Achieving The Vision: Strategies, Scales, Players

2. MULTIPLE SCALES

The conservation of biodiversity on ecological reserves and on private lands must take place at multiple scales. Some examples follow:

At the land parcel scale, an individual landowner can decide whether to protect a rare plant that grows in his swamp or the northern hardwood forest that provides firewood.

At the local or town scale, citizens and local land trusts can work together to learn about and protect the elements of biodiversity that occur in their town, whether these are exemplary natural communities like dwarf shrub bogs, rare species like peregrine falcons nesting on a cliff, or representative landscapes like a river corridor with alluvial soils and glacial deposits. They can accomplish this through zoning, through the establishment of local conservation funds, through education, and by employing state and federal regulations such as Act 250 and the Clean Water Act.

At the biophysical region (multi-town) scale, citizens, regional planning commissions, and regional land trusts can work together to learn about and protect biodiversity features like bear travel corridors, rivers and streams, representative landscapes, and large roadless areas that cross town lines and that can only be protected through a more regional approach.

At the statewide scale, citizens, state agencies, federal agencies, and statewide land trusts can work together to design and protect a statewide system of ecological reserves, to implement public policies that protect biodiversity, and to plan carefully for growth.

At the ecoregional or multi-state scale, governments and conservation organizations can work together to identify elements of biodiversity that cross state and international borders, including mammals with large ranges, and aquatic resources.

At the continental and global scale, governments and conservation organizations can work together to identify and conserve elements of biodiversity that travel great distances, such as migratory birds and mammals, or that are affected by large-scale ecological processes such as global weather patterns.