Technical Bulletin No. 0947: A Summary of Conservation Planning Efforts in Forested Regions of the United States

This material was updated in 2010 and published as NCASI Technical Bulletin No. 982(April 2011). Concern about the potential impacts of human activities on biological diversity has led government agencies, environmental non-government organizations, industry, and others to engage in conservation planning in order to identify areas of highest priority and to direct limited conservation resources in a strategic manner. Like many activities, conservation planning can occur at different spatial and temporal scales. Regional or sub-global conservation planning efforts often guide decisions and planning within relatively large sub-continental areas such as ecoregions and identify species, communities, and locations that should be conserved. As a result, they are of particular interest to forest products companies because priorities within those plans can sometimes directly affect their operating environment as well as identify conservation actions that should be considered by companies participating in sustainable forestry certification programs.