Challenges in the Conservation of Biological Resources: A Practitioner’s Guide

This book provides an understanding of the many biological and sociopolitical considerations involved in the conservation of biological resources. It is intended to provide practical advice on procedures that can be used by professional resource managers who work at local and regional levels.

Table of Contents:
Foreword -- Preface -- Cooperators -- Basic Considerations for the Conservation of Biological Resources -- Need for a Focus on Practitioners in Conservation of Biological Resources -- Roles for Land and Resource Managers in Conserving Biological Diversity -- Conservation of Biological Resources: Responsibility to Nature and Future Generations -- Conceptual Foundations -- Conservation Biology: New Goals and New Partners for Managers of Biological Resources -- Landscape Ecology: The Big Picture Approach to Resource Management -- Restoration Ecology: Repairing the Damage -- People, Patches, and Politics: Considering the Human Dimension in Landscape Management -- New Approaches in Managing Biodiversity: A Matter of Scale -- Tools and Techniques for Conserving Biological Diversity -- Population Viability Analysis -- Genetic Management of Small Populations -- Using Decision Analysis to Manage Endangered Species -- Elements of Geographic Information Systems for Resource Conservation -- Gap Analysis: An Application of Geographic Information Systems for Wildlife Species -- Case Studies in Conservation of Biological Resources: Putting Theory and Tools to Work -- Massachusetts' Landscape-level Land Protection Program -- Virginia’s Coastal Ecosystem Protection Program -- Conservation of Biological Resources in the Adirondacks -- Conservation of Biological Resources in Allegany State Park -- Land-use Modeling: Accommodating Growth While Conserving Biological Resources in Dutchess County, New York -- Creation and Restoration of Wetlands in Suburban Landscapes -- Managing Suburban Forest Fragments for Birds -- Conservation Biology Along Electric Transmission Rights-of-Way: Problems, Opportunities, and Lessons -- Conservation of Grassland Birds in Agricultural Areas -- Management of Karner Blue Butterfly Habitat in a Suburban Landscape -- Restoration of Large Predators: Potentials and Problems -- Vegetation Restoration in Northeastern Alpine Zones -- Conservation of Land and Biological Resources in Transition — Implications for Management, Education, and Policy -- Challenges for Public-sector and Private-sector Land Managers in the Conservation of Biological Resources -- Challenges for University and Outreach Education in the Conservation of Biological Resources -- Local Land Protection and Planning Efforts -- Challenges in the Conservation of Biological Resources: An Epilogue

About the Author :
Daniel J. Decker, a wildlife extension educator and researcher in the human dimensions of wildlife management, has authored numerous papers dealing with wildlife resource values. Dr.-Decker, in collaboration with the Human Dimensions Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, has directed dozens of studies and published over 150 technical reports, journal articles and book chapters relating to the human dimensions of wildlife utilization and management. Dr. Decker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. Marianne E. Krasny is Department Extension Leader, 4-H Program Leader, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University. Together with her colleagues, Dr. Krasny has developed extension education programs (including publications and trainings) in the areas of forestry, water quality, wildlife, fisheries and aquatic resources, and solid waste. Her most recent 4-H publication, Wildlife in Today's Landscapes, provides an introduction to wildlife ecology, with an emphasis on urban and suburban wildlife, and area-sensitive and endangered species. Gary R. Goff is an Extension Associate in the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University. His expertise spans the gamut of woodland management concerns, including wildlife and sawtimber management. His work has involved the planning and implementation of several extension and research projects dealing with the education of private woodland owners and resource management professionals. He and Dan Decker co-edited Valuing Wildlife: Economic and Social Perspectives, the book resulting from an international symposium which focused on the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. Charles R. Smith is a Senior Extension Associate with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and holds an adjunct appointment as an Associate Professor in Cornell's Department of Natural Resources, where he teaches a popular undergraduate course about bird conservation. From 1979 through 1988, Dr. Smith was Project Manager for the New York Breeding Bird Atlas Project that resulted in the publication of a book, The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, in 1988. David W. Gross has substantial experience in conservation planning with the National Park Service and currently as a Senior Extension Associate with the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University. He has worked with a broad range of public and private conservation interests and is very active with The Nature Conservancy and in the establishment of a local land trust.