Strategic land conservation: An applied, multi‐target approach to prioritization of resilient sites for protection

Land trusts have historically selected many project sites opportunistically, awaiting communication from willing sellers or donors interested in conserving their land. However, in light of the multiple ecological crises faced by land trusts, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and habitat d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation science and practice 2024-08, Vol.6 (8), p.n/a
Main Authors: Hunt, Hilary Habeck, Baker, Kathleen, Lettow, Mitchell C., Howe, Bruce, Fuller, Nate
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Biodiversity loss
Climate change
climate resilience
Conservation
conservation planning
Environmental degradation
Geographic information systems
GIS
Habitat loss
Land conservation
land trust
Nonprofit organizations
Resilience
Spatial analysis
Water quality
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Land trusts have historically selected many project sites opportunistically, awaiting communication from willing sellers or donors interested in conserving their land. However, in light of the multiple ecological crises faced by land trusts, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction, there is a growing awareness of the need to practice land conservation with an increased pace, scale, and efficacy. In answer to that challenge, we provide one example of how a land trust can adopt methodology for the strategic selection of land protection project sites. Strategic land conservation, as demonstrated in this paper, involves thoughtful prioritization of the attributes of future conservation project sites. Following prioritization, spatial analysis of the region is conducted to identify sites that meet the prioritized attributes, in this case, resilience to climate change. The case study explored in this paper is the 2020 Strategic Land Conservation Plan created by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy and its partners. This article provides a detailed case study of how a land trust can shift its methodology for land protection project site selection to a more strategic, target‐based approach by utilizing a GIS model. Strategic land conservation, as demonstrated in this paper, involves thoughtful prioritization of the attributes of future conservation project sites, in this case, resilience to climate change.
ISSN:2578-4854
2578-4854
DOI:10.1111/csp2.13192