Editors' Summary: An institutionalized planning process for biodiversity conservation can help fill in gaps left by legal tools that are inadequately designed or rarely implemented. In this Article, authors Robert McKinstry Jr., James McElfish, and Michael Jacobson explain the role that effective planning can play in the conservation of biodiversity. They discuss different types of planning, such as land use planning and planning to protect specific areas valuable to biodiversity, and reveal the mechanisms that can be used to implement these plans.
Robert McKinstry Jr. is the Maurice K. Goddard Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources Conversation at the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to his appointment to the Goddard Chair, McKinstry was the Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Environmental Practice Group of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, L.L.P., in Philadelphia, PA, and is currently Of Counsel to that firm. James McElfish is a Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), where he directs the Institute's Sustainable Use of Land Program. His publications include, among others, NatureFriendly Ordinances, The Environmental Regulation of Coal Mining, and approximately 50 ELI research reports and scholarly articles. Michael Jacobson is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the Pennsylvania State University School of Forest Resources. His extension, research, and teaching activities are in the area of forest economics, policy, agroforestry, and international forestry. [Editors' Note: This Article appears in the book Biodiversity Conservation Handbook, by Robert B. McKinstry Jr., Coreen M. Ripp, and Emily Lisy, published in 2006 by ELI. The book can be ordered by either calling ELI at 800-433-5120 or logging on to the ELI website at http://www.eli.org.]
