State DOTs Partner with The Nature Conservancy on Wildlife Connectivity

Tell us a little bit more about what habitat connectivity is and how habitat connectivity has become such a large issue in the northeastern part of this country in particular.

Yeah.

So habitat connectivity is all about, you know, the, the, the degree to which, um, species can move about the landscape freely to do all the things they need to do to access different food sources, find mates, raise their young, and increasingly to adapt to shifting habitats as a result of warmer temperatures.

So, you know, a connected landscape allows that movement to happen between natural areas made up of cores and corridors and across major barriers like roads.

And the habitat in the Northeast is globally significant.

You know, we have the most intact remaining example of our forest type globally, and, you know, much of the rest of it has been converted or, or heavily fragmented.

And despite the fact that we're, you know, relatively well connected and the millions of acres that we have conserved in the Northeast, we're still at risk of becoming, you know, like, a series of ecological islands if we don't maintain the connections between our core forests.

And, you know, on an even bigger continental scale, much of the Northeast is part of the Appalachian chain, which stretches from Alabama all the way to Canada.

It's, you know, the biggest and most resilient migration corridor in the East, and so it's really critical that we maintain connections not only within the Northern Appalachians but also, you know, those connections to the Central and Southern Appalachians.

And I think there's also just a growing recognition that a connected landscape really benefits people in addition to nature.

Um, you know, healthy, connected lands and waters really provide us with clean air and drinking water and can help, um, keep communities safer and adapt to increased flooding and, and other threats.