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.

A recent global report delivered a stark warning: 49% of the 1,200+ unique species protected under the Convention on Migratory Species have declining populations, up from 44% two years ago. Confronting this newest evidence that birds, fish, insects, and mammals that cross national borders are increasingly at risk, government and conservation leaders gathered in late March for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS/CoP-15) in Campo Grande, Brazil.  

These multilateral governmental negotiations, convened under the theme “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life,” reinforced the critical need to conserve the ecological connectivity of our globally shared natural heritage of migratory species. Linking ecosystems, cultures, and economies across country borders and continents, wild species undertake increasingly perilous journeys throughout their lifecycles.

Participants at CoP-15, including the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, demonstrated resolve by adopting commitments to address compounding threats to the survival of migratory species. This included agreeing on new or enhanced international protections for 40 species in danger of extinction such as the cheetah, snowy owl, giant otter, and great hammerhead shark. Read the full list of species here.

Throughout the week, participants also addressed more than 100 agenda items ranging from illegal and unsustainable taking of migratory species to impacts of deep sea mining. By close of CMS/CoP-15, Parties also adopted a diversity of policies to address threats and implement actions with a strengthened focus on ecological connectivity, international cooperation, and expanding partnerships.

Campo Grande provided a fitting backdrop for this meeting of the world’s only international agreement recognizing countries as the stewards of migratory species living within or passing through their national jurisdictions. As the capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in southwestern Brazil, it is the southern gateway to the Pantanal—the world’s largest tropical wetland—at the intersection of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. This landscape supports more than 1,000 bird, 300 mammal, 500 reptile, 400 fish, and thousands of invertebrate species. It is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and a powerful example of the importance of connected, functional ecosystems and why the work of the Convention on Migratory Species matters so much.

High-level Commitment for Wildlife 

An ambitious tone was set at the preceding High Level Segment chaired by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who was joined by the President of Paraguay, ministers, and other stakeholders. Together, these country representatives adopted the Pantanal Declaration “Promoting Connectivity to Protect Migratory Wildlife.” It highlights the need to maintain, enhance, and restore ecological connectivity; include measures to prevent negative impacts on migration routes in economic development strategies; and use available resources to support developing countries to more effectively conserve migratory wildlife.  

The importance of the Convention and key role of ecological connectivity was highlighted by President Lula:   

“The Convention on Migratory Species conveys a simple but powerful message: migration is natural. By crossing continents and connecting distant ecosystems, these species show that nature does not recognize the limits between States. The jaguar moves across nearly all preserved territories of the Americas in search of safe areas to hunt and reproduce. Like it, every year, millions of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and even insects cross continents and oceans. These journeys connect ecosystems, preserve natural cycles, and ensure the balance that makes life possible. Protecting these animals means protecting life itself on the planet. The survival of these species depends on collective action.”  

During his address, President Lula also announced Brazil’s newest conservation commitments including the creation of a the new Córregos dos Vales do Norte de Minas Gerais Reserve, and significant expansions of Pantanal National Park and Taiamã Ecological Station, together representing approximately 145,000 hectares (559 square miles) of newly protected lands. 

CLLC’s Ongoing Leadership 

Joining more than 2,000 attendees, including delegates from 105 of the 133 country “Parties” to the Convention on Migratory Species, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation was represented by three team members: Katie Deuel (Chief Program Officer), Aaron Laur (Manager, International Connectivity Program), and Fernanda Teixeira (Linear Infrastructure Ecology Advisor).  

As an official NGO Observer to CMS, the Center continued advancing the aims of the convention by emphasizing the fundamental importance of conserving ecological connectivity to more efficiently and effectively achieve the great diversity of international treaty agreements for conserving nature. In preparations and over the course of the conference, the team contributed expertise and worked with partners to showcase innovative collaboration for maintaining, enhancing, and restoring ecological connectivity to conserve migratory species.  

Over the course of the conference, Katie, Aaron, and Fernanda followed negotiations, shared expertise through presentations, and participated in official events especially promoting leading joint efforts focused on conserving migratory species, their habitats, and migration routes. Aaron, who also serves as Co-Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG), represented the World Commission on Protected Areas as part of IUCN’s official delegation throughout the negotiations and associated events. 

