Informing Adaptation Strategies for Maintaining Landscape Connectivity for Northern Rockies Wildlife

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 sought to 1) understand how future climate change may alter habitat composition of landscapes that are expected to serve as important connections for wildlife, 2) understand how wildlife species of concern are expected to respond to changing conditions, 3) develop 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.