Are state growth management programs viable tools for biodiversity conservation? A case study examining Florida local governments

We examined the quality of Florida's state growth management program and associated county comprehensive plans as an overall biological conservation strategy. A plan evaluation coding protocol using a conceptual framework derived from the science of conservation planning was applied to local comprehensive plan Conservation Elements to determine the extent to which county-level conservation planning met the well-accepted conceptual framework. We found a high degree of variability in the quality of conservation planning for biodiversity, which was related to political geography. The quality of plans in coastal counties was significantly higher than that of inland counties. Significant regional differences were also evident, with conservation planning quality in South Florida counties significantly higher than in Panhandle counties. Geographic differences in the quality of local conservation planning are attributable to socioeconomic differences, education of the public, and availability of resources for planners. A model selection and averaging approach based on information theory was employed to develop a predictive model of conservation planning quality of Florida local governments. The results of this study call into the question the efficacy of state growth management programs as land-use regulatory tools to stem current rapid losses in biological diversity.