Planners across the United States are navigating unprecedented challenges: balancing growing development pressures, public expectations for livability and sustainability, and the need to preserve vital ecosystems.
One increasingly essential dimension of this work is planning for wildlife habitat connectivity. Local governments have land use authority across nearly two-thirds of land in the U.S. and have a key role to play in preserving this connectivity.
Paul, K. and A. Breuer. 2025. Integrating Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Into Local Government Planning: Examples, Recommendations, and Resources for U.S. Towns and Counties. Center for Large Landscape Conservation.
In recognition of the importance of local action, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation created a new guide on wildlife habitat connectivity and local government: to bring together the policy tools and practical strategies that every community and every community member—whether you're a resident, planner, biologist, developer, or legislator—can consider using to help keep landscapes connected.
The report, titled Integrating Wildlife Habitat Connectivity into Local Government Planning: Examples, Recommendations, and Resources for U.S. Towns and Counties, is a practical guide for planners and partners to weave wildlife habitat connectivity into local land use decisions. It features sample policies and ordinances from across the country, case studies of successful implementation, and best practices to support local action.
The report highlights steps towns and counties can take, such as mapping priority habitat, clustering development, securing open space, and requiring buffers around sensitive resources. It also outlines tools like conservation design, overlay zones, and wildlife crossings, along with state-level policies and partner actions that provide critical support.
Examples from the report include:
- The city of Buckeye, Arizona created a Wildlife Corridors Best Practices Guide to help planners plan for future development with wildlife in mind.
- Lake County, Florida's Comprehensive Plan includes a Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway Corridor Overlay District, with language to establish standards to create and maintain a safe corridor for both wildlife and people, including the construction of wildlife crossing structures.
- Scott County, Minnesota has mapped Natural Area Corridors to guide development away from the corridors through incentives and to improve natural resource functions within them.
- The state of Vermont has a Community Wildlife Program offering technical services and information to local governments to help find natural resource information, review town planning documents, connect with other partners, and focus on a larger regional scale for planning.
More information, along with a free download of the report, can be found at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation or the Technical Guides.
Please note: This digest is intended to provide up-to-date information on policy development from a neutral, unaffiliated position as it relates to connectivity and corridor science and management.
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