When people think about the Appalachians, they picture mountains. I think about a rich landscape of mountains and valleys woven together by rivers so old that the mountains rose up around them. It’s this mix that creates the sweeping views we love, from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the hills just beyond our back yards. But the Appalachians are so much more than breathtaking scenery. They form the backbone of a region that’s essential for the well-being of people and wildlife alike.

The northern reaches of the Appalachians are home to the largest intact broad-leaf forest in the world. In my neck of the woods in West Virginia, we have high elevation bogs like Cranberry Glades and the Dolly Sods Wilderness, which you won’t find again until you’re all the way up in Canada. You’ll find two of the oldest rivers in the world, the New River and the French Broad River. This unique geography makes the region one of the most ecologically rich places on Earth.

Not surprisingly, we have amazing wildlife, too. Elk, black bears, bobcats, and hellbenders are iconic, but the Appalachians are also a global hotspot for salamanders and freshwater mussels. This landscape is remarkably beautiful and globally significant for its biodiversity.

Animals Are on the Move

Wildlife are on the move across the Appalachians, and this movement is a vital part of functional landscapes that provide all the benefits people rely on, like fish and game to eat, clean water to drink, protection from floods, and the many outdoor recreation opportunities we enjoy.

The Appalachians may not have big game migrations that are as well-known as the pronghorn and mule deer migrations of the West, but we have a diversity of wildlife that must be able to move freely through the landscape throughout their life cycles. Deer move daily between areas where they forage and where they sleep. The spotted salamander wakes from winter dormancy and migrates up to a quarter mile to vernal pools to reproduce. Right now, millions of birds are migrating north through the region on their way to summer breeding grounds, as black bears are emerging from their hibernation and spreading out across the landscape.

Climate change is also forcing animals to move. As the climate changes, habitat is shifting and wildlife are generally moving north or to higher elevations in search of suitable climates. In the eastern U.S., some species ranges have already shifted nearly 30 miles since the 1980s.

The Appalachian Mountains are nature’s highway, allowing wildlife to move and adapt now and into the future.

In order to maintain wildlife movement, we need to conserve large, connected areas of habitat. Protecting expansive landscapes helps ensure there is enough habitat to sustain wildlife throughout every stage of their life cycle, through seasons of drought or extreme storms, and long-term climate change. These areas must be connected in a network that allows animals to move freely in search of food, shelter, and one another.

Where Wildlife and Roads Collide

People are on the move too, and we use roads to do that. Roads are also where our movements collide with animal movements.

Collisions with wildlife are extremely dangerous. Each year in the U.S., 1- 2 million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur resulting in 200 human deaths and 28,000 injuries. In the Appalachians, the risk is especially high. Every state in the region is ranked as high- or medium-risk for collisions and West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are among the top ten states for wildlife-vehicle collisions.

These wildlife-vehicle collisions are also expensive. The cumulative cost is estimated to be $10 billion dollars in economic impacts. On average, a collision with a deer will have a total cost of $19,000. This includes all costs associated with the collisions, such as medical, vehicle repair, and lost wages paid by the driver, as well as the state paying for carcass removal or first responders. If you hit one of Central Appalachia’s growing elk herd, that will incur an average cost of about $75,000!

Even if you never hit an animal on the road, you will pay as insurance companies pass the high costs of these collisions to their policyholders.

For wildlife, the impacts are just as severe. Roads fragment and disconnect habitats, preventing wildlife from moving freely by serving as a direct barrier if the traffic volume is high enough. Millions of animals are hit by vehicles each year and hundreds of thousands are killed in vehicle collisions. And the impacts are not just to terrestrial species. Poorly designed river and stream crossings, such as undersized culverts under roads, block the movement of fish, salamanders, and other aquatic animals impacting the health of these species across the region.

The Path to Safer, Connected Landscapes

The good news is that lots of work is already being done to implement solutions to increasing fragmentation and loss of connectivity within the Appalachians.

Across the region, states are working to conserve large, connected landscapes and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. Vermont’s Conservation Design is guiding the state’s efforts to ensure enough of the landscape is conserved to support its wildlife and provide nature’s benefits to its residents. Virginia’s Wildlife Corridor Action Plan is guiding efforts to protect vital wildlife habitat corridors and reduce wildlife-vehicle conflicts.

Wildlife crossing structures such as overpasses and underpasses allow wildlife to move over or under roads, and uninterrupted through streams and rivers. Virginia built its first wildlife crossing structure in 2005 and Pennsylvania has constructed 33 crossings. The structures are effective, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions by 80 to 97%. These structures can pay for themselves. One project in Virginia upgraded transportation infrastructure to be more wildlife friendly and the investment paid for itself within two years by reducing costly collisions.

Properly designed culverts, ones that mimic natural stream bottoms and allow animals to move through them, are less susceptible to flood damage and debris blockage making culverts and stream crossings more resilient to flooding.

Nine Appalachian states received grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, a five-year, $350-million grant program established in 2021 by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to conduct assessments, develop plans that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, and build wildlife crossing structures.

The current Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program will end after this year, but bipartisan legislation to permanently authorize this program was introduced in both houses of Congress at the end of last year (H.R. 6078, S. 3503, S. 3556).

Many Appalachian states are considering or have already passed their own landscape connectivity and wildlife corridor legislation to plan for, pay for, and implement landscape conservation. Virginia legislators introduced a bill that would establish tax on data centers and use the revenue for landscape conservation, including implementing the Virginia Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.

There are pathways to conserving and connecting our landscape to ensure wildlife safely move and communities benefit. These pathways will require continued actions at the federal, state, and local levels.

Protecting What Protects Us

The same landscapes that define the Appalachians also sustain the people who call it home. We need to conserve this landscape to help sustain our wildlife, but we also must do it to have cleaner air and water, safer roads, and more resilience to climate change. When we keep Appalachia connected, we’re not just protecting nature, we’re protecting ourselves.

This post originally appeared on the blog of ReImagine Appalachia

Jacob Blandford is the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Coordinator at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. For nearly a decade, CLLC has advanced solutions for habitat connectivity and conservation in the Appalachian region, championing a large-landscape approach that addresses the entire ecoregion, from Alabama to the eastern Canadian provinces.

