Tuesdays at APA: Supporting Conservation as a Land Use

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.


In this presentation we will highlight these data and tools with
some examples from around the U.S. to illustrate how they can
inform better land use planning.