Natural Landscaping, Natural Restoration for Homeowners
by James P. Engel, © 2003
There is a great opportunity in the developing suburban/urban
landscape to create valuable wildlife habitat in the matrix of suburban sprawl.
Residential zoning laws often create a condition that unintentionally exasperates
the problem of suburban sprawl. Zoning ordinances generally require minimum
building lot sizes that help to gobble up the rural landscape. People move to
the country to own a few acres and have some space between them and their neighbors.
These ordinances usually require from 1/2 acre to 5 acres of land per individual
residence. The purpose ranges from restricting population density to protecting
ground water supplies but the secondary effect is that more acreage is converted
to biologically sterile and resource intensive landscapes ie.mowed lawn. The
end result is that the majority of this land usually ends up being converted
to mowed lawn and consequently lost for ever for the benefit of wildlife and
other environmental benefits.
Most people move to the country for privacy, peace and quite
A small patch of woodland can provide the same benefits that would take a large
piece of lawn.
This page updated September 10, 2004