_{Top image: Autumn vista in the Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland – Adobe Stock}

The post The Appalachian Mountains: A Biodiversity Superhighway appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

In the United States, there are an estimated 5 million stream-road crossings and roughly 90,000 dams, 85 percent of which are over 50 years old and no longer serve a purpose. Each one of these crossings and dams presents a barrier to aquatic connectivity or the ability of fish and other aquatic organisms and processes to move freely. 

In part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Southwestern Montana, the US-191/MT-64 Wildlife & Transportation Assessment, conducted by the  Center for Large Landscape Conservation and Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute, found that of 53 surveyed culverts underneath US-191 and MT-64, 40 percent may not allow for the unimpeded passage of fish.  

The Center’s work is part of a larger movement to not only connect landscapes, but also help ensure that waters are connected for fish and other aquatic species. In particular, the Gallatin River is known for healthy populations of several trout species including native Westslope cutthroat trout, which need to move be able to move freely to remain abundant and healthy. 

“Improving culverts to ensure aquatic and riparian connectivity and aquatic organism passage can be hugely beneficial and is one of the best strategies to combat species decline and biodiversity decline based on climate change and shifting habitat needs and ranges,” said Liz Fairbank, Road Ecologist with the Center. 

There are some cases where a barrier is intentional to protect native species from hybridization or competition with non-native species. However, on the stretch of road between Bozeman and West Yellowstone, further evaluation is needed according to Fairbank. 

As the Center works with partners to make infrastructure improvements along US-191 with a focus on preventing wildlife-vehicle collisions with terrestrial species, culverts will also be an important piece of the efforts to improve habitat connectivity and create more wildlife crossings. In addition, larger culverts help communities be more resilient to climate change by preventing road flooding.

One of our partners, American Rivers, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring river health, is currently working towards its goal of removing 30,000 dams, or a third of the total dams in the U.S., by the year 2050. Removing these barriers will restore connectivity allowing both aquatic and terrestrial species to thrive and increasing the landscape’s resilience to climate change.

“So much of our work is geared towards making rivers more resilient in the face of climate change,” said Scott Bosse, Northern Rockies Regional Director at American Rivers. “The number one way to make rivers more resilient to climate change is to reconnect them by removing dams and reconnecting them to their floodplains.”  

The movement of fish and other aquatic organisms is critical to biological diversity, healthy populations and accommodating shifting habitat ranges due to climate change. Without free-flowing rivers, aquatic and terrestrial organisms can’t access fragmented habitats, flooding can worsen and the impact of wildfires increases. 

“Connectivity is about maintaining and restoring the pathways that animals need at various stages of their lives,” Bosse said. “Animals always have to move, whether it’s in the water or on land, and we need to find out where their movement occurs and preserve those corridors.” 

Connectivity wouldn’t just benefit fish and riparian habitats; terrestrial species also frequently use riparian areas for movement.  

“When we restore aquatic connectivity, we also restore terrestrial connectivity,” Bosse said. Removing dams provides dual benefits to both the fish swimming in the river and the terrestrial species that rely on a thriving riparian habitat for food and shelter. 

This August, the Center and American Rivers will be the beneficiaries of Wildlands, a music and charity event hosted by Outlaw Partners in Big Sky, Montana. Both organizations hope to use proceeds raised at the event, headlined by Dave Matthews, to improve habitat connectivity and riparian health in the region. 

American Rivers plans to use the proceeds from Wildlands to launch a dam removal program in the Northern Rockies, including areas in Montana, with the goal of restoring aquatic connectivity and removing old dams that no longer serve a valuable purpose. 

The Center will use the proceeds to support continued efforts to establish wildlife crossings along US-191 with the goal of reconnecting fragmented habitat and improving road safety for people and wildlife alike. 

A version of this article appeared in Explore Big Sky newspaper. 

Top photo: Center for Large Landscape Conservation staff records data on two culverts as part of the 191 assessment. Credit: CLLC/Cole Oshiro-Leavitt

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Thirty years ago, the Disney movie the Lion King was released, telling the story of Simba, a young lion prince, who, after the murder of his father Mufasa, flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. Other memorable characters are the warthog Pumbaa, the red-billed hornbill Zazu, the mandrill Rafiki, and the meerkat Timon—all species that play a role in the richly biodiverse ecosystems of east Africa.  

Partly because of this movie, and zoo visits, children and adults around the world are familiar with the wildlife of the iconic landscapes of east Africa. In the transboundary region of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania (or “SOKNOT”), large, protected areas we all have heard of —the Serengeti, Mount Kilimanjaro and Amboseli National Parks, Tsavo National Park—were established back in the 1950s and 60s to ensure the persistence of the vast populations of wildebeest, zebras, and elephants. Today, wildlife is still teeming in the parks, providing the basis for a tourism industry that contributes over 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kenya and 17% of Tanzania.  

Migrating in response to the greening of the landscape in the wet seasons and the disappearing of water sources in the dry seasons, many of the species move on a regular basis between the protected areas, which means that by themselves the areas are not big enough to support the populations. 

In the landscapes in between the parks, people are living, farmers are growing corn and other staple foods, and pastoralists are herding cattle, goats, and sheep. These activities at low intensity allow wildlife to live relatively undisturbed and move freely through the landscape. However, pressure on the land in between the parks has been increasing as the human population grows and climate change modifies that region.  

As most pressure on the land comes from the increasing human population, climate change makes the wildlife move more, especially to find water during droughts. Greater concentrations of livestock lead to overgrazing, grasslands are converted to row crops, hunting for subsistence leaves areas empty of mammals larger than a hedgehog, and new roads and railroads bisect habitat. Already these pressures threaten native wildlife, and Kenya’s and Tanzania’s populations are expected to double by 2050.  

Seeing these threats increasing, both countries have acted. In Kenya, researchers mapped movement pathways of several key species based on movement and presence data and a recent study conducted by The Nature Conservancy modeled corridors between Kenya’s large protected areas. In Tanzania, corridors through the areas with the lowest human impact have been delineated and, thanks to strong corridor legislation, are now being recognized by the government. Several representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments, working with the local communities, are taking steps to secure some of the corridors.  

As in any transboundary region, there are challenges, especially for protecting corridors crossing the international border. For example, different policies around natural resource management can lead to conflict, and different conservation approaches may be needed in the same corridor depending on whether or not the land is privately owned.  

As landscape use is changing and conservation actions are taken, it is of fundamental importance to know how functional the corridors are for different species, i.e. how well the animals can move through them from one protected area to another. If the landscape in the between the parks is converted to settlements and agriculture—but the corridors remain open—will there be functional connectivity for lions, cheetah, African wild dogs, elephants, zebra, and giraffe?  

