 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sprawl is the major cause of habitat loss in New Jersey, and the only way to stem this loss is to carefully plan where and how we develop our land. Because habitats and ecosystems do not abide by the arbitrary political and municipal boundaries we have drawn in the land, one municipality's work cannot single-handedly save the biodiversity of an entire region. But in no way does that mean that there isn't important work that should be done on the local level.
There are several basic principles that can be adopted by municipalities to help preserve habitat and biodiversity (adopted from the National Wildlife Foundation):
Furthermore, in Ecological Guidelines for Land Use and Management, Dale et. al. offer a basic checklist of factors to be considered when making land use decisions:
- Protect, restore and maintain natural resources and ecosystem function, both in developed and undeveloped areas.
- Before planning any projects, use the best available science to assess natural resources and determine areas of environmental vitality.
- Target for conservation areas of important ecological function, critical habitat, and corridors to connect such areas with already protected land.
- Limit the negative effects of development on habitat, air and water quality by ensuring decent vegetation cover and reducing paved surfaces.
- Enrich the quality of life for the region's citizenry, and support tourist and natural resource-based industries through increased access to open space.
- Create wildlife-friendly and environmentally sensitive regulations and incentive programs.
Keeping these goals and principles in mind, there are numerous smart-growth techniques that can be implemented on the local level to curb sprawl and preserve our region's biodiversity. These techniques can be grouped into the following categories: land preservation & landscape planning, planning techniques, economic incentives, and education.
- Examine the impacts of local decisions in a regional context
- Plan for long-term change and unexpected events
- Preserve rare landspace elements, critical habitats, and associated species
- Avoid land uses that deplete natural resources over a broad area
- Retain large contiguous or connected areas that contain critical habitats
- Minimize the introduction and spread of nonnative species
- Avoid or compensate for effects of development on ecological processes
- Implement land use and land management practices that are compatible with the natural potential of the area
Land Preservation & Landscape Planning
This generally involves direct protection from development of untouched swaths of land and encouraging habitat-friendly land uses in already-developed areas. This can be done in a number of ways:
Parks, Community Gardens, Natural Landscaping, and Backyard Habitats
The predominant landscape material in most parks, backyards, and other public open spaces is a grass lawn. This landscaping offers little habitat for native species like birds and butterflies that contribute to our region's biodiversity. By using our region's native vegetation in our parks and backyards, we can create habitats while saving money, because native vegetation usually requires less money and effort with respect to maintenance, irrigation, mowing, fertilizer, and pesticides.
Natural landscapes also serve as protective barriers for sensitive natural areas like water bodies and wetlands. Root systems of native plants improve the filtering process of rain and stormwater runoff, and hold soil in place, thereby reducing erosion.
Local governments can use natural landscaping techniques on public parks and properties, and encourage the use of native landscaping on private properties through educational programs.
Open Space Purchases, Conservation Easements, and Land Trusts
Biodiversity loss can be largely contributed to sprawling consumption of open space and the consequent loss of habitat. One of the most efficient and effective ways to preserve habitat and biodiversity is to preserve land. Open space preservation not only preserves biodiversity, but it also provides aesthetic benefits and a sense of identity for a community, it enhances property values of surrounding areas, and benefits the community by providing stormwater retention and flood control.
Towns should first identify unprotected areas within the community that could be preserved and then prioritize these areas based on biodiversity and community benefits. Preservation techniques include land dedications and donations, development rights acquisition, outright purchase of the land, and conservation easements. Landowners can also be encouraged to cooperate with private or non-profit organizations to preserve their land.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits the uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Conservation easements vary from case to case in terms of allowance of activity on the land, but in all cases, landowners do retain the right to sell the land and pass it on to children, and future owners must also abide by the terms of the easement.
Land donations are another option for a private landowner who wants to ensure the protection of the land.
State Preservation Programs:
A land trust can help private landowners arrive at a conservation plan best tailored to the landowner's needs, and can put the landowner in touch with attorneys and planners familiar with conservation techniques. To find a land trust in your area, go to the Land Trust Alliance's list of New Jersey land trusts: http://www.lta.org/findlandtrust/NJ.htm
- Green Acres
- New Jersey Natural Lands Trust
- Farmland Preservation Program
- Green Trust
- Garden State Preservation Trust
Natural Area Restoration
When we alter or change natural landscapes, we often destroy or degrade habitats. By restoring and protecting the health of natural systems and maintaining them in a way that supports a variety of species and natural activities, we can reverse this process somewhat. Local governments can encourage natural landscape management and restoration practices in their communities, and can restore lands under their ownership or assist in the restoration of other lands by enacting policies and ordinances that allow and encourage restoration efforts.
Stream, Lake, Wetland, and Watershed Protection
Streams, lakes, watersheds, and wetlands drain water, clean wastewater and stormwater, are valued for aesthetic and recreational uses, and provide habitat for many species of plants and animals. The alteration or destruction of watersheds that contribute flow to a water body or wetland, as well as the alteration or destruction of water bodies and adjacent lands degrades the quality of these resources. Local action is essential to protecting these resources. Often, acquiring ownership of or conservation easements for water bodies and wetlands is the most effective way to protect these resources.
