Abstract
For more than a century, zoning has shaped the American landscape, often at the expense of wildlife and ecosystems. Rooted in legal doctrines that treated animals as property and nature as a raw material, zoning codes have fragmented habitats, erased migration corridors, and accelerated biodiversity loss. At the same time, federal protections are narrowing, leaving critical gaps in environmental governance. This Article argues that local governments possess both the authority and the obligation to respond. By embedding ecological principles into zoning—through conservation districts, wildlife corridor protections, wetland buffers, pollinator protections, dark skies, wildlife fencing, habitat restoration, and others—municipalities can transform land use law from a tool of exploitation into one of regeneration. Drawing on the framework of “insider environmental law,” this Article highlights place-based strategies that align community priorities with ecological needs. In doing so, it demonstrates how ecologically literate zoning can foster resilience, protect biodiversity, and ensure that land-use planning sustains all species.
Recommended Citation
Jonathan Rosenbloom,
From Maps to Meadows: Ecologically Literate Zoning and the Regeneration of Wildlife Habitats,
74 Clev. St. L. Rev.
993
(2026)
available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol74/iss4/7
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Environmental Law Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons