First, we believe that environmental conservation is promoted best by opening the door to science, especially to those most directly involved with land development decisions: planners, city and county planning commissions and boards, local elected officials, land trusts, environmental groups and the public-at-large. We include the public in this group because they are directly affected by exurban land development and play a critical role in land-use decisions by voicing concerns at public hearings and meetings
- Second, we seek to broaden the involvement of environmental scientists in land-use planning. That is, environmental scientists can, and should, comment on land-use decisions at the outset instead of providing expert testimony later in the process, or evaluating the impacts of exurbanization after the fact. There is a growing movement among environmental scientists for more active participation in the land policy arena: the book provides such a venue