Official Side Events Promoting Collaboration 

Among the nearly 60 official side events held in Campo Grande, CLLC was proud to lead co-organization of the event “Nature Positive Infrastructure – Avoiding and mitigating impacts of linear infrastructure on migratory species and ecological connectivity” with numerous partners. Participants learned about new and expanded initiatives around the world building capacity and mobilizing resources to mainstream biodiversity conservation into infrastructure policy, planning, investment, and development. 

Additionally, the Center contributed to back-to-back events emphasizing the growing, collaborative action that is being scaled up by the Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) titled “Ecological Connectivity: A Cross-Cutting Solution for Achieving Multiple Environmental and Socio-Economic Priorities” and “From Partnerships to Practice: Advancing ecological connectivity action on the ground”.

Toward the end of the conference, Aaron was moderator for the event Bridging the gap: Leveraging animal movement and mapped migration corridors to inform national conservation policy” that provided insights into how movement data, with a focus on migration, can be better integrated into conservation planning and policy.

Renewed Policies for Connectivity and Addressing Impacts of Infrastructure 

As part of formal negotiations, Parties considered a raft of background documents, reaching consensus by the last day to adopt new and updated policy resolutions and decisions about a diversity of issues and topics. Specific to the Center’s mission, the Resolution on “Ecological Connectivity” advances previous related commitments urging Parties to identify, strengthen, and expand ecological networks and corridors to conserve migratory species, and for the CMS Secretariat to support their establishment and management.

Additionally, the “Resolution on Impact Assessment and Migratory Species” advances commitments that migratory species, their habitats, and ecological connectivity “[…] be given high priority in biodiversity-related aspects of environmental impact assessment”  

Looking Ahead  

João Paulo Ribeiro Capobianco, in his role as President of CMS/CoP-15, and as Executive Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, made the closing speech, including the following statement: 

“From the Pantanal to the Arctic, from the oceans to the savannas, migratory species connect our planet in ways no political map ever could. They remind us that ecological integrity depends on continuity of flows that must remain alive, uninterrupted, and resilient. And this is precisely what is at stake. Connectivity is not an abstract concept. It is the difference between survival and collapse. Between ecosystems that function and those that fail. To protect migratory routes, ecological corridors, and critical habitats is to protect the very fabric of life on Earth.” 

The outcomes of CMS/CoP-15 represent meaningful and durable progress in the global effort to conserve ecological connectivity for migratory species and the ecosystems they depend upon. For the Center, CMS/CoP-15 reaffirmed that bringing high quality science, field experience, partnerships and networks, and technical expertise to negotiations and side events shapes innovative and actionable decisions. We look forward to building on these outcomes in the months ahead, in collaboration with our many valued partners.  

Additional information: 

• IISD – Earth Negotiations Bulletin with full, daily, detailed coverage including photos 

• WWF – CMS COP15 delivers progress for migratory species, including jaguars, sharks, marine turtles, and birds  

• Mongabay – Migratory species summit adopts new marine protections amid extinction warnings 

_{*Photo of presenters, left to right: Fernanda Abra (President, Reconecta Institute); Fernanda Teixeira (Linear Infrastructure Ecology Advisor, Center for Large Landscape Conservation); Tremaine Gregory (Senior Scientist, Sustainable Infrastructure Team, WWF-US); Steffen Mumme (Spatial Ecologist, Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration); Ruth Tiffer Sotomayor (Senior Environmental Specialist, Global Environment Department, The World Bank); Aaron Laur (Manager, International Connectivity Program, Center for Large Landscape Conservation); Kate Newman (Vice President, Sustainable Infrastructure and Public Sector Initiatives, WWF-US); Duncan Lang (Principal Environment Specialist, Nature and Environment Division, Asian Development Bank); and Katie Deuel (Chief Program Officer, Center for Large Landscape Conservation).}

_{Top image: The Jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria), locally known as the tuiuiú, is a symbol of the Pantanal in Brazil. Adobe Stock photo.}

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Wildlife don’t stop at city limits, county lines, or property boundaries—and neither should local government planning. The decisions communities make today about how and where to build will shape whether future generations inherit thriving landscapes that sustain people and wildlife alike. 

