To restore endangered species successfully, conservation plans should take a regional, integrated approach, say two UC Davis ecology researchers. For example, patches of restored habitat succeed better if they're located next to areas in which the target species already exists. Most habitat restorations occur in an ad hoc manner, the scientists say. Frequently the patches of attempted restoration aren't well-connected to each other. "With a majority of species, the restoration is done one project at a time. A lack of funds limits long-range planning and close regulatory oversight. Consequently, many restoration and mitigation efforts fail miserably," says Gary Huxel, a postdoctoral researcher who, with professor Alan Hastings, wrote about habitat loss in the September issue of the journal Restoration Ecology. "We found that when you put patches adjacent to ones occupied, two benefits occur. First, you're increasing the area, and second, you can place restored patches to increase movement between currently isolated patches," Huxel says. That practice ensures rapid recovery of the target species because the habitat is transformed into much denser occupied areas. "The placement of restored or mitigated habitat can be crucial to the long-term persistence of the species," the researchers say. One way to link restored habitat may be through the use of mitigation banks, into which land developers pay, with the money used to buy new habitat land in areas near occupied habitats, Huxel says. In a yet-to-be published study, Huxel and Sharon Collinge of the University of Colorado, found that a threatened California Central Valley beetle increased its survivability dramatically when mitigation patches were placed within three miles of naturally occurring sites.