It will be crucial to develop an early warning system that alerts conservation practitioners to changes in a corridor that, without intervention, may lead to loss of connectivity. For planners and decision makers, access to regularly updated spatial data on land use, human population density, and linear infrastructure such as roads, railways, and fences can be invaluable. 

Working with WWF and the Wildlife Connect Initiative, Annika Keeley and Bakari Mtili with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation led and facilitated a two-day workshop in Tanzania providing an opportunity for representatives of the governments of Kenya and Tanzania, NGOs, and university researchers to gather and shape a project that will provide next steps towards the shared goal of ensuring a connected landscape. The workshop was funded by WWF and also sponsored by the Cheetah Conservation Initiative.  

Seventy-five participants recapped past connectivity work and shared updates on current initiatives. They brainstormed ecological and social indicators for monitoring connectivity of corridors, shared knowledge of where species are moving and information on available data for validating the corridors, and gathered information on the governance, management, and monitoring necessary for successful connectivity conservation in both countries.  

To support conservation planners and practitioners, the Center will now create a freely accessible database, use species data to assess the corridors’ functionality, create a baseline for a set of connectivity indicators, and lay out the conditions necessary for successful connectivity conservation. These activities will provide crucial information for protecting the corridors for generations to come.  
 
While Simba and friends are fictional characters, the lions and other inhabitants of the SOKNOT region are facing very real threats to their survival. Building on previous connectivity studies and research on the focal species, this project will be an important step for securing connectivity for the magnificent wildlife in this world-renowned landscape.  

_{Top photo: Zebra and giraffe in northern Tanzania – Adobe Stock}

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A plethora of evidence backs the claim that the earth and its biodiversity are at a tipping point. Yet, many feel helpless in enacting any change or stopping the trajectory of the crisis. Human beings are not built to withstand an existential threat at a constant and unrelenting battery. The term “eco-anxiety” has become common and a true mental health issue that is affecting members of society of all ages, especially those who must confront these realities daily through their work. 

Conservation professionals, volunteers, and others on the frontlines of fighting the impacts of climate change encounter a unique exposure to this type of exhaustion. Countless individuals, communities, tribes, governments, and organizations—including ours—dedicate their time towards remediating the damage done to Earth’s ecosystems and mitigating impending harm, but the burnout from saddling the steady stream of loss is ever-present.  

The first step in tackling a predicament is defining the issue at hand. Two terms encapsulate this type of overwhelm: solastalgia and eco-anxiety. Solastalgia is the existential anguish and pain felt as a direct result of environmental change. Eco-anxiety is the fear or worry surrounding climate change and environmental disasters. Once we delineate our emotions, we can proceed with understanding, self-compassion, and ultimately, practices of relief.  

So what are these methods? How do we keep up the good fight and not get bogged down by the endless to-do list or paralyzed by the magnitude of the issue? Why not ask the conservation professionals at the Center whose lives are steeped in this work? Here are some of their thoughtful answers on their ways of recharging and then re-engaging. 

1. News cycle breaks

Part of being a contributing member of society is to educate oneself on community matters and international affairs. But taking a reprieve from the steady stream of despair does not make you completely inactive. The river of reported catastrophes will be waiting for you to jump right back in after a couple hours, a few days, or a week if possible! So hit pause, delete an app, and turn off the TV. As International Connectivity Project Specialist Melissa Butynski puts it: 

“When the weight of publications and news articles spelling doom and gloom for the future of our natural world becomes too heavy, I try to prioritize time in nature. Cycling through intact ecosystems or floating along wild and scenic rivers reaffirms that while there is work to be done, there is still abundant joy to be found.” ~ Melissa Butynski 

Melissa’s prioritization of time outside brings us to our next tool for respite.

2. Recreate

Nature is the gift that keeps on giving, and when we spend time recreating in outdoor spaces, it is evident. Not only does nature assuage mental health problems—a proven byproduct—it allows us to disconnect from the chatter and buzz of a productivity-focused world. One goes from being on top of the food chain to being at the mercy of nature’s blessings and unpredictability, which is incredibly humbling.

However, we want to acknowledge that many have limited access to the outdoors, a growing concern that deserves action and attention for its unjust and compounding inequity. Read an article about the importance of green spaces and corridors in urban areas.  

When Conservation Project Director Megan Parker and her son grapple with despair about global geo-political conflict, land conversion issues, and climate change, they address their anxiety in the same way:  

“We walk, ride, and paddle our breath and brains to let go. We head to the hills.” ~ Megan Parker 

Center CEO Gary Tabor copes in a similar manner and returns to the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York to run in the foothills and explore the mountainous, wild areas. 

“The area was designated Forever Wild, and it has been that way for me for over 55 years. Here are the photos of the same spot I’ve gone to since I was 11, Silver Lake Mountain.” ~ Gary Tabor  

The photo at the top of this page was taken in this location when Gary was 18 years old.

3. Meditation and mindfulness

Although an ancient practice, meditation is now a widely used modality. It is incredibly useful in separating what we can control from what we cannot, relieving ourselves from the burden of the latter. There are many types of meditation, such as mindfulness, loving-kindness meditation, Zen meditation, transcendental meditation, and more: a buffet of choices on how to get yourself grounded again. If you are curious about learning more or how to get started, visit your local public library as there are many resources and materials on each kind.  

Senior Conservation Director Katie Deuel exercises a brew of these meditative approaches, releasing the things that are out of her mastery.  

“I enjoy every day for what it is, not just what it should be or was before climate change.  Acknowledge and give gratitude for the plants, the birds, the animals that are here singing and moving and eating and living each day as it comes…I can experience eco-anxiety so easily when I look at miles of asphalt, or sit in a sea of cars, or notice the weeds where wildflowers used to be dominant. I have spent enough time in my life mourning those things and, oddly, also denying them. Now I try to celebrate what is right here right now, all the complex beauty and brilliance and connectedness of people and place…” ~ Katie Deuel

4. Books or other writings

A host of books offer advice and tools for quelling eco-anxiety or finding a more productive landing space for it. All We Can Save by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is another great read for those seeking eco-anxiety mitigation tools. The collection of essays and poetry, written by women from all walks of life, validates the sense of overwhelm we all feel, nudges us gently along, and nurtures our seeds of hope. Center staffers read it in our Racial Justice & Climate Equity Book Club.  
 
