To Zone or Not to Zone

There are many issues involved when we are deciding how to utilize the land and our natural resources. How do we decide where to build new housing developments? How do we decide where to set aside land for wildlife and recreation? Figuring out how best to use the resources that we have for the greatest good of all, human and wildlife, can be tricky. There are many factors to consider when making these decisions. Conflicting attitudes and beliefs about how our natural resources should be used can also make coming to a decision difficult. Use Project WILD’s “To Zone or Not to Zone” to try your hand at deciding a land-use issue. Students will simulate a meeting of a county commission and decide whether or not to rezone an 80-acre plot of undeveloped forest land for a housing development. What will they decide to do?

Extension Activities:
Have students identify a local land-use issue that affects wildlife and develop their own meeting simulation to discuss the issue.

Bring local experts on land-use to the classroom and have them discuss with students how they make the sometimes difficult decisions about zoning and land-use.

Book List

Grades PreK-2
Aston, D.H. and K. Murphy. 2007. Loony Little: An Environmental Tale. Candlewick Press.
Bauer, D. 2003. People Change the Land. Coughlan Publishing.
Brenner, B. and T. Leonard. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. HarperCollins Childrens Books.
Canizares, S., D. Moreton and B. Chessen. 1997. Who Lives in a Tree? Scholastic, Inc.
DK Publishing Staff. 2004. Forest (Eye Wonder Series). DK Publishing, Inc.
Gaff, J. 2005. I Wonder Why Pine Trees Have Needles and Other Questions about Forests. Roaring Brook Press.
Glaser, L. and E. Kleven. 2000. Our Big Home: An Earth Poem. Lerner Publishing Group.
Gove, D. and M. H. Mallory. My Mother Talks to Trees. Peachtree Publishers.
Green, J. and M. Gordon. 2005. Why Should I Protect Nature? Barron’s Educational Series, Incoporated.
Iverson, D. 1999. My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America. Dawn Publications.
Lavies, B. 1989. Tree Trunk Traffic. Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Miller, D.S. and S. Schuett. 2003. Are Trees Alive? Walker & Company.
Wheeler, J.C. 1993. Branch out: A Book about Land. ABDO Publishing Company.

Grades 3-5
Arthus-Bertrand, Y., et al. 2004. Future of the Earth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development for Young Readers. HNA Books.
Burnie, D. 2005. Tree (Eyewitness Books Series). DK Publishing, Inc.
Burns, D.L. and L. Garrow. 1998. Trees, Leaves and Bark. T&N Children’s Publishing.
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Dalgleish, S. 2002. Managing the Land. Chelsea House Publishers.
Deboo, A. 2006. Mapping the Land and Environment. Heinemann.
James, B. 1993. Use of Land. Cengage Learning.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Petersen, C. 2004. Conservation. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Petersen, C. 2004. Land Preservation. Scholastic Library Publishing.

Grades 6-8
Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing the Trees. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Dolan, E.F. 1992. American Wilderness and Its Future: Conservation Versus Use. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Kallen, S. 2005. Managing America's Forests. Greenhaven Press.
Lane, B. and L. Buller. 2005. Ecology. DK Publishing, Inc.
Mania, C. and R. Mania. A Forest’s Life: From Meadow to Mature Woodland. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Marvis, B. and M. Ferron. 1995. Plants of the Forest. Facts on File, Inc.
Morgan, S. 2009. Natural Resources. Black Rabbit Books.
Rybolt, T.R. 1993. Environmental Experiments about Land. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Spilsbury, R. and L.A. Spilsbury. 2006. Earth’s Resources. Chelsea House Publishers.
Stille, D.R. 2005. Natural Resources: Using and Protecting Earth’s Supplies. Capstone Press, Inc
Whitman, S. 1994. This Land Is Your Land: The American Conservation Movement. Lerner Publishing Group.
Willis, T. 1992. Land Use and Abuse. Scholastic.

Grades 9-12
Camp, W.G. 2000. Managing Our Natural Resources. Thomson Delmar Learning.
Desonie, D. 2008. Geosphere: The Land and Its Uses. Facts on File, Incorporated.
Gibson, C.C., et al. 2000. People and Forests: Communities, Institutions, and Governance. MIT Press.
Kershner, B., et al. 2008. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. Sterling Publishing.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Our Human Planet Summary for Decision-Makers. New York: Island P.
Parks, P. 2004. Global Resources. Cengage Gale
Schwartz, M. 1993. Environment and the Law. Chelsea House Publishers.
Stille, D.R. 2005. Natural Resources: Using and Protecting Earth’s Supplies. Capstone Press, Inc.
Stone, L.M. 2004. Forests. Rourke Publishing, LLC.
Winters, A. 2006. Destruction of Earth’s Resources: The Need for Sustainable Development. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Walker, B., Salt,D., and Reid, W. 2006. Resilience Thinking : Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. New York: Island P.