Within the study and practice of conservation biology it is well understood that scale is dynamic. Conservation of a given species or system typically requires a multi-scale approach, from, for example, the fallen log to the vernal pool, to the creek, river, and watershed. In the Anthropocene, scale has grown larger still. At the smallest scale, conservation may be relatively simple, involving a single species, a single plot of land under single ownership. As scale grows larger, both the science and practice of conservation become more difficult by enveloping new challenges, both natural and social. On the social side, as scale grows, conservation biologists must first contend with multiple private parties and must next contend with multiple legal jurisdictions. This may be called “horizontal jurisdiction” and can describe conservation problems that overlap multiple towns, counties, or even states. Another aspect of social scale is “vertical jurisdiction,” which describes hierarchical levels of government rather than spatially arranged governments. Using an analysis of legal forms and court doctrine, this research seeks to describe the various scales of government authority within the United States and overlay that authority on conservation decisionmaking.
Results/Conclusions
Within the United States there are two dominant levels of government. As traditionally understood, these two authorities are the single federal government and the many state governments. But a closer study of governing structures in the United States shows that this model of two-tiered governance is oversimplified. A great variety of conservation-related authority rests with local governments below the state level, regional administration within the federal system, cooperative bi- and multi-lateral state governance, ultra-local federal governance, and even in a “mixing zone” where federal and state authority merge to create what is often called “cooperative federalism.” While the government overlay on conservation practice is often, and often rightfully, seen as too inflexible, lacking the dynamism of scale seen in the natural world, a more careful study of American governance structures shows a richer and more dynamic hierarchical legal system than one would see using only the two-tiered federal and state model.