Reducing the Impacts of Rural Sprawl on Wildlife Habitat, Year 1

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) will hire Sarah Reed as Project Leader for the Western Private Lands and Connectivity Conservation Project, building on work Sarah has already done with WCS through her David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship.  Sarah's participation in the project will allow WCS to expand its capacity in several priority areas in North America in looking at ways to reduce the impacts of rural sprawl on wildlife habitat.  Sarah will examine how the concept of Conservation Development may be used in the Southern Rockies, the Adirondacks, and the Greater Yellowstone region to both recognize the realities of how people live and interact in those areas and the need to conserve wildlife habitat.  She will evaluate and compare Conservation Development ordinances adopted by local jurisdictions in WCS priority areas, produce a publication to synthesize her findings targeted to land-use planning and development practitioners, and will ensure the application of this information into conservation strategies through strategic outreach in these priority areas.