That’s why CLLC created a new report on wildlife habitat connectivity and local government: to bring together the policy tools and practical strategies that every community and every community member—whether you’re a resident, planner, biologist, developer, or legislator—can consider using to help keep landscapes connected.  

The report, titled Integrating Wildlife Habitat Connectivity into Local Government Planning: Examples, Recommendations, and Resources for U.S. Towns and Counties, is a practical guide for planners and partners to weave wildlife habitat connectivity into local land use decisions. It features sample policies and ordinances from across the country, case studies of successful implementation, and best practices to support local action. 

Kylie Paul, road ecologist with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and lead author of the report, says that local governments hold land use authority across most of the U.S. and have a unique role in shaping growth, protecting natural resources, and keeping landscapes connected.  

“Planning for connectivity isn’t just about wildlife,” said Paul. “It’s a smart growth strategy that supports open space, green infrastructure, water quality, road safety, recreation, and community resilience.” 

Examples from the report include:  

• The city of Buckeye, Arizona created a Wildlife Corridors Best Practices Guide to help planners plan for future development with wildlife in mind.  

• Lake County, Florida’s Comprehensive Plan includes a Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway Corridor Overlay District, with language to establish standards to create and maintain a safe corridor for both wildlife and people, including the construction of wildlife crossing structures. 

• Scott County, Minnesota has mapped Natural Area Corridors to guide development away from the corridors through incentives and to improve natural resource functions within them.  

• The state of Vermont has a Community Wildlife Program offering technical services and information to local governments to help find natural resource information, review town planning documents, connect with other partners, and focus on a larger regional scale for planning. 

The report highlights steps towns and counties can take, such as mapping priority habitat, clustering development, securing open space, and requiring buffers around sensitive resources. It also outlines tools like conservation design, overlay zones, and wildlife crossings, along with state-level policies and partner actions that provide critical support. 

“As development pressures rise, now is the time for local governments to embed habitat connectivity into comprehensive plans, zoning, and development review,” said Paul. “We hope the practical examples and policy language in this report will help inspire and guide communities to protect landscapes for both people and wildlife.” 

If you care about strong communities, healthy environments, and smart growth, this report is for you. 

The full report is available at: largelandscapes.org/local-planning 

Support for this project was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.  

_{Top photo: A suburb of Spokane, Washington, USA – Adobe Stock}

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NEWS RELEASE

May 13, 2025

Bozeman, MT — On May 8, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law that will help keep drivers and wildlife safe on the state’s roadways. House Bill 855—Establish FWP Wildlife Highway Crossings and Accommodations Account—creates a dedicated fund and authorizes a new state specialty license plate expected to generate up to $160,000 per year. Revenues from sales of the plate will help contribute to the planning, design, and construction of wildlife crossing structures, which have been proven to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

The Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) supported the bill as part of its work to advance solutions that reconnect fragmented wildlife habitat in Montana and globally.

“After strong bipartisan backing in committee and passage by the Montana House and Senate, this legislation marks a significant step toward addressing wildlife-vehicle collisions in Montana,” said CLLC road ecologist Kylie Paul. “We supported this bill because it will help keep our Montana wildlife and drivers safe and we appreciate the hard work of everyone involved in making this bill come to fruition.”

Montana has the second-highest rate of wildlife-vehicle collisions per capita in the nation; in 10 years, drivers in the state hit well over 60,000 large animals. Fifty-four people have died in wildlife-vehicle collisions in the state in 10 years. And these collisions cost Montana more than $200 million annually.  

“It’s dangerous and scary and it’s expensive,” Paul said.

The data in Montana and around the world demonstrates that wildlife crossing structures like underpasses, overpasses, and associated fencing are effective at reducing collisions by 80 to 100 percent and successful at keeping wildlife moving through the landscape. The science of where these crossings are needed in Montana is also increasingly clear, from data collection, mapping, and assessments from CLLC, state agencies and partner groups.

