Case Studies
Connecting the Dots: Local and Regional Efforts to Facilitate Habitat Continuity in a Changing Climate
As climate change increasingly affects ecosystems, conservation efforts in New York State focus on maintaining and reconnecting wildlife habitat.
Wildlife species have evolved individual tolerances to climatic conditions over millennia. While these tolerances have shifted over geological timescales, many species cannot keep up with the pace of modern climate change. Temperatures could now be too warm, snowfall too infrequent, or storms too intense for a species’ continued survival in places where it had long thrived. As a result, many species’ ranges are shifting northward and upward in elevation. Connected habitat is vital for individual dispersing animals to reach new suitable habitat over time.
Connect to Adapt
New York State’s landscape has become fragmented, leading to discontinuities in suitable habitat. Dams, reservoirs, highways, and fences present barriers to dispersing species. These barriers could cause ranges to simply contract, rather than shift.
Habitat loss and fragmentation remain the most pervasive threats to biodiversity in the state and worldwide.1,2 These issues have taken on new urgency with changing climate, as climate-related factors put pressure on dispersing animals to locate new suitable habitat. These changes are accelerating, increasing the rate at which species’ ranges shift.3 Species that are most susceptible to climate change—such as those with low mobility and specialized habitats—are also most susceptible to habitat fragmentation.
Highlights
- The effects of climate change make habitat connectivity an increasingly important conservation strategy. Several partnerships across New York State are creating science- and community-based connectivity projects.
- Computer models, field research, and community input are key to guiding land acquisition, restoring habitat, and securing conservation easements.
- All animals—from butterflies to fish to turtles to moose—and even some plants derive significant benefits from improved habitat connectivity. Some species require connectivity to adapt to climate change.
Habitat fragmentation endangers people as well. It increases the danger of accidents with animals on roads,4 the threat of culverts backing up and flooding roads during severe storms (which also can cause animals to use roadways), and the risk of frequent conflicts between humans and wildlife. Globally, habitat fragmentation endangers the very ecosystems and wildlife on which humanity depends.1
Adaptation in Action: Western New York Wildway and Highlands West Trail
To maintain and restore habitat connectivity for animal movement, local and regional organizations have partnered with the Western New York Land Conservancy to create the Western New York Wildway.5 The Wildway is a series of protected lands that connect the forests of northern Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes, through to the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks (Figure 1). The Western New York Land Conservancy works with landowners to establish conservation easements and acquire lands for the Wildway.
At nearly the opposite corner of New York State, wildlife connectivity projects are underway in the Hudson Highlands region. The Open Space Institute, Orange County Land Trust, and New York-New Jersey Trail Conference collaborated to lead the Highlands West Trail Connectivity Plan. This plan combines computer models with expert opinions to determine how to promote connectivity for wildlife and recreation west of the Hudson River. Meanwhile, east of the Hudson, the Hudson Highlands Land Trust’s Green Corridors Plan identified top priorities for land conservation based on modeled species distributions, recreation patterns, and stakeholder priorities. In and around the Black Rock Forest, researchers are using camera trapping, animal movement data, and computer modeling to identify connectivity needs.
Connecting Habitats 101
The first steps in local connectivity initiatives involve planning and research. A lead organization gathers stakeholders to scope the project, identifying the targets of improved habitat connectivity and key spots for connection. Maps of protected lands and models of how certain species could move through the landscape help inform this process. Depending on the target species, planners can map barriers such as inadequately sized culverts, dams, and busy roads to prioritize restoration projects. The group then produces a series of maps with agreed-upon actions for the initiative.
Successful habitat connectivity projects flow from the shared vision of partners in science, land management, and the public. To improve habitat connectivity, partners can acquire properties, establish easements, and improve culverts. They can also monitor wildlife use of road crossing structures, changes in roadkill frequency, and human use of trails. A fully successful connectivity initiative would allow gene flow to occur across barriers that previously prevented it.
For More Information
- Western New York Land Conservancy Wildway
- Conservation Planning in the Hudson River Estuary
- Staying Connected Initiative
- Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative
- North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative
References
1. Haddad, N. M., Brudvig, L. A., Clobert, J., Davies, K. F., Gonzalez, A., Holt, R. D., Lovejoy, T. E., Sexton, J. O., Austin, M. P., Collins, C. D., Cook, W. M., Damschen, E. I., Ewers, R. M., Foster, B. L., Jenkins, C. N., King, A. J., Laurance, W. F., Levey, D. J., Margules, C. R., … Townshend, J. R. (2015). Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems. Science Advances, 1(2), e1500052. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500052
2. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.). Sustaining New York’s animals, plants and ecosystems: The importance of biodiversity. Biodiversity & Species Conservation. Retrieved January 5, 2024, from https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/biodiversity-species-conservation
3. Loarie, S. R., Duffy, P. B., Hamilton, H., Asner, G. P., Field, C. B., & Ackerly, D. D. (2009). The velocity of climate change. Nature, 462(7276), 1052–1055. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08649
4. Clevenger, A. P., & Huijser, M. P. (2011). Chapter 2: Wildlife populations and road corridor intersections. In Wildlife crossing structure handbook design and evaluation in North America. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/clas/ctip/wildlife_crossing_structures/ch_2.aspx
5. Western New York Land Conservancy. (n.d.). Western New York Wildway. Retrieved June 23, 2023, from https://www.wnylc.org/wnywildway