Land Use Planning and Wildlife Maintenance: Guidelines for Conserving Wildlife in an Urban Landscape

Abstract The study of plants and animals on islands, both natural and artificial, has produced a body of generalizations immediately useful to land use planners concerned with minimizing the impacts of habitat destruction on the environment. A case study of 37 isolated chaparral fragments in San Diego, California, demonstrates the consequences of habitat fragmentation, including rapid and predictable extinctions of native birds in isolated canyons. This study and others can be used to generate planning guidelines for the prevention of such disappearances. Among the most important measures that can be taken are consolidation of open space set-asides and the provision of corridors linking habitat patches. Corridors can mitigate some of the negative effects of development on wildlife, especially where they facilitate the movement of large predators.

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