One Green Thing by Heather White, with a foreword by Erin Brockovich, is a trusted guide for saving your sanity while contributing to remediation. White is a lawyer, author, former Senate staffer, and environmental nonprofit professional, so certainly qualified to guide others on this topic.  

Or, you can always transport yourself temporarily to another world and read a fantasy novel.

5. Enact visible and tangible change in your local community

To reiterate, sometimes our empathetic reach can extend only so far, for so long. When this occurs, shift your attention to your local community. Where are opportunities for tangible change? What causes can you rally behind? While we often feel powerlessness at a global scale, our impacts within our neighborhood can ripple far larger and longer. Let your local impact fuel your re-engagement for larger-scale issues. Practice what you preach and set an example for the next town over.   

The Center’s Linear Infrastructure Ecology Advisor Fernanda Teixeira exemplifies this very concept. Her home country and current residence Brazil has undergone treacherous and cataclysmic floods. She recounts the experience of hopelessness that eventually spurred action.

“We stayed a couple of days without energy and almost a week without water supply–we still had water from our water tank. Then, after the first week, we decided to take action to avoid feeling so useless, so we reorganized ourselves to be able to provide the security and attention our daughter needed at that moment AND also help other people in our community.” ~ Fernanda Teixeira 

The listed methods facilitate reprieve but could not possibly cover all the possible pathways for respite since it is deeply individually based and personal. However, we should embrace others’ ideas as the future challenges are still unknown and more remains to be done and will in perpetuity. From the gleaners to the business executive, every person has a role to play.  

We hope this list stokes reflection on your end about your relationship with the climate crisis and means of rest and recovery.    

_{Photo, top: CEO Gary Tabor at age 18 on Silver Lake Mountain, the Adirondack Park, New York.}

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Submerging ourselves in different perspectives ultimately enriches our work, and nothing facilitates that like delving into a good book. As the bears take to their dens for a long winter’s nap, we nestle into armchairs with blankets and a good book in our lap. 

Atop my rickety nightstand lay several books: Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, a collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s drinking tales and one-liners titled On Booze, some Pablo Neruda love poems to warm your ticker—all of which I peruse through ploddingly for pleasure. I’m neither fast nor slow at reading; call it middle ground. I imagine my bedside table mirrors many others who wonder where all the time goes by the end of the day to just read. So we must make the time, prioritize the time.

I was curious what my fellow staff members are reading once the workday ceases, so I asked them what’s atop their nightstands. Some are about facets of our natural world, and others may be for those times when we need a break from thinking about environmental challenges.

Melissa Butynski, International Connectivity Project Specialist
Crossings by Ben Goldfarb

Very rarely do I stray away from the comfort of fiction. My day is filled with reading about the stark realities of conservation in an increasingly tumultuous world, so I prefer my leisure reading to offer a heavy-handed amount of escapism. I will, however, make an exception for one of my favorite environmental journalists writing about one of my favorite conservation topics. Crossings by Ben Goldfarb is a witty and engaging deep dive into the collisions between wildlife and society (literally). Crossings highlights the environmental and societal costs of these collisions and the many solutions available to us. Ben covers a complex topic well, offering an incredible range of relatable anecdotes. Next time someone asks me what I do for a living, I will hand them this instead!

Kylie Paul, Road Ecologist
Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey

I am midway through reading The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey, and holy cow, what a new world I’ve been exposed to – the bottom of the ocean and those brave enough to explore it. Not too long ago, the world thought nearly nothing lived at these tremendous depths, but in fact, an incredibly diverse and beautiful ecosystem thrives in the abyss. We can name every nook and cranny of the moon and many other planets, but humans have only explored and mapped FIVE PERCENT of the ocean and its depths. Frustratingly, like many natural resources, without understanding it, we still seek to plunder what we can from it. Meanwhile, not only are the creatures living in the deep entirely intriguing, but the people leading the way to research the depths are outliers. They are intensely high achievers and driven to undertake the massive risks of extraordinarily high pressures (both physical and mental) of deep-sea diving. I can’t wait to finish this book.

Gabe Oppler, International Connectivity Program, Policy & Partnerships Specialist
Northwoods by Daniel Mason

Last fall, I joined my first-ever book club, which feels like a rite of passage (I’m a real adult now!) Our first pick was Demon Copperhead, which was probably my favorite book of all time. Now with high expectations, we’ve plunged into Northwoods by Daniel Mason. It’s historical fiction, a genre I love because I can connect with characters who serve as a guide to another time and place. Northwoods traces the history of a cabin in the woods of western Massachusetts. The story arc follows the cabin’s inhabitants (human, animal, and spirit) across nearly 500 years. I’ve only made it to the late 1800s, but I’ve already met a rebellious Puritan couple, an industrious apple orchardist, and a despicable slave catcher. Narrative vignettes are punctuated by poems, letters, and paintings. As someone who works on land use policy, it’s especially interesting to read about the changes the characters have brought to the landscape – felling timber, sowing crops, splicing apple scions, and building homes. I’m excited to see how this story develops. With sub-zero temperatures on the horizon here in Montana, I have a feeling I’ll reach the end of this book soon!

Megan Parker, Conservation Project Director
Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson

I’ve become that annoying reader who has several books going at once; something challenging and new is The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling—which I highly recommend)—some chapters easily consumed before I sleep, and an old favorite that I can pick up and put down knowing I will be in a better frame of mind. Sex Advice to All Creation is that book. Olivia Judson is an evolutionary biologist who writes of mating behavior across the animal kingdom in Dear Abby style, with species writing in asking for help. Imagine the plight of the male praying mantis and the help he needs navigating his girlfriend’s moods. It is incredibly entertaining, thoughtful, intellectual, and nerdy.

Katherine Somerby, Communications & Development Coordinator
All We Can Save by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnston
She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo 

As part of my CLLC book club for Racial Justice and Climate Equity, I am reading All We Can Save by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnston: a collection of poetry, short stories, and essays—by all women writers—that light a path forward amid this climate crisis. I highly recommend it for a wide range of readers and ages, as we need as many coping mechanisms as possible to endure what feels like an insurmountable calamity. It’s brought me peace, but what soothes me in the morning or at night is Joy Harjo’s She Had Some Horses. Harjo’s poetry grapples with womanhood, the despair of womanhood, the disconnect between nature and society, her lens as a Native American, and the beckoning, estranged homeland that calls.