Stormwater Management
Stormwater management, while it does not directly preserve habitats, does preserve the health of local waterways, which in turn protect habitat and biodiversity. Degradation of water resources is often due to pollution carried from developed areas and roads into water bodies and the reduction of natural groundwater recharge due to land overdevelopment.
By reducing the amount of impervious surface area (thereby reducing runoff), the landscape is better able to naturally filter and absorb runoff. By using natural detention basin and drainage designs, infiltration practices, reduced imperviousness via alternative development designs, natural landscaping, and improved maintenance practices, municipalities can protect habitats, improve property values, and reduce infrastructure maintenance costs.
Planning Techniques
The planning techniques listed below don't directly protect a specific species or piece of land, but they do represent "smart" growth strategies that allow municipalities to plan their development in ways that minimize the effects of growth on regional biodiversity.
Comprehensive Planning & Zoning
A comprehensive plan establishes a community's goals and objectives, and outlines how the community will achieve these goals. By incorporating biodiversity and habitat protection into a town's plan, it sets the framework for enacting proactive programs and ordinances. Plans should identify natural areas, natural resources, opportunities for protection, and hopefully should also coordinate these policies and actions with neighboring communities whenever possible.
Zoning and subdivision regulations are the most common tools that municipalities use to control land use after policies that are outlined in the comprehensive plan. Zoning ordinances control land use in specified areas, and can be used to preserve natural areas, buffer natural areas from damaging uses, and to require that specific development and/or preservation standards be met. Subdivision regulations establish a process through which proposals for the subdivision of land for development can be reviewed, thus allowing public officials and developers to cooperate to design a project that meets the needs of both the developer and the community. These regulations can require that a specific percentage of a site be preserved as open space, or that certain development design requirements to protect natural areas or restore natural spaces are met.
Transportation Planning
The more that our methods of transportation depend on automobiles and roads, the more we destroy our local ecosystems and habitats. Roads cut through swaths of land, harming biodiversity and ecosystems by changing habitat, fragmenting contiguous pieces of land, and increasing pollution in the immediate area.
Transit-Friendly Development (link to section)
By making it easier for people to access and use mass transit, we reduce the need to build new roads, reduce pollution, and reduce auto dependence.
Bicycle Lanes & Sidewalks (link to section)
The more we ride bicycles or walk, the less we drive. The less we drive, the less pollution we produce, and the less we need to build new roads that destroy habitats.
Changing Development Patterns
Sprawl development can be stopped by carefully planning where and how we develop our land. By making sure we develop in compact, efficient ways and maximizing development opportunities in already-developed areas, we can go a long way in preserving New Jersey's biodiversity.
Infill Development (link to section)
Brownfields Development (link to section)
Clustering & Compact Development (link to section)
Mixed-Use Development (link to section)
Growth Boundaries (link to section)
Economic Incentives
Transfer of Development Rights (link to section)
Location-Efficient Mortgages (link to section)
Education
Habitat and biodiversity protection depends not only on municipal leaders, but also upon the involvement of a town's other residents. Informed residents make informed decisions that will benefit the health of natural ecosystems and influence larger community decisions. Public outreach and education is essential to biodiversity preservation. Local governments can educate their constituents using a variety of strategies ranging from marketing and use of the media to public information campaigns to promoting special events and preservation efforts. Communities can develop neighborhood-based programs and projects and link them to school-based programs. They can also identify and support community leaders who can lead educational efforts. Offering opportunities for all of a town's residents to become involved in monitoring, restoration, and land preservation can be a very important tool.
Educational efforts will increase public support for habitat and biodiversity protection, improve understanding of how nature contributes to sustainable, livable communities, and improve awareness of economic, social, political, and ecological interdependence in urban and rural areas.
Office of Environmental Education, U.S. EPA http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/index.html. The EPA offers information and funding to towns and organizations who want to implement environmental education programs. The website includes information for children, students, and teachers. The environmental education for Region II can be found at http://www.epa.gov/region02/ee/ and includes information on teacher workshops, classroom visits by EPA experts, and other resources. Environmental education grant information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/region02/cgp/ee/.
World Wildlife Fund http://www.worldwildlife.org/windows/pdf/education_framework.pdf. This site offers a very good biodiversity information and education manual.
National Biological Information Infrastructure http://www.nbii.gov/education/. This site has a number of resources for teachers, including curriculum suggestions.
Some other environmental organizations that are involved in biodiversity outreach and education include:
- Adopt a Watershed www.adopt-a-watershed.org
- Biodiversity Education Network www.bioednet.org
- Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk www.hear.org
- National Environmental Education and Training Foundation www.neetf.org
- North American Association for Environmental Education www.naaee.org
- Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education www.pcee.state.pa.us
- Project WET www.montana.edu/wwwwet
- Project WILD www.projectwild.org
Personal Actions to Help Preserve Biodiversity
|