Voluntary Conservation: Private landowner participation in
North Carolina's Natural Heritage Program
(spatial analysis of the Natural Heritage Program in North
Carolina)
Master's
Thesis - Kirsten Cassingham
ABSTRACT/INTRO
| THESIS | SPATIAL DATA| ANALYSIS
| COMMUNICATIONS | LINKS
ABSTRACT/INTRO
Abstract: Conflict between the
public interests in non-timber amenities of forests and the private rights of
forest owners has focused attention on voluntary conservation agreements as
a policy tool. In North Carolina, the Natural Heritage Program identifies ecologically
significant sites and provides two mechanisms for landholders to participate
in conservation of those sites. Evaluation of the program from a spatial perspective
focused on the mountain province of North Carolina, using a geographic information
system (GIS) to characterize the conservation outcome of the program (i.e.,
what has been conserved) and the determinants of participation in the program
(i.e., who has conserved). To characterize the participation decision, literature
was reviewed on voluntary forest stewardship and conservation programs and spatial
analysis of land-use. The effect of neighborhood characteristics (e.g., near-by
protected areas) and distance (e.g., from highways and cities) was considered,
as well as characteristics of the landowner and of the site. The conservation
outcome of the program was evaluated in terms of protection of ecologically
significant sites, considering both Heritage Program rankings and land cover.
Intro: Evaluating the
consequences and future of land protection requires broad temporal and
spatial perspectives of ecological and cultural factors. In this case to
what degree do ecology, economics, and other factors motivate different
landowners to protect their lands, specifically the causes and consequences
of land protection that involve voluntary private programs for land protection.
Land designated as significant under the State Natural Heritage Program,
which accounts for roughly 7% North Carolina will be considered. The study
will attempt to compare protected areas to the surrounding matrix in terms
of physical, biological, socio-economic and historical features in order
to better understand the impacts of current preservation policies. Finally
the study will suggest how the state or non-profit agency could encourage
land-owners to conserve more land and indicate whether state programs for
identifying natural heritage areas have a significant impact on conservation.
THESIS
Spatial Data
ANALYSIS
COMMUNICATIONS
LINKS
General Links