Aaron Laur, International Connectivity Program, Policy & Partnerships Manager
Dead Cities, and Other Tales by Mike Davis

I recently went back to my collection of books from undergraduate studies at the University of Wyoming, which included Dead Cities and Other Tales by Mike Davis. If not evident from the title, readers beware that these vignettes are often astounding and downright troubling. A number of the chapters—with engaging writing and ample footnotes—can help dispel the myth of the wild, unspoiled western United States and illustrate the reality of an ongoing legacy of deception, destruction, and delusion that will continue to plague our people and ecosystems. Have you heard about the replica German houses constructed on the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah that helped perfect incendiary bombing techniques to burn out the populations of Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig during World War II? If not, this is the book for you. Have you heard about the Navy’s “Bravo 20” site in Nevada that belched radioactive clouds from atmospheric and underground nuclear detonations and poisoned scores of communities downwind of the site over decades? If not, this is the book for you.

Rob Ament, Senior Conservationist
The Undertakers Widow by Phillip Margolin

The book I am reading I wouldn’t recommend to anyone unless you like cheesy whodunits. The Undertaker’s Widow by Phillip Margolin is a story not worth repeating. Why, you ask, am I reading it then? Commitment! Once taken up, I always read a book cover to cover. I picked this one out in a used bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand, literally at the bottom of a barrel of English language paperbacks. I was desperate and in immediate need of a mindless read for the twenty-plus hours of flight time to get home, never mind all the hours languishing at three layovers. I now proudly consider myself a detritus feeder of literary leftovers. My equivalent in nature, decomposers, are indispensable, keeping the cycle of life and nutrients spinning round and round. They don’t receive much attention, are often dismissed as uninteresting, but their role is essential. I am now one of their brethren for the literary glitterati. My forlorn book will soon appear in my neighbor’s lending library box along her front sidewalk to keep it in rotation. So I am not recommending this specific book as much as the act of sharing, reusing, and recycling the books we read!

The post What We’re Reading: A Roundup of Book Recs from Our Staff appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

In December 2022, representatives from the Center for Large Landscape Conservation were present in Montreal, Canada when 188 countries made an historic commitment adopting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). As a main outcome of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties, the GBF is now the most significant agreement to date for bolstering global cooperation to conserve and restore nature. Since then, the Center has been engaging in discussions and planning across its networks of experts and institutions to best coordinate actions to support lasting conservation gains on the ground. With the importance of connectivity and landscape- and seascape-scale approaches emphasized in the GBF, it is clear that the Center has a significant role to play in its implementation.*

Achieving large-scale conservation requires joint efforts among the scientific community, resource managers, local communities, policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders. In alignment with international policy mandates and commitments, the Center therefore continues to increase its global leadership role in maintaining, enhancing, and restoring ecological connectivity of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems within and across boundaries.

Now, with its sights set on supporting the GBF’s commitment to “broad-based action to bring about a transformation in our societies’ relationship with biodiversity by 2030,” the Center will focus its efforts across all sectors. With an emphasis on the fundamental contributions that ecological connectivity makes to healthy functioning ecosystems and species, and its benefit to people, the Center’s strategies are:

• • Increase understanding and development of ecological connectivity science, policy, and practice by supporting the alignment of national biodiversity action plans, execution of projects, measurement of progress, and reporting on implementation toward improving the status and trends for structural, functional, and migratory connectivity. Examples of this work includes the dissemination of the IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors, inclusion of the Protected Areas Network metric (ProNet) as a complementary indicator in the GBF monitoring framework, and information for identifying opportunities and funding projects through the Global Environment Facility.

• • Provide educational opportunities and advisory, technical, and capacity-building expertise on how best to approach connectivity standards, frameworks, incentives, and planning for the durable design, governance, and management of ecological networks and corridors such as the Corridor and Connectivity Training and Capacity Building Initiative. This also includes a specialized focus on mainstreaming biodiversity and connectivity safeguards to avoid and mitigate the impacts of linear transport infrastructure (LTI) such as roads, railways, canals, powerlines, and pipelines. Examples are the A.P.E. Project aimed at addressing threats of rapidly expanding roads, rails, and power lines in three key great ape and gibbon habitats in Africa and Asia, the FOCUS-BRI Project assessing 12 countries for potential impacts and capabilities to safeguard LTI as part of national and international investments, and the USAID-funded project Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeguarding Nature (ALIGN).

• • Continue engagement in international fora to further advance connectivity policies and implementation, including at leading institutions like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and United Nations General Assembly (UN/GA). Examples include contributing toward and monitoring implementation of related international policies, participating in development of a global partnership to support achievement of Target 3 of the GBF, serving on an expert working group under the Convention on Migratory Species for addressing impacts of linear infrastructure development.

• • Lead, mobilize resources for, and deploy international networks of practitioners, policymakers, scientists, and institutions to ensure best practices, consistent approaches, replication, and scaling-up of connectivity conservation through research, original science, knowledge transfer, and collaboration including ongoing and new projects. Examples include the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group and its working groups, the project Connectivity, Capacity, and Cats, the Infrastructure and Nature Coalition, and the Wildlife Connect Initiative.

*Related goals and targets of the framework include:

• Goal A: Connectivity as a fundamental requirement for the functionality of ecosystems;
• Target 1: Connectivity is a key criterion for achieving “participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning,” especially for determining which areas to establish as protected and conserved areas, where to delineate ecological corridors and networks, and/or as areas of priority for restoration.
• Targets 2: Connectivity is part of maximizing the benefits and outcomes of restoration for entire landscapes and seascapes;
• Target 3: “Well-connected” protected and conserved areas (aka Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs)) to achieve 30×30 objectives of land, freshwater, and marine areas being effectively protected, conserved, and managed;
• Target 12: Connectivity for increasing benefits from “green and blue spaces” in urban/densely populated areas; and
• Target 14: Connectivity contributing toward “the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, as appropriate, national accounting within and across all levels of government and across all sectors…”

_{Photos, top to bottom: Fitz Roy River, Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina – Mary Collins; Herd of caribou near the Denali Highway, Alaska – Adobe Stock; Two elephants In Mondulkiri, Cambodia – Adobe Stock; Coral reef, Solomon Islands – Adobe Stock.}

The post Our International Connectivity Conservation Action Plan for 2030 appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

NEWS RELEASE

February 14, 2023

Contact:
Christine Gianas Weinheimer, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, christine@largelandscapes.org
Makensie Brown, Wildlands Network, makensie@wildlandsnetwork.org
Emily Diamond-Falk, The Pew Charitable Trusts, ediamond-falk@pewtrusts.org
Kyle Kissock, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, kyle@jhwildlife.org
Stephen Sautner, Wildlife Conservation Society, ssautner@wcs.org

Washington, DC – More than a dozen climate, wildlife, and road ecology experts from across the country wrote a consensus statement urging government officials at all levels to consider climate change when planning and constructing structures that help fish and wildlife cross under and over highways. As the appetite increases for solutions that improve wildlife migration and movement while reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, there is a heightened need and opportunity for designing infrastructure that is sited and designed in ways that accommodate the current and anticipated impacts of climate change.   

