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In the past 25 years, Palm Beach County has acquired more than 31 million acres of public preserves consisting of numerous native habitats that are home to threatened and endangered flora and fauna. Both endemic habitats and plant species benefit from expansion and connectivity through the adoption of native plants in surrounding areas. The next step in conserving these protected, larger areas is to identify ways to connect them in order to reduce their isolation and improve their likelihood of continued ecosystem health. This study aims to perform an analysis using a GIS database of Palm Beach County's Eastern urban areas to determine additional vegetation that currently exists on public lands and private preserves and to analyze and classify the vegetation for its potential conservation role, either as ; preserves, buffers, corridors or clusters connecting and enhancing existing natural areas. / by Corrie Rainyn. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.