Conservation in the Internet Age

Threats And Opportunities

Edited by James N. Levitt; Foreword by Governor Tom Vilsack

300 pages | 6 x 9

Since the earliest days of our nation, new communications and transportation networks have enabled vast changes in how and where Americans live and work. Transcontinental railroads and telegraphs helped to open the West; mass media and interstate highways paved the way for suburban migration. In our own day, the internet and advanced logistics networks are enabling new changes on the landscape, with both positive and negative impacts on our efforts to conserve land and biodiversity. Emerging technologies have led to tremendous innovations in conservation science and resource management as well as education and advocacy efforts. At the same time, new networks have been powerful enablers of decentralization, facilitating sprawling development into previously undesirable or inaccessible areas.

Conservation in the Internet Age offers an innovative, cross-disciplinary perspective on critical changes on the land and in the field of conservation. The book:

provides a general overview of the impact of new technologies and networks
explores the potentially disruptive impacts of the new networks on open space and biodiversity
presents case studies of innovative ways that conservation organizations are using the new networks to pursue their missions
considers how rapid change in the Internet Age offers the potential for landmark conservation initiatives

Conservation in the Internet Age is the first book to examine the links among land use, technology, and conservation from multiple perspectives, and to suggest areas and initiatives that merit further investigation. It offers unique and valuable insight into the challenges facing the land and biodiversity conservation community in the early twenty-first century, and represents an important new work for policymakers, conservation professionals, and academics in planning, design, conservation and resource management, policy, and related fields.

Contents

Contents
Foreword
Thomas J. Vilsack, Governor of Iowa
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Introduction
James N. Levitt
Part 1
Precedents and Prospects
Chapter 2
Networks and Nature in the
American Experience
James N. Levitt
Chapter 3
The Internet, New Urban Patterns,
and Conservation
William J. Mitchell
Part II
The Potential Impact of New Networks on
Land Use and Biodiversity
Chapter 4
The Rural Rebound of the 1990s and Beyond
Kenneth M. Johnson
Chapter 5
Farmland in the Age of the Internet:
""Let Them Eat Electrons""?
Ralph E. Grossi
Chapter 6
Internet Use in a High-Growth, Amenity-Rich Region
James N. Levitt and John R. Pitkin
Chapter 7
Rural Development and Biodiversity:
A Case Study of Greater Yellowstone
Andrew J. Hansen and Jay J. Rotella
Part III
Harnessing the Power of New Networks
to Achieve Conservation Objectives
Chapter 8
The Green Internet: A Tool for Conservation Science
Leonard Krishtalka, A. Townsend Peterson,
David A. Vieglais, James H. Beach, and E. O. Wiley
Chapter 9
BirdSong: Using Birds, Citizen Science, and the Internet
as Tools for Global Monitoring
John W. Fitzpatrick and Frank B. Gill
Chapter 10
Conservation Advocacy and the Internet:
The Campaign to Save Laguna San Ignacio
S. Jacob Scherr
Chapter 11
Envisioning Rural Futures: Using Innovative
Software for Community Planning
William Roper and Brian H. F. Muller
Part IV
The Internet Age as Context for
Conservation Innovation
Chapter 12
The Watershed Approach, Biodiversity,
and Community Preservation: Bold Initiatives
in Conservation in Massachusetts
Bob Durand and Sharon McGregor
Chapter 13
Natural Amenities and Locational Choice
in the New Economy
Joel S. Hirschborn
Chapter 14
Conservation Philanthropy and Leadership:
The Role of Network Entrepreneurs
Peter R. Stein and James N. Levitt
Chapter 15
Conclusion: A Call for Conservation Innovation
James N. Levitt
Works Cited
About the Contributors
Index"