Through the Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage coalition and the Montana Wildlife and Transportation Partnership, state agencies, organizations, and the public are working hard to decrease wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect fragmented habitat. Several highway crossing projects in the state are in various stages of moving ahead or in the wings waiting for further funding for construction.  

In addition to license plate sales, the account created by the signing of this new law has the potential to house funding from sources made possible by other legislative bills.

“This license plate account is an important first step to pull together the necessary resources to advance wildlife crossing structures,” Paul said. “We are eager to see these structures built so they can save lives and help keep Montana wildlife on the move.”

About the Center for Large Landscape Conservation

The Center for Large Landscape Conservation advances ecological connectivity for climate resilience worldwide through science, policy, practice, and collaboration. Largelandscapes.org

CONTACT:

Christine Weinheimer, Communications Manager
Center for Large Landscape Conservation
406-586-8082

Photo: US-93 Overpass, Montana – CLLC/Gabe Oppler

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They run. They fly. They swim. Migratory species from elephants to golden eagles to sea turtles cover vast distances and often cross borders to survive. In February 2024, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation joined countries, partners, and experts in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to increase commitments and contributions to conserve migratory wildlife and their habitats around the world. Under the motto “Nature Knows No Borders,” more than 1,000 participants attended the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS/CoP-14), the first to be hosted in a Central Asian country.  

The conference centered around the 133 country “Parties” considering the endangered status and management of specific species—including fourteen new species, subspecies, and populations added to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Appendices—examining country reporting, setting priorities such as targeted conservation plans, and agreeing on a budget for implementing overall aims of the convention. CMS/CoP-14 built on momentum since adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in 2022 and brought additional focus to the vital role that ecological connectivity—which allows wildlife to move more freely—plays in conserving species and habitats across migratory ranges.  

Keeping connectivity a priority 

The Center was proud to prepare and attend as an official NGO Observer to CMS, and to elevate its work in collaboration with the IUCN-WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) and partners promoting and mainstreaming ecological connectivity as a central focus of the convention and its activities. Among the 52 agenda items considered under 25 thematic groups on crosscutting, terrestrial, avian, and aquatic issues, the conference adopted the Samarkand Strategic Plan for 2024-2032 with Goal 2 devoted to maintaining and restoring connectivity. This post summarizes the related activities and outcomes that our leadership and collaboration supported while in Samarkand. 

Launch of the State of the World’s Migratory Species Report 

During a special event on February 12, the first-ever report on the State of the World’s Migratory Species was released by the Convention on Migratory Species. Available in English, French, and Spanish, the 88-page report reviews the status of migratory species and impacts of various threats to their survival. It includes a section on “Promoting ecological connectivity by removing barriers to migration” as a joint contribution of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC) and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation.  

Among the findings, the report details that:

More than one-in-five (22%) CMS-listed species are threatened with extinction.

Nearly all (97%) of CMS-listed fish are threatened with extinction.

The two greatest threats to both CMS-listed and all migratory species are overexploitation and habitat loss due to human activity. 

Connectivity-related side events 

While formal negotiations feature prominently in daily proceedings of a CoP, side events are opportunities for gathering informally to learn about and discuss specific topics and projects. Prior to departing for Samarkand, the Center and partners identified 27 side events addressing ecological connectivity in one way or another.

Foremost, the Center led organization of the side event “New Frontiers for Ecological Connectivity – From Policy to Implementation,” where speakers highlighted efforts around the world  moving ecological connectivity from discourse to implementation. Contributions included an overview of policy developments and presentations from governments and experts highlighting collaborative initiatives, projects, and activities that are advancing connectivity conservation at local to global scales. The event was supported by USAID and the ALIGN Project (Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeGuarding Nature), and co-organizers included CCSG, CMS, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Climate Chance, and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF).

