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MDC Conservation Planning Tools Reference Manual

Missouri Department of Conservation

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) works with communities across the state that want to connect to nature. Whether the goal is to decrease the negative impacts of urbanization on fish, forests, and wildlife or to benefit from the wiser use of natural resources, more communities turn to MDC every year for technical assistance. To leverage limited staff time and resources, a planning manual was written to efficiently promote conservation practices that are applicable to community growth and management.

Conservation planning tools are used by planners of all specialties including housing, land use, and transportation. This manual compiles those tools into one place with a focus on how they can be applied in Missouri. Following its publication by the Conservation Commission in late 2018, the author, Ronda Burnett, conducted a series of nine training workshops across Missouri for planners and provided all attendees with free printed and digital copies.