Photo: Robert LongAmericans 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.
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 Corridor 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.
Signed into law on Friday, March 29 by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Wildlife Corridors Act will direct the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the state Department of Transportation to develop an action plan to identify key roads and other barriers impacting wildlife migration and to direct construction for safe animal passage and road safety. This legislation is a paramount stepping-stone in ensuring that populations of deer, elk, pronghorns, black bears, and other key species can safely traverse their habitats in New Mexico.
Joining 29 other environmental, civil rights, and immigration organizations, Wildlands Network signed on to this letter in support of three federal House bills that would restore “bedrock legal protections and landowners’ rights
on the border” if passed. The letter was sent to federal representatives and urges them to protect border communities, wildlife, the environment, public lands and private property owners by supporting these important bills.
Writing in support of the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2018, Patagonia, Osprey Packs and Petzl America urge our elected officials to support this landmark legislation. Introduced in the House by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va) and in the Senate by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) in December 2018, the Act will designate wildlife corridors on federal lands and provide incentives for states, tribes and other entities to enhance connectivity on non-federal lands throughout the country. It’s in important step toward protecting our wildlife and wildlands, as 1 in 5 U.S. species is threatened with extinction. In their letter, the outdoor brands write, “The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act will provide key tools for conserving our nation’s wildlife and natural heritage for future generations.”
Marking the most significant step toward national wildlife conservation in decades, the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2018 was introduced today in the Senate by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and in the House of Representatives by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). If passed, the Act will restore habitat and protect America’s native wildlife by establishing a National Wildlife Corridors Program that facilitates the designation of wildlife corridors on federal lands and provides grants to protect wildlife corridors on non-federal lands.
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.
Backed by more than 160 conservation organizations across the country, the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act was introduced to Congress by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) in December 2018. We expect the bill will be reintroduced in 2019 with bipartisan support. If passed, the bill will designate wildlife corridors on federal lands across the country and provide incentives for states, tribes, and other entities to enhance habitat connectivity and protect wildlife corridors on non-federal lands. In the letter, the conservation groups thank the Congressmen for their leadership on this landmark legislation that will help rapidly declining species populations adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
This bill 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. By designating select landscapes and waterways under federal jurisdiction as wildlife corridors, we can safeguard our native flora and fauna for future generations.
In the last issue of Wildlands Connection of 2018, you’ll read about living with our wild neighbors, the ethics of wildlife tourism, our effort to reveal that 99.9% of public comments are in favor of strong federal protections for red wolves, the exciting Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act, and so much more!
Prominent conservation biologist Dr. E.O. Wilson lends his support to the landmark Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act as Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) prepare to introduce it in the Senate and House in December 2018. If passed, the Act will designate wildlife corridors on federal lands and provide incentives for landowners to protect corridors on non-federal lands. In his letter, Dr. Wilson urges “all members of the Senate and House of Representatives to support this bill that would help conserve the interconnectedness of habitats of thousands of our nation’s native species, boosting their resilience to climate change and maintaining the health of our country’s diverse natural heritage.”
This is a draft preview of our Pacific Wildway Map, the first phase of which will be ready to share this spring! Working with a team of scientists at the University of Washington, we are making steady progress toward mapping landscape connectivity in the Pacific Northwest to help prioritize conservation efforts to protect wildlife—now and into the future. The Pacific Wildway Map will highlight vital linkages for species traversing the landscape as it undergoes climatic changes. Using the map as a guiding tool, we will be able to identify critical gaps where connectivity could be greatly enhanced, offering crucial protections for imperiled species like wolverines.