Smart Growth and Wildlife Listserv
May 30, 2001

Resources

• NWF VS. BABBITT: A VICTORY FOR SMART GROWTH AND WILDLIFE
  Environmental Law Reporter - June 2001
  Conservationists hailed settlement of a federal lawsuit over the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to safeguard imperiled species in the Natomas Basin here as a "huge victory for common sense approaches to wildlife protection." The settlement allows some development to go forward in the Natomas Basin during the 1-to- 2 year period in which a new regional HCP is prepared in return for commitments and guaranteed funding needed to acquire and manage in perpetuity some of the most important habitats in the basin. This far-sighted ruling may stimulate the regional planning that is so desperately needed to achieve the interrelated goals of countering sprawl, promoting smart growth, and conserving imperiled wildlife. Read the press release and the Environmental Law Reporter article discussing the lessons learned from the lawsuit.

• DEVELOPMENT VS. WILDLIFE HABITAT: ST. GEORGE FINDS WAY TO HAVE BOTH
  Salt lake Tribune - May 29, 2001
  There are dozens of Habitat Conservation Plans nationwide protecting as many different species. Washington County's (Utah) is considered one of the success stories. The plan swapped chunks of private, state and federal land to create an undeveloped stretch of desert for kit foxes, Gila monsters and the Mojave desert tortoise, which lives in California, Nevada and southwest Utah. In exchange, property owners on about 21,000 acres outside the reserve boundary were allowed to develop their land without fear of federal reprisal for "taking" an endangered species - that is, harming a tortoise or destroying its habitat.

• IN THE WAR ON SPRAWL, MD. AIMS AT ZONING
  Washington Post - May 30, 2001
  Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) announced yesterday that state officials would become more aggressive in intervening in local zoning decisions as part of his administration's efforts to limit suburban sprawl. The governor said he is prepared to invoke a 1974 law that empowers state government to intercede in local planning efforts to stop projects that encourage sprawl or to boost "smart growth," the expression used to describe his program of encouraging high-density, low-impact development.

Conference

• AMERICAN FORESTS 2001 NATIONAL URBAN FOREST CONFERENCE
  Washington DC - September 5-8, 2001
  More than any other time in the past, the built infrastructure that support urban America are overextended, creating costly and complex management problems for community leaders. At the same time there is not enough "green infrastructure- trees, open space and natural areas- that functions in a natural way to improve air and water quality. The 2001 National Urban Forest Conference will highlight opportunities to use green infrastructure to make cities better places to live. The program sessions will focus on public policies designed to increase natural capital, the latest computer technology to measure tree canopy cover and calculate its benefits, and action programs that engage communities in rebuilding the urban forest.

Take Action:

• HELP FARMERS HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AND REDUCE SPRAWL
  Because farmland and ranchland cover 55% of the landscape, agriculture dramatically impacts water quality, food safety, wildlife habitat, and the pace of sprawl. Congress will soon consider whether to provide more funding for voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More than $100 billion is at stake! Tell your representative to reward farmers, ranchers and private foresters when they take steps to improve water quality, restore wildlife habitat, or protect open space. Urge them to sign on to Kind-Gilchrest-Boehlert-Larson letter and help make conservation the centerpiece of the next Farm Bill. Take Action Now!