The consensus statement can be found here. 

Climate-informed wildlife crossings, including fish passage, would help both people and nature adapt to climate change. For instance, upsizing stream culverts under our roadways would protect infrastructure and communities during extreme flooding, while also allowing both fish and wildlife to successfully migrate.  

The “Joint Statement Regarding Climate-Informed Wildlife Crossings” was first envisioned in November 2022, when leading experts met to discuss how wildlife crossings can serve as an important tool in addressing climate change and bolstering the resilience of ecosystems and infrastructure. The outcome is a set of recommendations for incorporating wildlife crossings as a critical element of community and government climate response strategies. 

The experts cautioned in the statement,

“As effective as wildlife crossings can be, their siting and design too often fail to account for climate impacts. Incorporating these considerations is increasingly important to support climate-driven wildlife movements and range shifts.”

The experts’ statement urges decision makers to use a strategic and collaborative approach when planning for and building wildlife crossings. It also includes a call to action and recommendations for implementing climate-informed wildlife crossings that will enhance ecosystem resilience and facilitate adaptation. Indeed, one of the most effective strategies for protecting biodiversity in the face of a changing climate is to ensure wildlife habitats are connected on a landscape scale. 

Wildlife crossings save lives and money by dramatically reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. They also enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of ecosystems by giving animals the ability to safely travel throughout their annual migration routes. Yet climate change is causing species to shift their ranges. The statement emphasizes that wildlife crossings could provide an even greater mitigation value if decision makers account for range shifts when planning new infrastructure.

Additionally, wildlife crossings have an exceptionally high return on investment, yielding annual benefits of $250,000 to $443,000 per structure. For example, the Lava Butte underpass near Bend, Oregon reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 85%, and Utah saw a 98.5% reduction in deer mortalities when it built two animal underpasses on a stretch of highway that blocked traditional migratory routes. Additionally, crossing projects in other states are projected to pay for themselves over a relatively short period of time. 

Some states, such as California, are looking for opportunities to simultaneously address the climate-related vulnerabilities of their transportation systems and improve habitat connectivity by incorporating wildlife crossings into planned infrastructure upgrades. This allows state agencies to address adaptation priorities for both transportation assets and ecosystems, thereby leveraging infrastructure investments for multiple benefits to communities and nature. 

If policy makers and agencies adopt climate-informed planning for wildlife crossings, the result will be a modernized and cost-effective transportation network that saves human and animal lives, enhances the resilience and adaptive capacity of ecosystems, and improves infrastructure durability in the face of climate impacts.

Quotes for media from Consensus Statement authors:

“Wildlife crossings are a proven solution that enhance the resilience and connectivity of both transportation and ecological networks. By planning and constructing these structures with climate change in mind, we make smarter infrastructure investments. Adopting these expert recommendations will ensure species can move safely across landscapes and drivers can move safely across highways for generations to come.”
– Anna Wearn, director of government affairs at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation

“As Federal, Tribal, State, and local decision makers begin to replace their highest priority transportation assets over the next decade-plus, they will be presented with opportunities to improve those facilities in ways that enhance terrestrial and aquatic connectivity, while at the same time making them more resilient and sustainable in the face of our changing climate and increased risk of extreme weather. This coming wave of infrastructure investment offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prototype and integrate the next-generation of climate-smart wildlife crossings into America’s 21st century transportation network.”
– Renee Callahan, executive director of ARC (Animal Road Crossing) Solutions, an interdisciplinary partnership working to reweave habitats severed by roads

“With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events that overwhelm and damage highway drainage culverts and small bridges, oversizing such structures to better accommodate future flooding events can also present opportunities to create cost-effective wildlife passage structures that promote habitat connectivity and climate change resilience for wildlife and highway infrastructure alike.”
– Norris Dodd, wildlife connectivity specialist and practitioner with AZTEC Engineering Group

“The last two decades have seen amazing advances in our understanding of how animals move across the landscape and how wildlife populations are shifting in response to climate change. With guidance from the new expert recommendations, decision makers and planners can harness this wealth of information to ensure our road networks support rather than disrupt these critically important ecological processes.”
– Justin Suraci with Conservation Science Partners

“With the recent infusion of federal infrastructure funding we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to upgrade the nation’s transportation systems to be resilient and durable. These recommendations provide the specific guidance for making strategic investments in climate-informed infrastructure with long-lasting benefits for wildlife and ecosystems as well as human communities and economies.”
– Julia Kintsch, principal and senior ecologist at ECO-resolutions

“If we don’t consider the currently changing climate and its impacts at ecologically relevant scales when designing roadway mitigation for wildlife, then we risk missing an important opportunity to plan synergistically, addressing multiple environmental threats at the same time.” – Renee Seidler, executive director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation

“Decision-makers now have important building blocks to develop appropriate policies and funding streams for wildlife-friendly infrastructure that can help adapt to migration pattern changes caused by climate change.”
– Matt Skroch, project director with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. public lands and rivers conservation project

“Plants and animals have been moving across the landscape to adapt to changing climates for millions of years. By building wildlife road crossing structures the right way in the right places, we can make sure that successful climate migration continues into the future, so we don’t lose species that run into otherwise lethal highway barriers.
– Dr. Ron Sutherland, chief scientist at Wildlands Network

“The good news is there are ways to strategically design crossing structures to provide safer passage for drivers as well as fish and wildlife in the face of a changing future. For example, replacing poorly functioning culverts with ones designed to accommodate bigger and more frequent floods will protect infrastructure and people while also allowing fish to migrate safely. Similarly factoring future climate conditions and wildlife movement needs into the design of all transportation infrastructure will lead to more durable outcomes for both nature and people.”
– Dr. Molly Cross, director of science for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Climate Adaptation Fund