Additional contributions by team members from the Center included:

• CEO Gary Tabor presented at the event led by Climate Chance association titled “Ecological Connectivity: An Integrated Opportunity to Address Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Desertification”; 
• CEO Gary Tabor also spoke at the event “Asiatic Wild Ass (Kulan): Status, Threats, and Future Conservation Needs” hosted by the IUCN-SSC Equid Specialist Group, co-chaired by Dr. Patricia Moehlman; 
• International Connectivity Program Manager Aaron Laur provided a presentation on “Building the Foundation of Policy and Law for Ecological Connectivity” for an event led by the organization Law of the Wild; and 
• International Connectivity Specialist Gabriel Oppler presented on the work of the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group and its publications, resources, and activities.
   

Special Event: Launch of a new Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity 

The Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) celebrated its launch at a special event on February 14. GPEC aims to strengthen and facilitate efforts to address key priorities for ecological connectivity, identify and address gaps, scale-up efforts at national-levels, and drive transboundary and international connectivity conservation policies and activities. The launch was attended by approximately 100 people and members of the media, and is summarized in this press release. Initiated by CMS, the partnership is joined by several organizations, including the Center for Large Landscape Conservation as a core partner.

Policy resolutions and decisions to advance ecological connectivity conservation 

Among the many official decisions reached by close of CoP-14, Parties to the convention adopted policies that serve to update and focus efforts for more efficient and effective ecological connectivity conservation. Included among the “In-Session Documents” in English, French, and Spanish, they include:  

• ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY, including enhancement of the definition to “[…] ecological connectivity (hereafter “connectivity”) is the unimpeded movement of species, connection of habitats without hindrance and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth”; 

• IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND MIGRATORY SPECIES, including passages such as asking Parties to include migratory species when revising legal requirements for impact assessment and when generating considerations for screening criteria, including the construction of barriers such as fences and walls when these might be an impediment for ecological connectivity;  

• INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND MIGRATORY SPECIES with passages directed to Parties, the Scientific Council, and the Secretariat including requesting more comprehensive cooperation on specific actions such as identifying existing, planned, and foreseen development; and taking into account ecological connectivity and ecological restoration.”
  
  
• CMS CONTRIBUTION TO THE KUNMING-MONTREAL GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK, including supporting and applying the monitoring framework agreed under the CBD for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework including promoting the status of migratory species as measurement of progress towards achieving the ecological connectivity and integrity elements of the framework; 

• SAMARKAND STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MIGRATORY SPECIES 2024-2032, including Goal 2 on “The habitats and ranges of migratory species are maintained and restored, supporting their connectivity”; and Target 3.2. “By 2032, the direct mortality of migratory species caused by human-made infrastructure is significantly reduced to levels that are not harmful to species’ viability.”

• INITIATIVE FOR CENTRAL ASIAN FLYWAY spanning 30 Range States for migratory birds, alongside the establishment of a coordinating unit with financial support from the Indian Government;

• REDUCING THE RISK OF VESSEL STRIKES FOR MARINE MEGAFAUNA including encouraging Parties “to propose core aggregation zones and known migration corridors of vulnerable marine megafauna, where there is a significant risk of vessel strikes,” and

• INITIATIVE FOR THE JAGUAR to develop a comprehensive program of work encompassing all aspects of jaguar conservation, including paragraph 6(e) agreeing to focus on adopting actions that allow and ensure connectivity between Jaguar populations (including the creation and official designation of biological corridors), as well as effective handling of protected areas, indigenous territories, and other effective area-based conservation action;
   

What comes next? 

Although many species-specific and cross-cutting decisions were reached throughout the week, extinction risk levels are rising across CMS-listed species, and climate change and habitat loss continue unabated. These challenges combine with chronic underfunding of the convention and a new budget that does not allow for even modest growth. The implementation of ongoing and new mandates will require strong, combined efforts across governments, organizations, and experts. The Center and our partners look forward to advancing ecological connectivity conservation as an innovative way for CMS and many multilateral environmental agreements to achieve their individual and joint objectives in a more comprehensive, efficient, and effective manner to stop fragmentation, reverse biodiversity loss, and increase resilience to climate change. 

