Photo: Rich Watson - Great Northern LCCgreatnorthernlcc.org/sites/default/files/documents/... ·...

Photo: Rich Watson

• Connectivity Group collaboration• Focus areas of work

• Identifying linkages (scales, current and climate change)• Developing GIS tools, and broadly sharing• Supporting/including research to validate models• Communications to build support for connectivity conservation• Collaboration with Western Governors’ Association Columbia Plateau Pilot 

Project, and Arid Lands Initiative

• Focus questions pertaining to landscape conservation• Collaboration/integration of new & ongoing efforts• Strategic focus of resources towards landscape condition or priority• How the GNLCC can/is supporting this effort, and the value towards 

achieving collective vision among diverse agencies and organizations

“Promoting the long‐term viability of wildlife populations in Washington State through a science‐based, collaborative approach that identifies opportunities and priorities to conserve and restore habitat connectivity.’’

• Public‐private partnership• Science‐based• Participation from conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, 

universities, tribes, and others

Identifying habitat linkages at statewide and ecoregional scales (current conditions and climate change)

Scale of analysis WA statewide analysis WA Columbia Plateau analysis Climate connectivity 

Creates statewide data layers Emphasizes wildlife Habitat

Concentration and Core Areas Identifies areas important for statewide

connectivity Establishes statewide context to inform

finer-scale analyses

Focuses on particular habitat types Includes wildlife species with smaller

geographic ranges Increases resolution regarding wildlife

Habitat Concentration and Core Areas and connection patterns

Includes species with small ranges or local significance Can be accomplished by

local organizations Provides sufficient detail for

project-scale action

Ecoregion LocalStatewide and Surrounding

Landscapes

www.waconnected.orgIn addition:•GIS  linkage mapper and hca toolkits•GIS files and metadata•By fall: Searchable layers

(Executive Summaries)

16 Focal Species + Landscape IntegrityFocal Species Vancouverian

ForestsRocky Mt.

ForestsSemi-desert

HabitatsAlpine

HabitatsSubalpine

ForestsBlack Bear X X * *Elk X X * * *Northern Flying Squirrel X XWestern Toad X X * XAmerican Marten X * XBighorn Sheep X *Western Gray Squirrel * XMule Deer X X * *Sharp-tailed Grouse XGreater Sage-grouse XAmerican Badger XBlack-tailed Jackrabbit XWhite-tailed Jackrabbit XMountain Goat * * X XWolverine X XLynx X

Primary species for class XSpecies also occurs here *

Areas of highest landscape integrity have the lowest human footprint (e.g., natural land-covers, low housing density, and minimum roads).

Composite landscape integrity linkage map which combines four sensitivity models. Cost values indicate relative ease of movement within each linkage.

TYP

H

CE

UR

LEC

A

LETO

TATA

LYC

A

GU

GU

OR

AM U

RA

M

GLS

A

MA

AM A

NB

O

CE

EL

OD

HE

LI_L

CC

OV

CA

SC

GR

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Cluster Dendrogram

Hei

ght

Shrub-Steppe Montane Generalist/edge

Shrub-Steppe AssociatesTYPH Sharp-tailed GrouseCEUR Sage GrouseLECA Black-tailed JackrabbitLETO White-tailed JackrabbitTATA Badger

Montane AssociatesLYCA Lynx

GUGU WolverineORAM Mountain GoatURAM Black BearGLSA Flying Squirrel

MAAM Marten

Habitat Generalists & Edge Spp.ANBO Western ToadCEEL ElkODHE Mule DeerOVCA Bighorn SheepSCGR Western Grey Squirrel

Figure 4.2. Cost-weighted distance map for elk. Even though box 1 spans a larger distance, the higher permeability of habitat means the length of this box is predicted to be easier and safer for elk to traverse than box 2, which spans a fracture zone.

