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New Handbook Demystifies Transportation For Conservation Advocates
Washington, D.C. - Defenders of Wildlife is proud to present a new book, Getting Up To Speed: A Conservationist’s Guide to Wildlife and Highways. The handbook is written for conservationists to provide the necessary foundation to become better informed, more effective stakeholders in transportation debates.
According to its author and director of Defenders’ Habitat and Highways Campaign, Patricia White, “conservationists are often faced with highway projects that threaten wildlife and habitat, but are ill prepared to respond in an informed manner. For the uninitiated, the world of transportation can be confusing and intimidating. As a result, advocates may feel powerless and ultimately surrender, or expend their limited resources in futile battles. Without a clear understanding of highway planning, policies and procedures, the conservation community cannot make effective changes.”
Harvard University’s Dr. Richard T. T. Forman, author of the seminal book Road Ecology: Science and Solutions, said “GUTS has demystified the world of transportation for you, providing new discoveries at every turn. Conservationists and transportation experts alike will find a goldmine of elucidations and opportunities for new partnerships. Indeed, if you absorb but a tenth of this information, you are a dangerous opponent to the status quo.”
Getting Up To Speed (GUTS) is divided into four sections:
Law, Policy and Governance describes the legislative and regulatory framework associated with our transportation infrastructure, including the highway bill, funding, research and management of roads on public lands.
Anatomy of a Road illustrates the life cycle of a road project, from the planning process to environmental review, through construction and long-term maintenance.
Natural Environment provides greater detail about transportation policies and practices specifically related to wildlife, roadside vegetation and aquatic resources.
Advocacy outlines helpful hints for conservation advocates and showcases some of the best examples of successful organizations and campaigns.
“GUTS is not an anti-road call to arms,” said White. “But conservationists need to understand how highways get built in order to confront the ever-expanding network of public roads that are destroying precious remaining habitat.” The good news, she says, is that we now have the information, technology and policies to turn the corner on this issue if conservationists can get involved, get informed and get up to speed on the opportunities.
Defenders’ Habitat and Highways Campaign, works to reduce the effects of surface transportation on the nation’s wildlife and natural resources by restoring habitat connectivity across existing highways and by preventing future habitat loss to unwise and unnecessary road building.
GUTS is available online at http://www.GettingUpToSpeed.org. Copies of the book are available free of charge to conservation advocates.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
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