View some photos from our time in Uzbekistan

_{Top Photo: The CLLC team at CMS/CoP-14: Gabriel Oppler, Gary Tabor, and Aaron Laur (Credit: CLLC)}

_{*Global Partnership group photo, left to right: Gabriel Oppler, International Policy & Partnerships Specialist, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Aaron Laur, International Connectivity Program, Policy & Partnerships Manager, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Frances Davis, Senior Programme Officer, UNEP-WCMC; Ingrid Coetzee; Director, Biodiversity, Nature & Health, ICLEI Africa and Global Cities Biodiversity Center; Senator Ronan Dantec, President, Climate Chance Association; Rafael Antelo (Ph.D.) Wildlife Connect Leader and PACHA Coordinator, WWF; Madhu Rao, Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas; Dr Musonda Mumba , Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands; H.E. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan; Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary; Gary Tabor, CEO, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Fernando Spina, CMS COP-appointed Councilor for Ecological Connectivity, Katharine Newman, Vice-President sustainable infrastructure; WWF US. © Anvar Zokirov}

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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

April 4, 2023

Bozeman, MT – Millions of collisions occur between drivers and animals on U.S. roads annually. To address this dangerous, expensive, and growing problem, Congress created a national Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. This new grant program will prevent accidents and connect habitat by investing in measures that allow wildlife to safely cross over or under roads and fish to pass through streams beneath roads. Earlier today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the program’s first round of competitive grants—nearly $112M for research, planning, design, and construction projects that aim to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat connectivity.

To help potential applicants take advantage of this new federal funding, a coalition of nonprofit organizations has launched a website offering free resources for developing successful proposals. The nonprofit Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC), which provides science and policy expertise on wildlife crossings, is part of a coalition providing support for interested entities. The coalition also includes Animal Road Crossings (ARC) Solutions, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, National Parks Conservation Association, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and Wildlands Network. The coalition website features some of CLLC’s resources, such as a Toolkit for Developing Effective Projects under the Federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and a co-hosted webinar series, Demystifying Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure. The coalition has assembled a variety of information related to planning effective wildlife crossing projects and relevant funding opportunities.  

The new Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program will help prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions, which cause hundreds of human fatalities, thousands of human injuries, and millions of wildlife deaths in the U.S. each year, while costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars annually. And these costs are rising; the average expense of hitting an elk is more than $73,000, with vehicle repair costs increasing by around 70% since 2007. 

“Wildlife crossings are gaining bipartisan support nationwide because they save lives, connect habitat, and can provide an exceptional return on investment,” says CLLC Director of Government Affairs Anna Wearn. “Doing nothing about this problem costs more than fixing it, given that proven solutions exist. However, until now, many states and Tribes simply haven’t had the capital to invest upfront in these measures that pay huge dividends for communities and ecosystems. 

“The resources provided by this coalition website will help ensure a strong slate of applications for the new funding,” adds Wearn. “Ultimately, successful projects will demonstrate the value of making this pilot program permanent in subsequent federal transportation legislation.” 

The new program, provided through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), represents the first-ever dedicated federal funding for wildlife crossings. Studies show that properly designed and placed crossings can eliminate collisions with wildlife. These structures save taxpayers money by preventing costly accidents and stimulate economies by creating well-paying construction jobs, especially in rural communities where the majority of collisions occur.  

Applications under the new program are due August 1, 2023. Eligible applicants include state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, regional transportation authorities, special purpose districts, public authorities with a transportation function, Tribes, and federal land management agencies. In most cases, applicants will need to provide 20% matching non-federal funds for their proposed projects, with the Federal Highway Administration covering the other 80% of costs.

The prospect of this match requirement inspired a flurry of legislation in 2022 and 2023 in states across the country to establish new dedicated wildlife crossings accounts. These bills seek to unlock federal dollars under the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and nearly 20 other IIJA grant programs with new or expanded eligibility for projects that improve habitat connectivity and/or reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.  