“Leaders and practitioners can work to identify the areas where wildlife and fish need to move that are bisected by roads, and where those movements will be critical to adapting to climate change. Our efforts to create a more resilient transportation system in the face of climate change work hand and hand with creating a more connected natural world that too can withstand future changes.”
– Dr. Patricia Cramer, director of the Wildlife Connectivity Institute

“Wildlife crossings are a win-win for people and nature – they help restore the ability of wildlife to move freely across the landscape while keeping motorists safe from collisions. Incorporating climate change considerations into the design of these structures is another win-win, helping ensure our infrastructure investments are resilient to climate impacts while accounting for the even greater movement needs of wildlife as they adapt to rapidly changing landscapes.”
– Dr. Meade Krosby, senior scientist at the Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington

###

Top photo: US-160 overpass in Colorado – CDOT

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It is one of the most pressing questions of our time: How do we adapt to the impacts of climate change? October 2022 marked the return of The National Adaptation Forum, which brought together climate adaptation practitioners to share ideas, evaluate opportunities, and create synergies across occupations to try to answer that urgent question. The scale of the challenges is great and because of this, practitioners from artists and municipal officials to natural resource managers came together to work towards systems-level change.

Conservationists Kat Lyons and Mary Collins from the Center were among the diverse cadre of scientists and practitioners gathered in Baltimore, Maryland for this fifth National Adaptation Forum. The Forum provided Kat and Mary the opportunity to learn more about how to make their work climate informed, share what they have learned with others, and explore new and innovative adaptation approaches. They discussed key projects they have been working on at the Center and collaborated on the creation of an Adaptation Pledge (see below).  Here, they each share a little bit about their participation in the Forum.

Kat Lyons, Conservation Project Coordinator, brought her experience facilitating the Appalachian Landscape Climate Advisory Group to the forum’s adaptation community.

Collaboration is a powerful tool needed to achieve collective action to meet the scale of the many challenges we face. The ability to collaborate with communities to work toward solving challenges is something we experience daily as individuals working across boundaries at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. In my first year at CLLC as a project coordinator, I facilitated the Appalachian Landscape Climate Advisory Group, a coalition of 30+ experts across the eastern region to evaluate the importance of the Appalachians to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We came to the conclusion that there is a network of individuals, organizations, agencies etc. across this landscape that can collectively achieve much more alongside the communities who face the growing impacts of climate change. The upcoming report is a tool to be used by this network to integrate climate-smart actions into conservation strategies and strategic planning efforts. We don’t need to start from scratch but we need to actively listen, share resources and support communities on the front lines of these crises. We believe that collaboration is critical to enhance the climate resiliency of the Appalachian Landscape.

As a participant in this year’s forum, I took away a lot of names of experts, lists of decision-support tools and information to share with my colleagues but I also gained a better understanding of the networks we can work with outside of our field. We are living in a time where generations are coming together to acknowledge the significance of the impacts of a warming planet. We heard powerful presentations on how climate impacts are now being seen on the landscapes we care about. We heard from individuals who were overwhelmed by bad news and information. These individuals continue to ask, “What is my role and how can I contribute?” As a landscape conservation practitioner, the opportunities to engage communities at the local level, support regions with information sharing and integrate climate- smart actions into management or policy decisions at the national level are all opportunities we have to contribute. There is a lot to do, but we can achieve more together. – Kat Lyons

Mary Collins, International Program Conservation Associate, brought her experience integrating coastal and marine connectivity conservation into practice and policy to the Forum’s adaptation community.

Ecological connectivity, the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes, is a fundamental ecological process that sustains life on Earth and must be maintained, protected, and restored to achieve conservation and adaptation goals. The importance of connectivity to climate change adaptation and resilience has long been recognized on land, but is only just beginning to be leveraged for enhancing climate adaptation and resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. As species move in the face of changing ocean and coastal conditions, migratory connectivity pathways, connections to climate refugia, and safe routes for habitat retreat are becoming increasingly important to facilitate successful climate adaptation.

As a panelist in the session, Climate Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Marine and Coastal Resources, I shared how coastal and marine connectivity can be applied as an essential tool to facilitate climate adaptation for habitats and species. I highlighted the application of ecological connectivity from terrestrial origins to coastal and marine disciplines and provided practical tools for managers and practitioners to integrate connectivity into their work. The Center along with the IUCN WCPA Marine Connectivity Working Group and partners are actively advancing this science and translating it into policy in the U.S. and internationally, with diverse lessons and cases drawn. To find out more, watch the recorded session presentation. – Mary Collins

Adaptation Pledge

National Adaptation Forum participants collaborated on the creation of an Adaptation Pledge to use as a tool for good practice. It is not a guide for best practice, rather, a philosophical framework within or upon which we can collectively work toward better long-term adaptation outcomes.

I pledge to create a durable future for my community and the environment, at home and at work, by thinking about the future in all I do.

I commit to:

• Use best available science and knowledge: Considering present, past, and future conditions in my actions.
• Decide with, not for: Invite, recruit and promote the broadest diversity of partners and stakeholders in conversations and decisions in my community.
• Build climate equity: Work to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits of resilience-building and the equitable bearing of the costs of climate change.
• Safeguard integrity: Ensure transparency, accountability & follow-through.
• Minimize harm: Evaluate how actions might affect other people, living things, places, goals and endeavor to minimize adverse impacts while maximizing common benefits.
• Be honest about the challenges: Give voice to the fact that resilience requires adaptation to create it and mitigation to maintain it.
• Foster an inspired community: Use the knowledge that a long-term plan and vision that engages and inspires the community comes from tapping into hope and creativity.
• Adapt holistically: Your community is affected by & affects the world around you.

Photo, top: Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Photo by Wendy Olson.

The post Promoting Connectivity and Corridors at the National Adaptation Forum appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy

BOZEMAN, MT (September 22, 2022) ─ This week the U.S. Geological Survey and other federal agencies released a report showing a staggering 1.3 million acres of sagebrush habitat are being lost annually. Called “A Sagebrush Conservation Design Framework to Proactively Restore America’s Sagebrush Biome,” this new body of science uses some of the latest mapping tools to identify healthy and degraded sagebrush areas, where and how it’s being lost, and lays out a path to slow the loss.

