IUCN CCSG2026-07-10T10:37:52-04:00April 22nd, 2026|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
More than 2,000 people participated in the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS/CoP-15) held under the theme “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life” in Campo Grande (Brazil) from 23–29 March 2026.
IUCN CCSG2026-06-16T15:38:03-04:00November 13th, 2025|CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
Connectivity Conservation in Spain: A Dialogue to Accelerate Collaboration and Action Ávila, Spain | 24-26 June 2025 Ecological connectivity conservation has become a priority internationally, across Europe, and within Spain, where it [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-06-04T14:48:19-04:00November 7th, 2025|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
Introduction In mid-October 2025, nearly 10,000 participants from over 189 countries convened at the 8th IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Over the course of the week, governments, civil [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-02-03T17:07:24-05:00January 10th, 2025|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
2024 was an exciting and productive year for the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG). Read more about highlights from the year.
IUCN CCSG2026-10-08T15:02:41-04:00December 9th, 2024|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
Representatives of the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG), including Chair Gary Tabor and Deputy Chair Jodi Hilty, participated in the recent 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia to continue advancing efforts [...]
IUCN CCSG2025-04-14T12:49:49-04:00November 7th, 2024|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
From 21 October to 1 November 2024, representatives from 196 countries’ governments, Indigenous Peoples, NGOs and other interested institutions gathered in Cali, Colombia for the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to [...]
IUCN CCSG2025-04-14T12:49:58-04:00October 17th, 2024|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
The importance of landscape, seascape, and ecological connectivity conservation is increasingly recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Ecological connectivity is a key element of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) adopted in 2022, [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-05-05T14:25:31-04:00March 4th, 2024|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
The UN Conference, held 12-17 February in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, brought focus to the vital role that ecological connectivity plays in conserving species and habitats across migratory ranges.
IUCN CCSG2025-04-14T12:51:15-04:00January 23rd, 2024|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
2023 was an exciting and productive year for the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG). Read more about highlights from the year.
IUCN CCSG2026-06-16T14:53:10-04:00December 18th, 2023|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
An event during the CoP-28 climate change conference in Dubai brought together participants from around the world to emphasize the opportunity to seize on global commitments for conserving ecological connectivity as a key solution to reverse biodiversity loss and adapt to climate change.
IUCN CCSG2026-05-21T16:28:07-04:00November 2nd, 2023|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News|
At the beginning of September, the 10th Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) approved undertaking a fast-tracked, methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity beginning in [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-04-24T11:28:32-04:00July 25th, 2023|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
The Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) gathered in February 2023 in Vancouver, Canada with the overarching goals to “demonstrate global support for marine conservation efforts such as networks of marine protected areas [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-05-18T11:53:31-04:00April 24th, 2023|CCSG AsETWG News, CCSG LACTWG News, CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News, CCSG TWG News, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group|
The Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) grew to 1300+ members in 125+ countries by the close of 2022. Highlights of the year included: Supporting efforts and outcomes to elevate ecological connectivity in the Convention [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-06-04T14:12:00-04:00October 3rd, 2022|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
After two years of postponement, a fourth and then fifth round of UN negotiations took place in New York from 7-18 March 2022 and 15–26 August 2022 on an international legally binding instrument under the [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-06-03T12:24:00-04:00August 29th, 2022|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
A new project, a collaboration between the IUCN WCPA Marine Connectivity Working Group and Mote Marine Laboratory, tracks international/regional meetings, major conferences and other events relevant for marine connectivity. The project's purpose is twofold; to [...]
IUCN CCSG2022-03-09T15:51:09-05:00March 9th, 2022|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
Members of the Marine Connectivity Working Group have led a new report calling on countries to protect “blue corridors” as the migration superhighways allowing marine megafauna to move between critical habitat areas. Released by WWF, [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-09-23T09:48:19-04:00November 11th, 2021|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
The CCSG Marine Connectivity Working Group announces the release of 15 case studies representing a diversity of design and management strategies highlighted in the publication Marine Connectivity Conservation 'Rules of Thumb' for MPA and [...]
IUCN CCSG2026-06-03T12:26:54-04:00October 7th, 2021|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
Building off the recent publication titled Marine Connectivity Conservation ‘Rules of Thumb’ for MPA and MPA Network Design, the Marine Connectivity Working Group has produced a Marine Connectivity 'Rules of Thumb' Brief, communicating the key messages represented [...]
