Estimating the Effect of Protected Lands on the Development and Conservation of Their Surroundings

Abstract

The fate of private lands is widely seen as key to the fate of biodiversity in much of the world. Organizations that work to protect biodiversity on private lands often hope that conservation actions on one piece of land will leverage the actions of surrounding landowners. Few researchers have, however, examined whether protected lands do in fact encourage land conservation nearby or how protected lands affect development in the surrounding landscape. Using spatiotemporal data sets on land cover and land protection for three sites (western North Carolina, central Massachusetts, and central Arizona), we examined whether the existence of a protected area correlates with an increased rate of nearby land conservation or a decreased rate of nearby land development. At all sites, newly protected conservation areas tended to cluster close to preexisting protected areas. This may imply that the geography of contemporary conservation actions is influenced by past decisions on land protection, often made for reasons far removed from concerns about biodiversity. On the other hand, we found no evidence that proximity to protected areas correlates with a reduced rate of nearby land development. Indeed, on two of our three sites the development rate was significantly greater in regions with more protected land. This suggests that each conservation action should be justified and valued largely for what is protected on the targeted land, without much hope of broader conservation leverage effects.

An analysis of spatio-temporal landscape patterns for protected areas in northern New England: 1900–2010

“…Our spatio-temporal cluster analysis shows ''conservation leverage'' in which past PAs have been built upon and expanded, creating large assemblages of PAs, as has been found elsewhere (McDonald et al 2007). A notable example is the corridor that is emerging between the White Mountain National Forest and northwestern Maine.…”

Increasing development in the surroundings of U.S. National Park Service holdings jeopardizes park effectiveness

“…Conservation purchases influence land market dynamics and generate feedbacks that can undermine conservation goals (Armsworth et al, 2006). Proximity to protected areas has been related to higher development rates in general (McDonald et al, 2007) and increased population growth in particular (McGranahan, 1999(McGranahan, , 2008. For example, the counties around Yellowstone National Park are among the fastest growing in the United States (Rasker and Hansen, 2000).…”

Potential future land use threats to California’s protected areas

“…Our goal was to identify ecoregions with protected areas at greatest risk from proximal land use conversion to help guide future conservation planning efforts. Rapid, landscape level analysis of multiple land use threats to biodiversity in areas surrounding conservation lands are needed if effective, long-term management strategies are to succeed (Wilson et al 2005, McDonald et al 2007. (Fig.…”