Conservation Incentives Library: Related Resources

Posted: 13-Jan-2002; Updated: 01-May-2007

Over the past few years, a variety of materials related to the need for landowner conservation incentives such as safe harbor has been published by environmental magazines, scientific journals, and conservation organizations. Links to some of these publications are provided below. (For publications specifically on safe harbor, see Commentary and Opinion.)

• Progress on the Back Forty  (819k pdf file) This January 2000 Environmental Defense report examines the background and current use of conservation leasing, safe harbor agreements, and conservation banking.

• Rebuilding the Ark: Toward a More Effective Endangered Species Act for Private Land  David S. Wilcove, Michael J. Bean, Robert Bonnie, and Margaret McMillan. This report analyzes the status of endangered species in the U.S. and proposes ideas for improving the recovery rate. 1996. Environmental Defense, Washington, DC.

• Quantifying Threats to Imperiled Species in the United States: Assessing the relative importance of habitat destruction, alien species, pollution, overexploitation, and disease (1.5 MB pdf file). David S. Wilcove, David Rothstein, Jason Dubow, Ali Phillips, and Elizabeth Losos. This article quantifies the extent to which various human activities are imperiling U.S. plant and animal species. The authors conclude that government efforts and landowner goodwill are not sufficient to protect our nation's biodiversity; a menu of incentives to encourage landowners to manage property to benefit endangered species is essential. 1998. BioScience, Vol. 48, No. 8, pp. 607-615. ©1998 American Institute of Biological Sciences. Reprinted by permission.

• Management Costs for Endangered Species (423K pdf file). David S. Wilcove and Linus Y. Chen. Using data from interviews with over 160 scientists and land managers, the authors provide estimated costs for managing currently occupied habitat of endangered species imperiled by non-native species or disruption of fire regimes. 1998. Conservation Biology, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 1405-07. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Science, Inc., Malden, MA., www.blackwellscience.com.
  The Endangered Species Act and Private Land: Four Lessons Learned from the Past Quarter Century  (1.3 MB pdf file). Michael J. Bean. The author concludes that the ESA needs positive incentives, as well as the prohibition on "take," to further protection of imperiled species on private lands. 1998. Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis, Vol. 28, No. 12, pp. 10701-10. Reprinted by permission of the Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC.

• Endangered Species, Endangered Act? Michael J. Bean. The author examines the 25-year history of the Endangered Species Act, including critical habitat and recovery planning, and concludes that new approaches are needed to improve the Act's record on private lands - the Achilles heel of the law. 1999. Environment, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 13-18, 34-38. Reprinted by permission of Heldref Publications, Washington, DC., www.heldref.org.

• The New Guardians (550 K pdf file). Ted Williams. This article discusses new trends in habitat conservation plans, including safe harbor agreements, which give landowners an incentive to protect imperiled species. Text © Ted Williams; photograph © William Campbell. 1999. Originally published by Audubon, Vol. 101, No. 1, pp. 34-39. Reprinted by permission of the author and photographer.