IUCN CCSG2023-04-05T10:56:36-04:00August 9th, 2021|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
To inform dialogue and action for better conserving marine areas and species around the world, the Marine Connectivity Working Group has produced a new publication titled Marine Connectivity Conservation ‘Rules of Thumb’ for MPA and [...]
IUCN CCSG2023-10-25T09:59:29-04:00January 2nd, 2021|CCSG MCWG News, CCSG News|
The CCSG Marine Connectivity Working Group (MCWG) partnered with the U.S. National Marine Protected Areas Center to publish the report Ecological Connectivity for Marine Protected Areas in October 2020. The report builds on [...]
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 2026 | SB592 | Enables regional, conservation, and energy resource planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors |
| New Hampshire | 2019 | SB200 | Requires the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to consider fish and wildlife crossings and mitigation measures in all future road and culvert projects |
| New Hampshire | 2016 | SB376 | Requires the fish and game department to identify existing and needed wildlife corridors connecting wildlife habitats in the state and to make recommendations for legislative changes |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 2023 | LD258 | Appropriates $7.5 million to Department of Transportation to improve roadways with potential adaptations for wildlife |
| Maine | 2023 | LD1881 | Establishes compensation fee program relating to fish and wildlife habitats and associated corridors, including compensation paid by solar energy development |
| Maine | 2023 | LD508 | Requires Department of Environmental Protection to review its permitting laws concerning climate change, habitat connectivity, ecological resilience, and coastal environments |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2022 | H.5151 | Directs the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to evaluate potential wildlife crossing projects throughout the state and publish findings by the end of the year |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 2025 | S3618 | Directs state agencies to develop a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan |
| New Jersey | 2024 | S3916/A5486 | Expands eligibility for existing wildlife fencing programs by including farmers leasing farmland |
| New Jersey | 2007 | NJAC7:13 | Requires the state to incorporate wildlife crossings or a natural bank for terrestrial threatened and endangered species and/or species of concern when a new bridge or culvert project would cause habitat fragmentation |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2023 | SB72 | Appropriates money to new Wildlife Corridors Fund for implementation of wildlife crossing projects under New Mexico Wildlife Corridor Action Plan |
| New Mexico | 2022 | HB 2 | Allocates funding for projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and allows the Department of Transportation and Department of Game to implement their Wildlife Corridors Action Plan |
| New Mexico | 2019 | SB 228 | Requires the creation of a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan that includes comprehensive guidance to agencies for identifying, prioritizing and maintaining important areas for wildlife movement |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 2026 | SCR124 | Funds the development and implementation of wildlife crossings |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 2023 | HB1216/SB5196 | Requires Department of Ecology to prepare environmental impact statements for clean energy projects that consider impacts to habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors |
| Washington | 2022 | SB5689 | Provides funding for US 97 Wildlife Crossing Improvements project |
| Washington | 2019 | SEO 1031.02 | Recognizes the effect of roadways in creating barriers to wildlife movement, breeding, and migrations; the Washington State Department of Transportation will promote and support Practical Solutions and Planning and Environmental Linkages to integrate habitat connectivity and biodiversity plans; will make use of the highway prioritization map known as Habitat Connectivity Investment Priorities; and will corporate and coordinate with other agencies involved in wildlife habitat protection, specifically along highways |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 2026 | SF0052 | Allocates funds for restoration of aquatic habitats including barrier removal for fish |
| Wyoming | 2025 | SF0088 | Allocates funds for projects improving wildlife connectivity including fence removal, wildlife crossings improvements, and habitat restoration |
| Wyoming | 2024 | SF0060 | Provides funds to help maintain primary migration corridors for ungulates in the Little Snake River Conservation District |
| Wyoming | 2023 | SF0106 | Provides funds for large wildlife crossing projects across the state |
| Wyoming | 2022 | SF0048 | Approves funding for specific wildlife crossings and aquatic connectivity initiatives |
| Wyoming | 2021 | SF066 | Provides funds for large wildlife crossing projects across the state |
| Wyoming | 2020 | EO 1 | Designates three mule deer migration corridors and establishes the process whereby future corridors can be designated |
| Wyoming | 2020 | HB 69 | Establishes a system wherein funding from outdoor recreation can be appropriated for wildlife conservation efforts related to the state’s transportation system |
