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. Natural resource conservation agencies have little regulatory authority to influence these decisions, but frequently are asked to provide scientific support because local jurisdictions do not have staff with the necessary background in wildlife ecology. Some of this scientific support comes through technical publications and guidelines that are developed by agencies to address city and county planning issues. Little information is known about the usefulness of these materials to the planning community. We surveyed planners in Washington State, U.S.A. to determine their use and perception of a series of technical publications developed for local planners by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). We found that planners often use these publications as technical guidance for environmental planning activities required by the state. However, they found the guidelines to be less useful for site-scale projects and for urban planning projects. Our results indicate that conservation agencies and those working with local governments should consider developing guidelines for the variety of settings in which planners work and that these guidelines should consider a wider range of habitats and species.