Photo: William C. GladishThe following resources have been created to help us establish an extensive wildlife corridor linking eastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Americans love and value our wildlife and natural heritage. Wildlife watching generates over $30 billion in consumer spending each year, fishing over $35 billion and hunting over $27 billion. These industries support local economies in rural America and generate state and local taxes.
The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act would establish the National Wildlife Corridors System to provide for the protection and restoration of native fish, wildlife, and plant species. The conservation of landscape corridors and waterways, where native species and ecological processes can transition from one habitat to another, is critical to conserving biodiversity and ensuring resiliency for wildlife—especially in the face of climate change. Read case studies about how this act would benefit Florida panthers, grizzly bears, monarch butterflies, and pronghorns.
Today, many of our most beloved American species—from the Florida panther to the pronghorn, to Pacific salmon, to the monarch butterfly—are under threat from fragmentation of their habitats. The National Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act would provide for the protection and restoration of our native wildlife by identifying connectivity and corridors within public lands across the country.
Many species in the US are declining. Scientists estimate that one in five species are at risk of extinction. One of the greatest threats to species survival and diversity is the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of natural habitats. America’s landscapes are losing species, becoming biologically unproductive and unhealthy because native habitats have become islands, cutoff from other landscapes and waterways, unable to sustain vital natural processes, such as: dispersal, migration, genetic exchange, acquisition of resources, population stability, and climate adaptation, among others.
On behalf of our millions of members and supporters nationwide, Wildlands Network, along with 222 other NGOs, express our strong support for the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019.
In this sweeping, visually stunning overview of connectivity along the East Coast, Smokies Life Magazine featured several of our projects and staff members, including Liz Hillard, who is outfitting elk with GPS collars in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to learn where elk are crossing major roadways. In addition, Christine Laporte, who manages our partnerships with conservationists and landowners along the Eastern Wildway, was quoted next to a feature of our Half-East Map. Finally, Susan Holmes, who is spearheading our efforts to support Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) in introducing the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act, was also featured.
In his webinar from November 27, 2018, Dr. Ron Sutherland covers the plight of America’s most iconic species, the critically endangered red wolf. Learn about how Wildlands Network uses science-based advocacy to protect the last remaining wild red wolves, plagued by federal mismanagement, in North Carolina.
The Eastern Wildway Highlights Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from September 2018 includes stories about the USFWS plan to reduce the recovery area for red wolves, the growing movement to expand and protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and the halted construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The Eastern Wildway Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from May 2018 includes stories about the cost of protecting the remaining caribou in Quebec, the protection of a piece of the Shawangunk Ridge, and the five year review of the Red Wolf Recovery Program.
The Eastern Wildway Highlights Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from May 2018 includes stories about elk collaring in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, stopping the construction of pipelines, and galvanizing support for local wildlife corridors through storytelling.
The Eastern Wildway Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from March 2018 includes stories about threats to Ohio’s only national forest, a declaration of the eastern puma’s extinction, and a full-page red wolf feature in the Washington Post.
The Eastern Wildway Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from January 2018 includes stories about Ontario’s new frog crossing, the protection of 1,000 acres in Elmore, and the link between the Great Dismal Swamp and the Underground Railroad.
Through the implementation of wildlife corridors and road crossings on major highways, Florida Panthers would have a safe passage from southern protected areas such as Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge northward to protected areas like Apalachicola National Forest, securing this species for future generations. Florida Panthers are a classic tale of an American comeback—and by supporting the National Wildlife Corridors Bill, this species will continue to represent this important national story.
The Eastern Wildway Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from November 2017 includes stories about Wildlands Network’s second Eastern Conservation Summit, the protection of 2,000 acres of Pine Mountain, and the global hotspot of turtle diversity.
The Eastern Wildway Newsletter collects some of the news and accomplishments from our partners around the Wildway. This edition from September 2017 includes stories about a pipline threatening the Appalachian Trail, the success of the Altamaha River Corridor, and a study by Chris Wolf and William Ripple at Oregon State University.