| Wyoming | 2018 | HB39 | Proceeds from the newly established wildlife conservation license plates are allocated to wildlife connectivity improvements to the state transportation system |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 2023 | Act59 | Vermont's 30x30 law that commits to conserving and maintaining an ecologically functional landscape that sustains biodiversity and maintains landscape connectivity |
| Vermont | 2016 | Act 171 | Primarily focuses on timber harvesting regulations, but calls for a study of necessary revisions to planning statutes that protect contiguous areas of forestland from fragmentation and promote habitat connectivity between forestlands |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 2025 | AB486 | Requires additional wildlife-related reporting when developing transportation projects in the state |
| Nevada | 2023 | AB112 | Requires the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nevada Department of Wildlife to construct wildlife crossings in specific areas |
| Nevada | 2021 | EO 18 | Requires the establishment of a Habitat Conservation Framework; in support of this goal, the Nevada Department of Wildlife will develop a statewide connectivity plan and collaborate with the Nevada Department of Transportation on the implementation of the plan |
| Nevada | 2021 | AB211 | Requires developers to consider impacts on wildlife and their habitats when making development plans |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 2026 | HB597 | Establishes Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to support wildlife corridors and wildlife crossing infrastructure projects |
| Virginia | 2024 | HB309 | Requires development of a Forest Conservation Plan, with highest priority given to areas adjacent to wildlife corridors or large contiguous blocks of forest |
| Virginia | 2021 | SB 1274 | Directs state agencies to incorporate, where applicable, wildlife corridors and other recommendations made in the state Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; and directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to incorporate wildlife corridors and recommendations of the Plan when developing any governmental strategic plan, map or action |
| Virginia | 2020 | SB 1004/HB 1695 | Calls for the identification of wildlife corridors and existing or planned threats to wildlife movement, and for recommendations of priority areas for corridor projects |
| Virginia | 2020 | SB1004 | Directs state agencies to create a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan that would identify barriers to wildlife movement, prioritize and recommend wildlife crossing projects, and create a map that highlights high-priority areas for wildlife corridor infrastructure |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 2026 | HB0431 | Provides funding for wildlife connectivity and livestock protection projects |
| Utah | 2022 | HB 427 | Requires the Utah Department of Transportation to include an analysis of wildlife and livestock mitigation measures in their annual report on the status of state transportation systems |
| Utah | 2022 | HB3 | Provides funding to construct wildlife crossing over Interstate 84 |
| Utah | 2020 | HCR 13 | Urges continued state investment in wildlife connectivity, encouraging state and local agencies to adopt policies that protect and restore intact fish and wildlife connectivity, migration corridors and promote road safety |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 2023 | HR87 | Requires state government to study and issue report on current status, management and benefits of conservation corridors in the state |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 2026 | HB4134 | Increases state lodging tax to support wildlife conservation measures such as migratory waterfowl conservation |
| Oregon | 2025 | HB2978 | Expands collaboration between state agencies for wildlife crossing efforts and requires them to incorporate wildlife vehicle collision guidance into highway design |
| Oregon | 2022 | HB 5202 | Allocates funding for projects that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity, and for projects to remove barriers that support fish passage through the state’s rivers and streams |
| Oregon | 2019 | HB 2834 | Directs agencies to develop a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to preserve long-term habitat connectivity for wildlife, and requires the state Department of Transportation to establish a program to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 2023 | HB259 | Provides money to build highway crossings to improve highway safety and wildlife connectivity |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 2023 | HF2310 | Provides funds to enhance habitat connectivity within and between urban parks and the Mississippi River Flyway |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 2025 | HB855/HB932 | Establishes the state’s first dedicated funding streams for wildlife crossings |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 2025 | HB 731/SB 635 | Establishes Maryland Connectivity Coalition, strengthens oversight of wildlife crossings, and requires habitat connectivity to be considered in transportation and land use planning |
| Maryland | 2024 | HB22/SB178 | Requires State Highway Administration to include policies and procedures for pollinator corridors along state highways |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2026 | SB141 | Creates optional collision prevention fee to fund wildlife safe passage projects |
