Regional planning is imperative if North America has any hope of retaining continental biodiversity and environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable development.Protected Areas and the Regional Planning Imperative in North Americas is a timely collection of essays presents new protected area theory, method, and practice as an explicit part of regional planning. With a North American focus, these essays consider the history of ecology, policy, and planning of protected areas in the context of the fundamental need for a linkage with ongoing regional planning. Protected areas and regional planning must be pursued, not as separate, but rather as interrelated activities if both are to achieve their place in decision-making in North America. With Contributions By: Natalie Ban Heather Black Scott Brennan Kenneth W. Cox Bruce A.B. Currie-Alder Gustavo Danemann J.C.Day Ileana Espejel Exequiel M. Ezcurra Graham Forbes BillFreedman Noel Aron Fuentes Steve Gatewood David Gauthier Christopher Gosselin Hans Hermann Jurgen Hoth Marvin O. Jensen Sabine Jessen Patrick Lawrence James Loucky Roberto Martinez Kevin McNamee John C. Miles J.G. Nelson Lina Ojeda Revah Alejando Robles Lucy Sportza Carlos Israel Vazquez Ella Vazquez-Dominquez Ed Wiken Christopher E. Williams Stephen Woodley