of large scale wildlife corridors. Regarding land use planning, of interest were motivations and success factors that influenced the extent of wildlife considerations in local land use plans. Using both descriptive and interpretive approaches to plan evaluation and interviews with key informants, the study tried to account for the differences in the regional planning environments and jurisdiction sizes.
Results indicated that incorporation of wildlife values into land use plans showed variation depending on the regional planning environment; however, additional case study research demonstrated that community values, derived from the sense of place, and development pressure were significant motivators in this process. Findings showed that during municipal plan development, the commitment and expertise of local decision-makers, as well as the availability of technical assistance, were the major contributors to success. While funding was important, jurisdiction size also mattered. Yet, small-size jurisdictions were also capable of incorporating wildlife language into municipal land use plans. Four disconnects were identified along the conservation planning process. These disconnects took place during the identification of conservation opportunities and constraints, provision of technical assistance, with community outreach efforts, and during working sessions in the land use plan development phase. This research addressed these disconnects between planning steps by developing a framework for understanding the relationship between science-based conservation plans, local and regional government planning capacity, and municipal government policy actions.