Urban sprawl is all around us - housing developments, strip malls, endless miles of roadway - and many people experience problems caused by unplanned development every day.  But beyond the pollution, traffic jams, the destruction of community, and increasing tax burdens that result from sprawl, we have to consider the ecological and biological impacts.

Nature in Fragments: The Legacy of Urban Sprawl addressed the impact of sprawl on biodiversity.  Scientists, resource managers, conservation biologists, and policy makers convened to explore how our post-war, auto-driven style of development has fragmented natural habitats and ecosystems, threatened species survival, and affected human health and well-being.

The symposium was co-sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society's Metropolitan Conservation Alliance.

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AGENDA

DAY ONE

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Ellen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History
James M. Large, Jr., Acting President, Wildlife Conservation Society

9:15 PART I
THE CONTEXT

Moderator: Rob DeSalle, Associate Curator and Co-Director, Molecular Laboratories, American Museum of Natural History

THE HISTORY OF SPRAWL
Barbara Lawrence, Executive Director, New Jersey Future

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF POORLY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
Michael W. Klemens, Director, Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society

WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Niles Eldredge, Curator, Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History

1:00 PART II
THE SCIENCE

Moderator: John G. Robinson, Vice President of International Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society

THE FATE OF WIDE-RANGING VERTEBRATES IN FRAGMENTED ECOSYSTEMS
Justina C. Ray, Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto

MISSING LINKAGES: FUNCTIONAL CORRIDORS IN FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPES
M. A. Sanjayan, Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy of California

THE BEES' NEEDS: RESPONSES TO HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
James H. Cane, Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS Bee Biology and Systematics Lab, Utah State University

PINE BARRENS OF THE NORTHEAST: FIRE-ADAPTED COMMUNITIES IN AN URBANIZING LANDSCAPE
William A. Patterson, III, Professor, Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts

SPRAWL AND DISEASE: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN AND WILDLIFE HEALTH
Peter Daszak, Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Botany, University of Georgia

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DAY TWO

9:00 PART III
THE CHALLENGES

Moderator: Elizabeth A. Johnson, Manager, Metropolitan Biodiversity Program, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

OVERVIEW OF ANTI-SPRAWL INITIATIVES
Stuart Meck, Principal Investigator for Growing Smart, American Planning Association

THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING AND ACTION
Jane Elder, Executive Director, The Biodiversity Project

THE ECONOMICS OF BIODIVERSITY IN URBANIZING ECOSYSTEMS
Stephen Farber, Director of the Environmental Management and Policy Program and Director of the Environmental Decision Support Program, University of Pittsburgh

12:45 PART IV
THE OPPORTUNITIES

Moderator: Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice-President and Provost for Science, American Museum of Natural History

ADDRESSING FOREST FRAGMENTATION: A FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE
Wayne C. Zipperer, U.S.Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Panel Discussion
BRINGING TOGETHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
Moderator: Michael W. Klemens, Director, Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society
Linda Cooper, Supervisor, Yorktown, New York
Julie Victoria, Nonharvested Wildlife Program Biologist, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division
Wayne C. Zipperer, U.S.Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Suzi Oppenheimer, State Senator, New York
Richard L. Brodsky, 86th Assembly District (Westchester County, NY), Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation

SCIENCE AND POLICY: A MARRIAGE BLESSED BY CONSERVATIONISTS
Aram J.K. Calhoun, Assistant Research Professor of Wetland Ecology, Department of Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine

ECOLOGICALLY BASED MUNICIPAL LAND USE PLANNING
William Honachefsky, Environmental Planner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Panel Discussion
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Moderator: Eleanor J. Sterling, Acting Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
William Honachefsky, Environmental Planner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Aram J.K. Calhoun, Assistant Research Professor of Wetland Ecology, Department of Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine
William Klein, Director of Research, American Planning Association
John Clark, Developer, Haymount