COMMUNITY TOOLS: Using Regulation to Protect Wildlife

Regulation to Protect WIldlife

Why Use Regulation to Protect Wildlife? In addition to voluntary land conservation measures (such as land acquisition or conservation easements), communities can also conserve wildlife habitat through improving their local regulations. Wildlife habitat regulatory measures not only encourage wildlife habitat protection in your community, but make a statement that wildlife are important to your community members. In many cases, regulatory protection of habitats through ordinances and regulations also accomplishes additional goals such as recreation and aesthetics.

The process for local protection using regulation starts with the town’s master plan, where areas for protection are identified by referencing your town's Natural Resources Inventory.ces and regulatory measures.

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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

How to Use Regulations to Protect Wildlife

STEP 1: Review the Master Plan

Take a look at your most recent Master Plan. Does it include priorities for protection of important natural resources, including wildlife habitat?
If this information is missing, find out when the Master Plan will next be updated, or if there is an opportunity to add an addendum to the Master Plan that incorporates protection of key natural resources in your community.
Consider incorporating your Natural Resources Inventory into your town's Master Plan as the Natural Resources Chapter. This ensures that your your town's important natural resources, such as wildlife habitats, are an integral part of local regulatory protections.

STEP 2: Review existing regulations for wildlife habitat protection

Do existing regulations provide for protection of wildlife habitats?
Consider revising zoning and site plan/subdivision regulations to include wildlife habitat considerations.
Take a look at Community Stories to see how other communities have included wildlife habitat protection in their local regulations.
Review the resources in the box "Learn More About Regulations to Protect Wildlife" below.

STEP 3: Conduct education and outreach around proposed zoning, etc. changes

Build public support for any proposed changes to regulations. See Community Stories and Conducting Public Outreach for Wildlife for ideas.
Educate voters and decision makers about the changes and why they are important.

STEP 4: Collaborate Across Political Boundaries

Many wildlife habitats are expansive, and frequently cover territory in more than one town. Because regulations stop at the town boundaries, it can be helpful to collaborate with adjacent communities, where possible, to get consistency among regulations between towns.

Learn More About Regulation to Protect Wildlife....
Resources & Publications on using regulation to protect wildlife Innovative Land Use Planning Techniques Handbook - See Chapter 2.3: Wildlife Habitat Protection. Addressing Wildlife Habitat and Natural Resource Protection In Municipal Land Use Documents - This describes a process for reviewing land use planning documents with respect to wildlife habitat and natural resources. This "audit" includes a review of the town's Master Plan, Zoning Ordinances, and Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations with respect to 25 topics pertaining to wildlife habitat and natural resources. Habitat-Sensitive Site Design and Development Practices to Minimize the Impact of Development on Wildlife Minimizing the Impact of Development on Wildlife: Actions for Local Municipalities Community Stories - for examples of tow NH towns have successfully used regulations to protect wildlife