| Colorado | 2025 | HB1093 | Restricts local limits on residential density unless offset elsewhere, exempts areas near wildlife crossings, and allows municipalities to seek judicial review of land use initiatives |
| Colorado | 2023 | SB 23-092 | Encourages minimal impacts to wildlife migration corridors when constructing solar panel farms |
| Colorado | 2023 | SB 214 | Appropriates funding to the Colorado Wildlife Safe Passages Fund for wildlife crossing projects |
| Colorado | 2022 | SB22-151 | Creates a $5 million fund for measures that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect habitat fragmented by roads |
| Colorado | 2022 | HB22-1072 | Expands the scope of Habitat Partnership Program to fund efforts to conserve wildlife migration |
| Colorado | 2021 | SJR 21-021 | Aims to protect and enhance habitat connectivity in the state through the establishment of a working group to develop state policies on corridors, as well as the commission of a report on state corridors and voluntary policies to support willing landowners in improving connectivity |
| Colorado | 2019 | EO 11 | Directs Colorado agencies to identify policy, regulatory, and legislative opportunities to ensure the ongoing conservation of seasonal big game habitat and migration corridors |
| Colorado | 2018 | SB 18-143 | States explicit goals for Division of Parks and Wildlife to invest in habitat conservation and wildlife crossings |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2026 | SB1250 | Requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to include wildlife connectivity corridors and needs into its infrastructure project planning |
| California | 2024 | AB1889 | Requires counties and municipalities to conserve wildlife corridors when planning new developments |
| California | 2023 | AB1760 | Calls for a statewide analysis of wildlife corridors and connectivity to support conservation planning and climate change adaptation activities. |
| California | 2023 | SB145 | Outlines provisions for transportation-related environmental mitigation, including funding for wildlife corridors, property and credit purchases for mitigation, reporting requirements, and mandates for wildlife crossings along Interstate 15. |
| California | 2023 | SB101 | Provides funding for wildlife corridors and open spaces, including projects to improve connectivity and reduce barriers between habitat areas. |
| California | 2022 | AB2344 | Establishes a state program to address roads with high wildlife-vehicle collisions, authorizes Caltrans to develop standalone wildlife connectivity projects, mandates an inventory and prioritization system for critical areas, and requires integration of wildlife passage features into relevant road designs. |
| California | 2022 | AB1384 | Requires agencies to address vulnerabilities in Safeguarding California Plans, including protecting and enhancing wildlife corridors |
| California | 2021 | SB790 | Approves compensatory mitigation credits for wildlife connectivity actions |
| California | 2021 | AB1183 | Establishes the California Desert Conservation Program to protect biodiversity, including the protection and enhancement of habitat connectivity |
| California | 2021 | AB128 | Appropriates funding for wildlife crossing projects, including the Liberty Canyon crossing for mountain lions |
| California | 2015 | AB 498 | Amends the California Fish and Game Code to encourage, wherever feasible, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors |
| California | 2014 | AB1471 | Provides funds to the Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, in part to protect and restore aquatic, wetland, and migratory bird ecosystems including corridors. |
| California | 2008 | AB2785 | Orders Dept. of Fish & Wildlife to investigate, study, and identify key wildlife corridors and linkages within the state, and to make those areas public |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 2024 | SB1638 | Dedicates annual funding to land purchases, conservation easements, and trail maintenance within Florida Wildlife Corridor |
| Florida | 2023 | HB1379 | Creates annual appropriation to acquire lands that complete certain linkages and are under high population stress within Florida Wildlife Corridor |
| Florida | 2023 | SB2500 sec.146 | Provides funding to buy Ocala to Osceola (“O2O”) Wildlife Corridor |
| Florida | 2021 | SB976 | Tasks state agencies with maintaining wildlife connectivity and designates Florida Wildlife Corridor as an existing physical, geographically defined area |
| Florida | 2021 | SB2500 | Appropriates $300 million to acquire lands to conserve Florida Wildlife Corridor |
| Florida | 2019 | SB7068 | Creates a "Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program" that includes protection of wildlife corridors as an intended benefit |
| Florida | 2008 | SB542 | Amends Florida Forever Act statues to include goals of connecting linkage corridors |
| Florida | 2001 | SB1468 | Amends Florida Forever Act to establish that land acquisitions should include complete landscape linkages and corridors |
| Florida | 1999 | S908 | Creates Florida Forever Program, with increased protection of lands that protect threatened or endangered species and plans to create a statewide system of connected landscape linkages |
| State | Year | Policy | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2016 | SB54 | Tasks the Alabama Trails Commission with creating a statewide system of interconnected landscape linkages, conservation corridors, and other recreation-focused corridors |
