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About Island Press
Island Press is the only nonprofit organization in the United States whose principal
purpose is the publication of books on environmental issues and natural resource
management. We provide solutions-oriented information to professionals, public
officials, business and community leaders, and concerned citizens who are shaping
responses to environmental problems.
In 2005, Island Press celebrates its twenty-first anniversary as the leading provider
of timely and practical books that take a multidisciplinary approach to critical envi-
ronmental concerns. Our growing list of titles reflects our commitment to bringing
the best of an expanding body of literature to the environmental community
throughout North America and the world.
Support for Island Press is provided by the Agua Fund, The Geraldine R. Dodge
Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, The George
Gund Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Kendeda Sustain-
ability Fund of the Tides Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation, The John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Cur-
tis and Edith Munson Foundation, The New-Land Foundation, The New York Com-
munity Trust, Oak Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, The David and Lucile
Packard Foundation, The Winslow Foundation, and other generous donors.
The opinions expressed in this book are those of the author(s) and do not neces-
sarily reflect the views of these foundations.
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N -F C
ATURE RIENDLY OMMUNITIES
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N -F
ATURE RIENDLY
C
OMMUNITIES
Habitat Protection and Land Use
C D
HRISTOPHER UERKSEN
and
C S
ARA NYDER
ISLANDPRESS
Washington • Covelo • London
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Copyright © 2005 Island Press
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No
part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in
writing from the publisher: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Ave., Suite 300, NW, Wash-
ington, DC 20009.
ISLANDPRESSis a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data.
Duerksen, Christopher J., 1948-
Nature-friendly communities : habitat protection and land use / Christopher Duerksen
and Cara Snyder.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55963-593-2 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-55963-865-6 (pbk. : alk.
paper)
1. Habitat conservation—Economic aspects—United States. 2. Habitat conservation—
United States—Case studies. 3. Land use—United States—Planning—Case studies.
I. Snyder, Cara. II. Title.
QH76.D84 2005
333.95'16—dc22
2005003191
British Cataloguing-in-Publication data available.
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Design by Schawk, Inc.; Publishing Solutions for Retail, Book, and Catalog
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................................................ix
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1
The Benefits of Nature Protection....................................................................................................................11
Chapter 2
Key Program Elements and Best Tools.............................................................................................................46
Major Case Studies.............................................................................................................................................121
Chapter 3
Austin, Texas: Two for the Price of One—Protecting Water Quality and
Habitat through Land Acquisition...................................................................................................................122
Chapter 4
Baltimore County, Maryland: Using the Entire Toolkit for Habitat Protection..................................................152
Chapter 5
Dane County, Wisconsin: Stopping Sprawl and Promoting Infill......................................................................174
Chapter 6
Eugene, Oregon: Shining Star of Wetlands Preservation....................................................................................197
Chapter 7
Fort Collins and Larimer County, Colorado: A Tale of Two Jurisdictions.........................................................221
Chapter 8
Pima County, Arizona: Planning for and Investing in Habitat Protection.........................................................253
Chapter 9
Placer County, California: Leaving a Legacy....................................................................................................275
Chapter 10
Sanibel, Florida: Do Enjoy, Don’t Destroy........................................................................................................294
Chapter 11
Twin Cities Region, Minnesota: Toward Regional Habitat Conservation..........................................................315
vii
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Focused Case Studies.........................................................................................................................................343
Chapter 12
Bath Township, Ohio: Riparian Overlay District.............................................................................................344
Chapter 13
Charlotte Harbor, Florida: Ambitious Regional Critical Area Protection Program..............................................350
Chapter 14
Chicago Wilderness: Biodiversity Recovery Plan...............................................................................................357
Chapter 15
DeKalb County, Georgia: Greenspace Program................................................................................................361
Chapter 16
Farmington Valley, Connecticut: A Valley’s Biodiversity Project........................................................................367
Chapter 17
King County, Washington: Benchmark Program.............................................................................................374
Chapter 18
Pittsford, New York: Greenprint for a Town’s Future........................................................................................380
Chapter 19
Powell County, Montana: Rural County Wildlife Protection.............................................................................386
Chapter 20
Teton County, Wyoming: Natural Resource Overlay District............................................................................390
Chapter 21
Traverse Bay Area, Michigan: New Designs for Growth....................................................................................395
Chapter 22
Loudoun County, Virginia: Green Infrastructure Meets Green Money...............................................................401
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................................411
Index...................................................................................................................................................................413
viii
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ix
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
It has been a privilege and pleasure to work with a distinguished consortium of con-
servation organizations to produce this book on nature-friendly communities. We
count the members of the project management team—Laura Watchman of Defend-
ers of Wildlife, Jim McElfish of the Environmental Law Institute, Bruce Stein of
NatureServe, and Kristy Manning of Island Press—as good friends and teachers.
Kristy Manning deserves special mention and thanks for her thoughtful orchestration
of this effort. It gives us great comfort to know that these bright and dedicated people
are working tirelessly to protect the wild things, and that institutions like the Doris
Duke Charitable Foundation are making this and other efforts possible with generous
financial support.
A number of leading lights in the fields of planning, law, and wildlife biology
offered invaluable counsel in helping us identify and select the case study communi-
ties. Paul Farmer and Bill Klein of the American Planning Association, Edward
McMahon, late of the Conservation Fund and now with the Urban Land Institute,
and Peter Howell, formerly of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and now at the
Open Space Institute, were particularly helpful. Kudos are also in order for the edito-
rial staff at Island Press, especially Jessica Poppe, Jeff Hardwick, and Mary Anne Stew-
art for their heroic efforts to make us sound more cogent and erudite, and James
Nuzum, for his invaluable help with graphics.
And in each case-study community, we received generous assistance from key
individuals, without whose help this book simply would have not been possible. We
particularly appreciate the way they freely and honestly allowed us to have an insider’s
look at how things really worked in their jurisdictions. They are acknowledged in the
notes to the case studies.
Several of our colleagues at Clarion contributed to the research and writing of the
case studies and helped keep the project on schedule. We are deeply in debt to Ben
Herman (Placer County), Matt Goebel (Austin), Craig Richardson and Chad Mead-
ows (Charlotte Harbor), and Marlise Fratinardo (Teton County and Powell County)
for their work and insights. Darcie White, Lesli Ellis, Elizabeth Boyd, Molly Mowery,
Renae Pick, Gretchen Wrede, and Jill Nobles also helped with graphics, illustrations,
and other important odds and ends.
