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Do you ever wonder how wild animals navigate development, freeways or traffic? We did! In fact, Nature Conservancy spatial ecologist Brad McRae works to reconnect wildlife habitat in Washington by studying how animals move and what gets in their way.

Don’t Tread On Me

As wild animals move to find food, mates or nesting grounds, their paths are blocked by buildings, freeways, fences and more. In the short term, animals risk death by traffic, or miss a mate or a meal. In the long term, this leads to more dangerous encounters between people and wildlife, inbreeding and local extinction.

Brad represents The Nature Conservancy in the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG). The name is long, but the mission of this partnership is simple: to provide science and tools that help connect habitat for wild animals.

Brad and Darren Kavanagh, another Conservancy scientist, developed high-tech software to map the most important routes for movement between habitats. The technique pinpoints obstacles—roads, mountain peaks, subdivisions—impeding the movement of a species. The software helps land managers prioritize areas that best link up wild lands, and helps developers avoid them, so creatures big and small stay safe.

Mapping in Action and Next Steps

First up for the group was a statewide assessment of habitat connectivity, followed by a study of the effects of climate change on connected lands. The results are being put to use by the Washington Department of Transportation. Another partner, the Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project is validating the models by tracking movements of black bears, American martens and other species of the Cascade Mountains. And the Western Governors Association is incorporating the results into its Wildlife Corridors and Crucial Habitat initiative to help states work across borders on habitat connectivity.

Next up, the group is using their mapping skills to hone in on specific regions for more focused results. In March, look for an ecoregional analysis of the Columbia Plateau (home to burrowing owls!), which will pinpoint places to protect for additional local animals like the Western rattlesnake and tiger salamander.

Borrowing from Circuit Theory

Using models that predict electricity flows through circuits, Brad also developed Circuitscape, which identifies weak links in habitat networks. Nature Conservancy scientists have used Circuitscape to map connected habitat along the East coast. It's used around the world by groups such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and Snow Leopard Conservancy to improve habitat for jaguars, wolverines, chimpanzees, snow leopards and more.

Your support can help scientists like Brad develop more cutting edge tools to help animals and lands in Washington and beyond.

Six Creatures That Benefit from Connectivity

Meet some of the wildlife that need to move between connected habitats in order to survive. Animals like these will benefit from the work of Brad and his team of partners. They represent some of the 16 focal species studied by the WHCWG. You can see these six species in our slideshow.

Greater Sage-grouse

Greater sage-grouse can really bust a move! These big, handsome birds have large home ranges where they forage, lay eggs and perform wild mating dances. They depend on connected sagelands for survival, and because Washington’s sagelands are threatened, so are greater sage-grouse.

Northern Flying Squirrel

How do you make a normal squirrel cuter? Just add giant eyes and gliding wings: Ta da! Flying squirrels are critical to healthy Pacific Northwest forests. They’re a staple in the diet of northern spotted owls and even spread fungi that keep trees healthy in places like the Conservancy’s Ellsworth Creek Preserve. Flying squirrels leap between dense tree canopies to survive, using wing-like flaps of skin between their front and back legs to glide through the air. These acrobats are harder to find as big trees become rarer.

American Black Bear

Black bears rule bear country, but most people don’t want to meet one in their front yard. These bears have large home ranges and, since they roam considerably between forested areas, they often come into conflict with people. Improving linkages in their habitat ensures they can move without harm.

Mountain Goat

Washington has many mountain climbers but none as fearless as the mountain goat! This goat’s nimble legs carry it long distances across steep bluffs in places like the Heart of the Cascades, but studies show populations in the north and south Cascades are disconnected, in large part because of busy Interstate 90.

Canada Lynx

Canada lynx pad through deep snow as they hunt snowshoe hare in high elevation subalpine forests. With less than 100 in Washington, Lynx are threatened at the state and federal level. Fragmented habitat, including development and high-traffic roads, jeopardizes the few lynx we have left.

Elk

When they don crowns of majestic antlers, it’s easy to see why elk are one of Washington’s iconic animals. Many elk herds cover great distances throughout the year and are highly sensitive to development, roads and people. Interstate 5, for example, threatens to isolate elk living on our coast from those in the Cascades.

About the Author

Jocelyn Ellis Abood works as a strategic communications manager for The Nature Conservancy.