Columbia Plateau Connectivity Analysis

• Higher resolution data• Regional data, expertise, and communications

• Energy development• Climate change

Columbia Plateau Focal Species

Taxon  Common Name  Scientific NameShrub‐ steppe

Grass‐ land

Cliff, Canyon, Talus

Riparian Wetland Dunes

Bird Sharp‐tailed Grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus X X * X *

Bird Greater Sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus X X * * *

Mammal Black‐tailed Jackrabbit Lepus californicus X * *

Mammal White‐tailed Jackrabbit Lepus townsendii X X *

Mammal Townsend's Ground Squirrel Spermophilus townsendii X X *

Mammal Washington Ground Squirrel Spermophilus washingtoni X X *

Mammal Least Chipmunk Tamias minimus X *

Mammal Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus X X * * * *

Reptile Western Rattlesnake Crotalus oreganus * * X * * *

Mammal Beaver Castor canadensis  X X

Amphibian Tiger Salamander Ambystoma tigrinum * * * * X

Columbia Plateau connectivity analysis focal species. X = primary habitats species is chosen to represent; * = additional habitats where species occurs. Dunes connectivity will be modeled through a systems approach; no species were chosen specifically to represent this vegetation class.

Identify opportunities for conserving and restoring habitat connectivity

ARID LANDS INITIATIVE

Develop, coordinate and implement conservation 

strategies

Implementation

Nunez et al. in prep

Developing  needed GIS tools for our work, and broadly sharing these tools

Habitat concentration and core areas Resistance surface Linkage mapper

FUTURE: Climate mapper

Bighorn sheep, photo by Mike Schroeder.

1. Core area mapping automated with the HCA TOOLKIT

2. Resistance layer mapping automated soon with new ArcGIS tools

Spatial data

The precedent: California had just finished their statewide analysis.  

It required painstaking ID of which core area pairs to connect.  

Linkage Mapper

After that, corridor mapping took months and tens of thousands of dollars in analyst time. 

Linkage Modeling:The Linkage Mapper toolkit

Linkage Mapper automatically decides where to map linkages

Sharp-tailed Grouse

3

5

4

6

117

8

9

LandscapeResistance

Low

High

It then creates corridor maps connecting networks of core areas

3

5

4

6

11

78

9

Connectivity value

Low

High

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Supporting/including research to validate models and scientific assumptions  (Sage Grouse,  Cascades Carnivores)

Shirk et. al. 2010.

Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project: Evaluating Habitat Connectivity for Carnivores in Washington's Cascade

Mountains

Update for WWHCWG—February, 24, 2011

Robert Long, Paula MacKay, James BegleyWestern Transportation Institute, Montana State University

William Gaines, Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest

Roger Christophersen, North Cascades National Park Service Complex

• Use WWHCWG linkage models as cost‐surface for testing;

• Compare degree of correspondence between WWHCWG models and genetically derived models;

• Evaluate how well occurrence data matches predicted HCA and linkage habitat from WWHCWG models.

Validation Approaches

Greater Sage-Grouse

Model Validation

Leslie RobbMike SchroederAndrew Shirk

Movement pattern

Lek persistence

Genetic variation

Integration

Patterns of movement relative to model assumptions and predictions

Patterns of lek persistence relative to model predictions

Genetic variation relative to movement, lek persistence, and model predictions

Model Validation Approaches

Communications to build support for connectivity conservation

The goal of the communications and implementation subgroup:

“to provide complementary products to our scientific analysis that will inform and guide communications and implementation of our work, while facilitating effective internal and external communications.”

3. How the GNLCC can/is supporting this effort, and the value towards achieving collective vision among diverse agencies and organizations• Big picture needs: consistent data sets, collaboration sites 

such as data portel, GIS tools, communicating and sharing across state and national borders

• Connectivity group includes ambitious work plan, we seek to accomplish this work in ways that can be shared with and by the GNLCC. • Capacity and funding for all aspects of work very 

challenging .• GNLCC funding is hugely important for the group’s 

work

Find information about the analyses, data availability, and GIS tools at:

www.waconnected.org

Contacts:

WHCWG Co‐lead‐‐‐Joanne Schuett‐Hames ‐ Joanne.Schuett‐

Hames@dfw.wa.gov

Lead GIS Analyst‐‐‐Brian Cosentino – Brian.Cosentino@dfw.wa.gov

Communications‐‐‐Jen Watkins – jwatkins@conservationnw.org