“These new findings make crystal clear how serious the situation is – how much we, humans and wildlife, will lose if we fail to act,” said Sara Brodnax with National Audubon Society. “But the report also provides a way forward. The researchers have developed a powerful tool for our collective toolbox, where leveraged with on-the-ground commitments, we can make a real difference for all those that depend on a healthy sagebrush country.”

The Sagebrush Conservation Design focuses on large natural areas in order to benefit: fish and wildlife species, healthy land, air, and water, as well as working ranches. In addition to the important work being done by conservation groups and agencies, there is a need for a more diverse coalition, including private landowners, to change the trajectory of sagebrush rangelands. Of the major threats identified for sagebrush rangelands, 75% are ecosystem problems like invasive annual grasses and fire. These problems impact, and can bring together, diverse stakeholders including conservation groups and ranchers.

“There has been a huge investment in the conservation of sagebrush country over the last two decades in terms of on-the-ground work, partnership development, and scientific research,” said Matt Cahill with The Nature Conservancy. “We know that we can’t slow down on any of those efforts and this framework shows the top tier sagebrush habitats where we need to invest our best resources right now. This is the Defend the Core, Grow the Core concept.”

“Defend the Core, Grow the Core” is a proactive conservation strategy that involves first protecting intact “core” habitats and then growing them by working outward to more degraded areas (rather than addressing the worst areas first). The Sagebrush Conservation Design can identify areas where investments of resources will be most impactful, and should be used alongside other management tools to reach holistic conservation solutions. 

“Sagebrush country now occupies less than half of its historic range and half of the remaining landscape is considered degraded. Rural communities across the West depend on the sagebrush ecosystem for ranching, hunting and other recreation, so when the landscape is at risk so too are those rural economies,” said David Willms, senior director of Western wildlife and conservation at the National Wildlife Federation. “This new report will be an invaluable tool for federal, state and local land managers, elected officials, community leaders, and conservationists to determine the best way to reduce rangeland fires, control cheatgrass and other invasive species, improve watershed health and generally restore these sagebrush lands that are vital to the survival of more than 350 species of plants and wildlife of conservation concern.” 

Sagebrush was once the most widespread vegetation type in western North America, spanning one third of the continental United States. Today it is one of the most imperiled. The Sagebrush Conservation Design documents that over two decades, large amounts of healthy sagebrush have been degraded and are no longer functional. Scientists aim to use the Sagebrush Conservation Design as a conversation starter between various partners working within the sagebrush ecosystem, utilizing its findings to set and meet shared goals for sagebrush habitat conservation. Many of these conversations are already underway, especially with the upcoming release of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Sagebrush Conservation Strategy, Part II. This will provide methods for how state, federal and tribal agencies, NGO, industry, and private landowners collectively can conserve the sagebrush biome.

The Sagebrush Conservation Design is an adaptive product that will be updated annually, providing managers with the most current information. “Given the pressures on this landscape resulting from climate change and unexpected events like large wildfires, this approach will allow managers to be more effective in their responses,” said Zack Wurtzebach with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. “And it’s important to note that this tool is also meant to be integrated with other datasets and tailored to meet specific needs at state and local levels, which needs to happen for any of this to work.”

“The loss and degradation of sagebrush habitat is something hunters have been witnessing for far too long, and we’re committed to implementing solutions with our partners to restore these critical landscapes and address impacts that we’re seeing to a wide range of wildlife species,” said John Gale, conservation director for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “We can – and must – do more, and this analysis and mapping data gives us a way to apply limited resources to the places that need them the most.”

The Sagebrush Conservation Design was initiated and coordinated by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and brought together 21 leading scientists in the sagebrush biome representing 12 different federal and state agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations. Click here to access the following: 

• Full Report: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20221081
• Data Release: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/62d57e89d34e87fffb2dda62
• View Data: https://gs-portal-fws.hub.arcgis.com/pages/sagebrush 

Contacts:

Christine Weinheimer, Communications Manager, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, communications@largelandscapes.org

Kevin Doherty, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lead Author on Sagebrush Conservation Design, kevin_doherty@fws.gov

Lief Wiechman, U.S. Geological Survey, Sagebrush Expert on Landscape Scale Conservation, wiechman@usgs.gov

_{Photo: Montana development in sagebrush habitat – courtesy of Hannah Nikonow}

The post Report Introduces New Tools to Help Slow the Loss of Sagebrush Habitat appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

The Canada-US border is the longest international land border in the world. However, this political frontier bisects enormous landscapes and cuts through many Indigenous communities whose territories were historically connected. This political divide has important implications for conservation and cultural resilience—not just in the narrow ribbon of the border region, but for landscape connectivity throughout North America. Taking a more holistic, transboundary approach across this national border offers a tremendous opportunity for increasing landscape and cultural connectivity, improving the efficacy of existing conservation efforts, and helping both Canada and the US reach ambitious national conservation targets. 

To help foster these outcomes, representatives from conservation organizations, Indigenous communities, government agencies, and civil society working near or across this boundary came together in 2021 to organize and participate in a series of four virtual Dialogue events. The Dialogues sought to explore common opportunities, challenges, success stories, and future needs around transboundary conservation. They included several hundred attendees, and each session focused on a different geography and/or themes relevant to transboundary conservation across the US–Canada border. As such, the Dialogues are a representative snapshot of the numerous transboundary efforts already underway.

To better capture the learnings from the Dialogues, a small task force worked together to distill their common themes and key ideas into a summary report. The task force worked closely with Indigenous speakers and participants from the Dialogues to co-produce the report and ensure it appropriately and respectfully reflected the diverse views expressed in the Dialogues. The resulting report is a starting point for launching further conversation and stimulating concrete actions toward achieving durable conservation outcomes for the peoples and ecosystems that span this critical area. 

Download Report

Project Partners:

Alaska Conservation Foundation
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Center for Large Landscape Conservation
IISAAK OLAM Foundation
Nature Canada
The Nature Conservancy
Northern Latitudes Partnerships
Salazar Center for North American Conservation
The Wilderness Society
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

VIDEO: Transboundary Conservation: Lessons learned from US-Canada transboundary dialogues

2021 Salazar Center Symposium panel featuring Jodi Hilty, Eli Enns, and Leanna Heffner, and moderated by Center for Large Landscape Conservation President Gary Tabor. This was part of the third annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact hosted virtually by the Salazar Center, Sept. 28-29, 2021.

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