“In addition to the safety and economic benefits, wildlife crossings reconnect landscapes that have been fragmented by roads,” says CLLC Senior Conservationist Rob Ament. “These crossing structures allow species to access food and water, find mates, and successfully migrate, creating healthier, more sustainable wildlife populations.” 

CLLC staff provided information to bipartisan legislators and congressional staff keen on developing the new program’s provisions. They worked with coalition members to demonstrate the proposed program’s necessity and broad appeal. 

“It has been an exciting time for organizations like ours, which have been advocating for crossings for many years. We see momentum sweeping across the country for these win-win-win solutions,” says Ament.  

For more information: 

The coalition’s Wildlife Crossings website

Federal Highway Administration’s website

About the Center for Large Landscape Conservation  

The Center for Large Landscape Conservation is the hub of a growing global movement to reverse fragmentation of the earth’s large landscapes and restore nature’s resilience to climate change. The Center works to connect natural areas, provide critical wildlife habitat and safe migration for wide-ranging animals, and protect ecological processes and systems. They accomplish this by developing science, crafting policy, and sharing expertise with partners, practitioners, and local communities around the world.

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CONTACT:  Christine Weinheimer, Communications Manager, communications@largelandscapes.org   

Top photo: US-160 overpass in Colorado – CDOT/Tony Cady

The post New Federal Funding to Build Life-Saving Wildlife Crossings is Now Available appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

This past month was a historic one for landscape conservation and connectivity in the United States. Each week in March of this year, the Biden administration rolled out a major new initiative to conserve and restore lands, waters, and wildlife across large regions of the country. The recent slew of announcements demonstrates that our movement to think about and act on conservation at the landscape level has come of age.

The federal government is clearly recognizing the need to coordinate across agencies and boundaries, and to support partners on the ground in developing and implementing their shared vision for healthy communities and ecosystems. This is the heart of our work at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation.  

The White House Conservation in Action Summit

The Center’s President & Founder Gary Tabor was invited to attend a landmark conservation summit at the White House on March 21st. The event featured remarks by President Biden, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Secretary of Agriculture Doug Vilsack, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, among other leaders in conservation. These dignitaries announced a sweeping new set of landscape conservation initiatives, including the creation of new national monuments, additional support for Indigenous-led conservation, and actions to facilitate wildlife migration.

When Gary and our Senior Conservationist Rob Ament started collaborating on ecological connectivity policy work more than two decades ago, they had to explain to many people what a wildlife corridor was. In his speech at the Summit, President Biden publicly committed to “conserve wildlife corridors across agencies and across our entire landscape.” This is the first time in history a sitting U.S. President has publicly acknowledged the importance of corridors and connectivity. We’ve come a long way! 

Key landscape and connectivity conservation announcements in the last month included:

• • America the Beautiful Initiative Progress Report and Grants (3/1/23): For the second year in a row, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation released a Request for Proposals for the America the Beautiful Challenge, with $116 million in competitive, federal grant funding for landscape conservation, restoration, and stewardship planning and projects. The Biden administration also released the 2022 America the Beautiful Report, highlighting progress made last year on landscape conservation, including efforts to “expand collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitats and corridors” as one the top priorities. 
     
  • Restoration and Resilience Framework (3/3/23): The Department of the Interior introduced the first-ever interagency framework for synergizing investments in ecological restoration and climate resilience across keystone landscapes. This framework emphasizes locally led, landscape-scale, partner-driven approach to restoration. 

  • President’s Budget Request (3/9/23): The President released his congressional budget request for Fiscal Year 2024. The Department of the Interior’s proposal includes requests for new dedicated investments in habitat connectivity, budget increases to expand ongoing wildlife migration research, and funding for numerous programs that support landscape conservation.  

  • Wildlife Corridors and Connectivity Guidance (3/21/23): The White House Council on Environmental Quality issued new guidance on integrating habitat connectivity considerations into federal agency planning and decisions. This new cross-departmental policy reflects the recommendations of the Center and our partners.   

  • Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program (3/21/23): The Federal Highway Administration announced that it will open applications for the new $350-million Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program soon. The Center played a leading role in the coalition that championed the creation of this new program and developed resources for interested applicants. 

