Population numbers and species diversity are two straightforward measures of the health and well-being of wildlife in the community. Of these, the diversity of species supported is generally considered a much more important index of how well wildlife is doing. Very large populations of individual species, such as this year's explosion of Japanese beetles, may be more a sign of problems than positives. The variety of species supported is a more accurate reflector of environmental health. Undisturbed block areas.
All species have certain broad minimum areas that they require to flourish.
Some, such as squirrels and skunks, can succeed in areas broken up quite a bit by development. Others, such as deer and fox, need larger areas of land in its wild state. Still others, such as bear and ravens, need very large tracts of undisturbed wilderness. Since the more tolerant species can easily manage in areas larger than their minimum requirement, it follows that the larger the block of undisturbed land, the greater the species diversity it can support. This has obvious implications for community open space planning if wildlife species diversity is felt to be of value.