An evaluation of agency conservation guidelines to better address planning efforts by local government

In North America and Europe, land-use decisions that affect wildlife habitat often are made at the local government level. atural resource conservation agencies have little regulatory authority to influence these decisions, but frequently are asked o provide scientific support because local jurisdictions do not have staff with the necessary background in wildlife ecology. ome of this scientific support comes through technical publications and guidelines that are developed by agencies to address ity and county planning issues. Little information is known about the usefulness of these materials to the planning community. e surveyed planners in Washington State, U.S.A. to determine their use and perception of a series of technical publications eveloped for local planners by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). We found that planners often use hese publications as technical guidance for environmental planning activities required by the state. However, they found the uidelines to be less useful for site-scale projects and for urban planning projects. Our results indicate that conservation agencies nd those working with local governments should consider developing guidelines for the variety of settings in which planners ork and that these guidelines should consider a wider range of habitats and species. 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.