Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell released a strategy April 10 for moving beyond project-by-project decisions to a balanced approach to conservation and development across large landscapes. Given vexing challenges of meeting energy needs and equally pressing needs to preserve natural resources, such federal attention is essential.
Landscape-scale conservation is not a new concept, yet too often policy makers and even conservationists have focused on areas insufficient to conserve vulnerable ecosystems.
Last month, a cadre of some of the nation’s most respected ecologists wrote to Secretary Jewell encouraging her to increase efforts to conserve more lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, of which only about 11% have protected status — too little to protect healthy, functioning ecosystems, as detailed in Conservation Biology.
Clearly landscape-scale approaches are necessary that blend preservation with careful planning for growth and development. AWC is continuing to work to see passage of the Sonoran Desert Heritage Act, a landscape-scale plan that incorporates wilderness and broader conservation designations with plans for renewable energy development and support for Arizona’s military establishments. |
