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Wildlife management specialists and landscape ecologists offer a new perspective on the important intersection of these fields in the twenty-first century.It's been clear for decades that landscape-level patterns and processes, along with the tenets and tools of landscape ecology, are vitally important in understanding wildlife-habitat relationships and sustaining wildlife populations. Today, significant shifts in the spatial scale of extractive, agricultural, ranching, and urban land uses are upon us, making it more important than ever before to connect wildlife management and landscape ecology. Landscape ecologists must understand the constraints that wildlife managers face and be able to use that knowledge to translate their work into more practical applications. Wildlife managers, for their part, can benefit greatly from becoming comfortable with the vocabulary, conceptual processes, and perspectives of landscape ecologists.In Wildlife Management and Landscapes, the foremost landscape ecology experts and wildlife management specialists come together to discuss the emerging role of landscape concepts in habitat management. Their contributions• make the case that a landscape perspective is necessary to address management questions• translate concepts in landscape ecology to wildlife management• explain why studying some important habitat-wildlife relationships is still inherently difficult• explore the dynamic and heterogeneous structure of natural systems• reveal why factors such as soil, hydrology, fire, grazing, and timber harvest lead to uncertainty in management decisions• explain matching scale between population processes and management• discuss limitations to management across jurisdictional boundaries and balancing objectives of private landowners and management agencies• offer practical ideas for improving communication between professionals• outline the impediments that limit a full union of landscape ecology and wildlife managementUsing concrete examples of modern conservation challenges that range from oil and gas development to agriculture and urbanization, the volume posits that shifts in conservation funding from a hunter constituent base to other sources will bring a dramatic change in the way we manage wildlife. Explicating the foundational similarity of wildlife management and landscape ecology, Wildlife and Landscapes builds crucial bridges between theoretical and practical applications.Contributors: Jocelyn L. Aycrigg, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Jon P. Beckmann, Joseph R. Bennett, William M. Block, Todd R. Bogenschutz, Teresa C. Cohn, John W. Connelly, Courtney J. Conway, Bridgett E. Costanzo, David D. Diamond, Karl A. Didier, Lee F. Elliott, Michael E. Estey, Lenore Fahrig, Cameron J. Fiss, Jacqueline L. Frair, Elsa M. Haubold, Fidel Hernández, Jodi A. Hilty, Joseph D. Holbrook, Cynthia A. Jacobson, Kevin M. Johnson, Jeffrey K. Keller, Jeffery L. Larkin, Kimberly A. Lisgo, Casey A. Lott, Amanda E. Martin, James A. Martin, Darin J. McNeil, Michael L. Morrison, Betsy E. Neely, Neal D. Niemuth, Chad J. Parent, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Ronald D. Pritchert, Fiona K. A. Schmiegelow, Amanda L. Sesser, Gregory J. Soulliere, Leona K. Svancara, Stephen C. Torbit, Joseph A. Veech, Kerri T. Vierling, Greg Wathen, David M. Williams, Mark J. Witecha, John M. Yeiser

Brings together disparate conversations about wildlife conservation and renewable energy, suggesting ways these two critical fields can work hand in hand.Renewable energy is often termed simply'green energy,'but its effects on wildlife and other forms of biodiversity can be quite complex. While capturing renewable resources like wind, solar, and energy from biomass can require more land than fossil fuel production, potentially displacing wildlife habitat, renewable energy infrastructure can also create habitat and promote species health when thoughtfully implemented.The authors of Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation argue that in order to achieve a balanced plan for addressing these two crucially important sustainability issues, our actions at the nexus of these fields must be directed by current scientific information related to the ecological effects of renewable energy production. Synthesizing an extensive, rapidly growing base of research and insights from practitioners into a single, comprehensive resource, contributors to this volume• describe processes to generate renewable energy, focusing on the Big Four renewables—wind, bioenergy, solar energy, and hydroelectric power• review the documented effects of renewable energy production on wildlife and wildlife habitats• consider current and future policy directives, suggesting ways industrial-scale renewables production can be developed to minimize harm to wildlife populations• explain recent advances in renewable power technologies• identify urgent research needs at the intersection of renewables and wildlife conservationRelevant to policy makers and industry professionals—many of whom believe renewables are the best path forward as the world seeks to meet its expanding energy needs—and wildlife conservationists—many of whom are alarmed at the rate of renewables-related habitat conversion—this detailed book culminates with a chapter underscoring emerging opportunities in renewable energy ecology.Contributors: Edward B. Arnett, Brian B. Boroski, Regan Dohm, David Drake, Sarah R. Fritts, Rachel Greene, Steven M. Grodsky, Amanda M. Hale, Cris D. Hein, Rebecca R. Hernandez, Jessica A. Homyack, Henriette I. Jager, Nicole M. Korfanta, James A. Martin, Christopher E. Moorman, Clint Otto, Christine A. Ribic, Susan P. Rupp, Jake Verschuyl, Lindsay M. Wickman, T. Bently Wigley, Victoria H. Zero

A book that emphasized the concept of wildlife habitat for a generation of students and professionals is now available to even more readers.'Habitat'is probably the most common term in ecological research. Elementary school students are introduced to the term, college students study the concept in depth, hunters make their plans based on it, nature explorers chat about the different types, and land managers spend enormous time and money modifying and restoring habitats. Although a broad swath of people now have some notion of what habitat is, the scientific community has by and large failed to define it concretely, despite repeated attempts in the literature to come to meaningful conclusions regarding what habitat is and how we should study, manipulate, and ultimately conserve it.Wildlife Habitat Conservation presents an authoritative review of the habitat concept, provides a scientifically rigorous definition, and emphasizes how we must focus on those critical factors contained within what we call habitat. The result is a habitat concept that promises long-term persistence of animal populations. Key concepts and items in the book include:• Rigorous and standard conceptual definitions of wildlife and their habitat.• A discussion of the essential integration of population demographics and population persistence with the concept of habitat.• The importance of carryover and lag effects, behavioral processes, genetics, and species interactions to our understanding of habitat. • An examination of spatiotemporal heterogeneity, realized through fragmentation, disruption to eco-evolutionary processes, and alterations to plant and animal assemblages.• An explanation of how anthropogenic effects alter population size and distribution (isolation), genetic processes, and species diversity (including exotic plants and animals).• Advocacy of proactive management and conservation through predictive modeling, restoration, and monitoring.Each chapter is accessibly written in a style that will be welcomed by private landowners and public resource managers at local, state, and federal levels. Also ideal for undergraduate and graduate natural resource and conservation courses, the book is organized perfectly for a one-semester class.Published in association with The Wildlife Society.

Habitat Management for Conservation is a practical handbook which describes the range of techniques used to manage land for biodiversity conservation. The opening sections discuss the general principles of habitat management, including decision-making, mitigating damaging effects of climate change, and monitoring the success of management. These are followed by a series of chapters which describe how to and shrublands, forests, woodlands and scrub, freshwater wetlands, coastal habitats, arable land, and gardens, backyards and urban areas. For each of these habitats the book discusses the main factors influencing their value for wildlife, highlights the key decisions that need to be made, and describes and compares the effects of individual management techniques. This comprehensive guide will be essential reading for graduate students and an invaluable resource for land managers, land-use advisors and others involved in conservation land management worldwide.