The Southwest is growing faster than any other part of the
United States. Center lawyers and biologists reduce the impact
of population growth and urban sprawl on endangered species and
their habitats in key fast-growing regions of the Southwest and
California. ABOUT OUR URBAN WILDLANDS WORK The Center’s urban
wildlands program targets private land development in areas
where the pressure on endangered species from unchecked urban
growth is most severe — tearing up habitat, creating pollution,
and driving extinctions. We bring our expertise in California
land-use law and biology to bear on developments that threaten
rare and unique plants and animals in places whose biological
and cultural value is high — from vernal pools in San Diego to
the pine-covered mountains surrounding Los Angeles, and from the
San Francisco Bay-Delta to the southern Arizona desert. HOW WE
DO IT • Scientific research • Listing of imperiled species for
state and federal protection • Participation in review process
for developments, incl