From addressing concerns over encroaching development to mitigating wildlife-vehicle collisions, ecological connectivity policies at the local, state, and federal levels in the U.S. have increased notably in recent years. The first significant policy appeared in 2007 when the Western Governor’s Association released its resolution “Protecting Wildlife Corridors and Crucial Wildlife Habitat in the West”. A slow trickle of similar connectivity-related policies at the state and federal levels followed until 2015, when legislative efforts picked up.
Breuer, A., B. Hance, R. Callahan, R. Ament, Z. Wurtzebach, and A. Wearn. 2022. Ecological
Connectivity Policy Compendium: U.S. Policies to Conserve Ecological Connectivity, 2007-2021.
Center for Large Landscape Conservation: Bozeman, MT, U.S.
Since then, nearly 50 policies have been released – from a county-level growth plan in Wyoming to the recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by the federal government. In recognition of the increasing policies specific to connectivity, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation has compiled and summarized information from various levels of government across the U.S. into an Ecological Connectivity Policy Compendium. The document provides a written history, starting in 2007, that provides insight into where connectivity policy in the U.S. started, and what direction this area of policy is moving towards. The report states:
[E]cological connectivity is receiving increasing attention from policymakers at federal, tribal, regional, state and local levels of government. These decision-makers are using a suite of policy tools—including statutory mandates, legislative guidance and non-binding resolutions, regulations, land use planning requirements, mechanisms for interagency coordination, public grants, and financial incentives for private landowners—to restore, maintain, and/or enhance connectivity.
This report includes the most significant federal and state policies that have been enacted since 2007 to support connectivity conservation. Based on the analysis below, there has been an unprecedented level of activity in the past five years, with six federal and 24 state policies enacted just since 2016. The authors also include a sample of key tribal, regional and county connectivity policies, which are too numerous to completely inventory.
Below are a few example entries (further details can be found in the compendium):
County:
Spokane County (Washington) Critical Areas Ordinance for the Protection of Wetlands, Fish and Wildlife Habitats, Geo-hazard Areas and Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (March 1996; amended May 2018)
The Critical Areas Ordinance of Spokane County in eastern Washington, first adopted in 1996 and most recently updated in 2018, includes designation and protection of fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas and species-specific conservation areas, in accordance with the requirements of the 1990 state Growth Management Act.
Recorded priority habitats include wildlife corridors (e.g. “areas used for foraging movements, seasonal migrations or the once in a lifetime dispersal of juvenile animals”), landscape linkages that enable “community or ecosystem processes to operate,” riparian areas, and urban and rural open space that serve as corridors between other priority habitats.
Performance standards are specified for regulated uses in these areas. Incentives such as property tax relief, on-site density transfers and off-site transfers of development rights facilitate conservation goals while protecting property rights.
State:
Conserving Colorado’s Big Game and Migration Corridors Executive Order D-2019-011 (August 2019)
The Order states: “Simply put, wildlife is essential to Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy and landscape heritage…Intact seasonal habitats, and the migratory routes that connect these habitats, are vital to ensuring that Colorado’s wildlife populations continue to thrive.”
The order directs (a) Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to “identify policy, regulatory, and legislative opportunities to ensure the ongoing conservation of seasonal big game habitat and migration corridors,” including opportunities to “work with neighboring states on cross-boundary migration corridors,” (b) Colorado Parks and Wildlife to work on public outreach and education to implement the order, and (c) Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to “enable safe wildlife passage and incorporate consideration of big game migration into all levels of its planning process.”
It also directs CDOT and DNR to enter into a memorandum of understanding to identify and implement priority areas for big game crossings over and under roadways, using the best available science.
Federal:
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, U.S. Public Law 117-58 (November 2021)
This Act includes an historic investment in aquatic and terrestrial habitat connectivity through federal transportation programs. It establishes “a competitive wildlife crossings pilot program to provide grants for projects that seek to achieve… a reduction in the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions [and] improved habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species.”
The pilot program is to distribute $350 million between fiscal years 2022 and 2026; the primary consideration for grant funds is “the extent to which the proposed project of an eligible entity is likely to protect motorists and wildlife by reducing the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species.” In addition to dedicated funding through the pilot grant program, additional billions of dollars are available for wildlife-vehicle collision reduction, and terrestrial and aquatic habitat connectivity improvement projects.
The Act directs the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to update and expand the existing 2008 Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Study, Report to Congress and Best Practices Manual. It also directs USDOT to “develop a quality standardized methodology for collecting and reporting spatially accurate wildlife collision and carcass data for the National Highway System.”
Related Posts
USDA’s new framework for migratory big game conservation
The Migratory Big Game Framework aims to coordinate USDA resources in order to protect habitat and connectivity, reduce barriers to movement, and improve habitat quality for elk, pronghorn, mule deer, and more.
Ramsar Convention’s Fifth Strategic Plan incorporates ecological connectivity
The Ramsar Convention is a decades-old international treaty that was recently updated to incorporate ecological connectivity as a core component of global wetland conservation.
State-by-state connectivity policy guide: Utah
Utah's recent initiatives solidify the state’s status as a national leader on habitat connectivity and wildlife crossings policy, particularly for migratory animals.