  • Strengthening the Stewardship of America’s Public Lands (3/30/23): The Bureau of Land Management announced a new proposed policy on conservation and landscape health, including actions to “protect landscape intactness and habitat connectivity,” building upon their recent connectivity guidance. The comment period presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Center and the public to help shape the future of public lands and ensure the agency effectively addresses the growing problem of habitat fragmentation.  

It is exciting for the Center and our partners to see large landscape conservation and habitat connectivity go mainstream, as a growing number of powerful people and institutions embrace the belief that drives our work: for our communities and ecosystems to be resilient, we must keep them connected. These new national policy developments create a bright future for conservation, restoration, and stewardship in the 21st Century—one guided by strategic coordination across sectors at scale and rooted in the principles of collaboration and inclusion.  

We look forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration on these new initiatives and keeping our supporters and followers posted on major new developments.  

Photo, top: President Joe Biden makes announcements about landscape connectivity at the White House Conservation in Action Summit – Photo from @POTUS on Twitter.

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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

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Top photo: US-160 overpass in Colorado – CDOT

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While national parks may be the most familiar type of public lands, another type of federal sites make up roughly ten percent of the land area of the US. More than 2,400 U.S.

In November of 2022, BLM issued a new national policy aiming to maintain and restore connections between habitat to allow fish and wildlife to move across landscapes and watersheds on BLM lands. The policy—in the form of a memo to agency staff—elevates habitat connectivity to a fundamental part of BLM’s mission. The memo also encourages collaboration with state and Tribal agency partners to assess and conserve habitat connectivity. Finally, it provides direction for ensuring habitat connectivity is considered in BLM planning and decision-making processes.

BLM manages 1 in 10 acres in the United States

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This policy could have major implications for habitat connectivity, as BLM is the nation’s largest landowner, managing  245 million acres, mostly in the western US. Additionally, BLM lands are exceptionally important for connecting large, protected areas, compared to other federal lands. As climate change and development increasingly degrade and fragment our western landscapes, proactively planning to protect existing migration routes and restore connections between seasonal habitat is more important than ever. This commitment by the agency will be vital to the conservation of  iconic species like pronghorn, which range from Canada to Mexico across the interior western US, traversing BLM lands multiple times. 

In short, the memo directs BLM staff to: 

Acknowledge habitat connectivity as part of BLM’s mission  

Perhaps the most significant element of the memo is that it establishes that conserving and restoring habitat connectivity is central to the BLM’s “multiple use and sustained yield” mandate, which balances managing public lands for activities like energy development, livestock grazing and recreation with managing them to conserve natural, cultural, and historic resources.  

Identify “areas of habitat connectivity”  

The memo directs BLM state offices to assess data on habitat connectivity, permeability, and resilience in order to identify “areas of habitat connectivity.”   

Incorporate habitat connectivity considerations into planning & decision-making 

Once the initial data assessment phase is complete, the memo directs agency staff to consider the identified habitat connectivity areas in the land use planning process and project-level decisions. For instance, a separate but related recent BLM memo clarifies that habitat connectivity could be a reason for establishing an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect the conservation value of the area. 

The Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, the Western Governors’ Association, and multiple states have released similar guidance in recent years aimed at better incorporating habitat connectivity into planning and project level processes. Ultimately, the BLM’s new national policy will improve coordination with other federal, state, and Tribal partners on assessing and conserving habitat connectivity. This will allow the BLM to more effectively address the growing threats of habitat fragmentation and climate change in order to conserve the nation‘s natural resources and natural heritage for future generations.    

A version of this blog post, which contains additional details and analysis of the BLM memo, appears on conservationcorridor.com. 

Photos, top to bottom: Pronghorn, Ultra Energy Field, Wyoming – BLM/Tara Boucher; Red Rock Canyon NCA, Nevada – BLM, Creative Commons license; Carrizo Plain National Monument, California – BLM/Sarah Bullock

The post New National Policy Introduced to Conserve Wildlife Movement on Public Lands appeared first on Center for Large Landscape Conservation.