Wildlife Connectivity Approaches and Best Practices in U.S. State Wildlife Action Plans

• Published in: Conservation biology Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 13 - 21
• Main Authors: LACHER, IARA, WILKERSON, MARIT L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, NJ Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2014; Wiley Periodicals Inc; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal populations; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Biological and medical sciences; Conectividad; connectivity; Conservation biology; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; conservation planning; Conservation Practice and Policy; Conservation practices; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Content analysis; corredor; corridor; data collection; Environmental Policy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geography; Habitat conservation; Habitat corridors; habitat destruction; interviews; Keywords; Land conservation; movimiento de vida silvestre; parks; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; planeación de la conservación; planning; professionals; recreation; researchers; Surveys and Questionnaires; terrestrial vertebrates; United States; vertebrados terrestres; vertebrates; wildlife; Wildlife biology; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife habitats; wildlife movement; United States; USA; Vertebrata; corridor; wildlife movement; connectivity; conservation planning; Wild life; terrestrial vertebrates; Environmental protection; Conectividad; corredor; movimiento de vida silvestre; vertebrados terrestres; planeación de la conservación
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12204

As habitat loss and fragmentation threaten biodiversity on large geographic scales, creating and maintaining connectivity of wildlife populations is an increasingly common conservation objective. To assess the progress and success of large‐scale connectivity planning, conservation researchers need a set of plans that cover large geographic areas and can be analyzed as a single data set. The state wildlife action plans (SWAPs) fulfill these requirements. We examined 50 SWAPs to determine the extent to which wildlife connectivity planning, via linkages, is emphasized nationally. We defined linkage as connective land that enables wildlife movement. For our content analysis, we identified and quantified 6 keywords and 7 content criteria that ranged in specificity and were related to linkages for wide‐ranging terrestrial vertebrates and examined relations between content criteria and statewide data on focal wide‐ranging species, spending, revenue, and conserved land. Our results reflect nationwide disparities in linkage conservation priorities and highlight the continued need for wildlife linkage planning. Only 30% or less of the 50 SWAPs fulfilled highly specific content criteria (e.g., identifying geographic areas for linkage placement or management). We found positive correlations between our content criteria and statewide data on percent conserved land, total focal species, and spending on parks and recreation. We supplemented our content analysis with interviews with 17 conservation professionals to gain specific information about state‐specific context and future directions of linkage conservation. Based on our results, relevant literature, and interview responses, we suggest the following best practices for wildlife linkage conservation plans: collect ecologically meaningful background data; be specific; establish community‐wide partnerships; and incorporate sociopolitical and socioeconomic information. Acercamientos a la Conectividad de Vida Silvestre y las Mejores Prácticas en los Planes de Acción de Vida Silvestre Estatales en los Estados Unidos