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  5. Informing Adaptation Strategies for Maintaining Landscape Connectivity for Northern Rockies Wildlife

Informing Adaptation Strategies for Maintaining Landscape Connectivity for Northern Rockies Wildlife

Informing Adaptation Strategies for Maintaining Landscape Connectivity for Northern Rockies Wildlife in the Face of Climate Change
Principal Investigator
Steven Hostetler

Dates

Start Date
2015-01-15
End Date
2016-10-01
Release Date
2015

Summary

The U.S. Northern Rocky Mountains support a large number of native wildlife species, and survival of these populations depends on connected landscapes to support current migration and dispersal, as well as future shifts in species’ ranges. However, habitat fragmentation and loss threaten these connections. Land and wildlife managers across the U.S. are faced with decisions focused on reducing risks, like those from habitat fragmentation, to wildlife, ecosystems, and landscapes. Establishing connections between natural landscapes is a frequently recommended strategy for these managers to help wildlife adapt to changing conditions. Working in partnership with state and federal resource managers and private land trusts, this project [...]

Child Items (4)

Contacts

Principal Investigator :
Steven Hostetler
Funding Agency :
North Central CSC
Co-Investigator :
Meredith McClure, Bray J. Beltrán
Cooperator/Partner :
Yvette Converse, Tom Olliff, John Pierce, Reed Kuennen, Deb O’Neill, Michael Whitfield, Melly Reuling, Joe DeVivo, Mike Durglo, Greg Eckert, Sean Finn, Linh Hoang, Whisper Means, Brittany Morlin, Michael Philbin, Gregg Servheen, Erin Sexton, Cara Staab, Leona Svancara, Deb Wambach
CMS Group :
Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) Program

Attached Files

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AbsarokaRange_MT-WY_DianeRenkin_NPS.jpg
“Absaroka Range, on the Montana - Wyoming border - Credit: Diane Renkin, NPS” 		thumbnail 829.75 KB image/jpeg

Purpose

Establishing connections among natural landscapes is the most frequently recommended strategy for adapting management of natural resources in response to climate change. The U.S. Northern Rockies still support a full suite of native wildlife, and survival of these populations depends on connected landscapes. Connected landscapes support current migration and dispersal as well as future shifts in species ranges that will be necessary due to our changing climate. Working in partnership with state and federal resource managers and private land trusts, we seek to 1) understand how future climate change may alter habitat composition of landscapes expected to serve as important connections for wildlife, 2) understand how wildlife species of concern are expected to respond to these changes, 3) develop climate-smart strategies to help stakeholders manage public and private lands in ways that allow wildlife to continue to move in response to changing conditions, and 4) explore how well existing management plans and conservation efforts are expected to support crucial connections for wildlife under climate change. Ultimately, this project aims to ensure that the iconic landscapes of the Northern Rockies and the wildlife they support endure in a changing landscape for the benefit of future generations.

Project Extension

parts
typeTechnical Summary
valueThe U.S. Northern Rockies ecosystem and its wildlife are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and these effects are expected to be amplified by climate change. Enhancing landscape connectivity is the most frequently recommended climate adaptation strategy. In cooperation with the Great Northern LCC and in partnership with state and federal land and wildlife managers, private land trust partnership staff, and large landscape conservation practitioners, the objectives of this project are to a) assess the vulnerability of landscapes that are crucial for wildlife connectivity in the U.S. Northern Rockies to climate change, and b) to develop decision-relevant adaptation strategies for climate-based management and conservation action in these landscapes. We propose to: 1) use projected future biome distributions to estimate ecologically relevant exposure of connectivity landscapes to climate change, 2) score sensitivity of focal wildlife species to biome transitions and quantify adaptive capacity in the context of fragmentation due to human land use, 3) develop adaptation strategies for priority landscapes that are robust to uncertainty in future conditions and ecological responses, and 4) conduct a gap analysis of the extent to which existing management plans and conservation efforts support future connectivity needs under a changing climate. These efforts will culminate in a report, spatial data products, and map-based decision support tool that are tailored to the needs of resource managers and conservation practitioners and offered freely via ScienceBase, Data Basin, and partners’ data portals.
projectStatusCompleted

Absaroka Range, on the Montana - Wyoming border - Credit: Diane Renkin, NPS
Absaroka Range, on the Montana - Wyoming border - Credit: Diane Renkin, NPS

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  • National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
  • North Central CASC

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Type Scheme Key
RegistrationUUID NCCWSC 9ac52891-a105-4d87-87c9-5572ae5a6527
StampID NCCWSC NC14-HS0222

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