Legal boundaries and fragmentation of Georgia's (USA) nature reserves

The increased use of private market techniques to protect natural areas raises concern regarding how well these techniques implement nature reserve design concepts. Because private market techniques work within the framework of property ownership, this study analyzed the impact that legal property ownership boundaries have had on reserve fragmentation and, subsequently, the potential for habitat fragmentation in nature reserves in Georgia. We examined the current configurations of lands owned by the federal government in Georgia, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and local land trusts. Our results show that with the exception of the national forests, private market techniques have been used effectively to create reserves with minimal fragmentation of their legal boundaries. However, the higher level of expectations implied by a reserve design plan leads to lower levels of accomplishment in reducing reserve fragmentation and excess boundary edge. Nevertheless, reserve planning is necessary if the diverse objectives inherent in reserve creation are to be met.