Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States.
Conservation scientists emphasize the importance of maintaining a connected network of protected areas to prevent ecosystems and populations from becoming isolated, reduce the risk of extinction, and ultimately sustain biodiversity. Keeping protected areas connected in a network is increasingly recognized as a conservation priority in the current era of rapid climate change. Models that identify suitable linkages between core areas have been used to prioritize potentially important corridors for maintaining functional connectivity. Here, we identify the most "natural" (i.e., least human-modified) corridors between large protected areas in the contiguous Unites States. We aggregated results from multiple connectivity models to develop a composite map of corridors reflecting agreement of models run under different assumptions about how human modification of land may influence connectivity. To identify which land units are most important for sustaining structural connectivity, we used the composite map of corridors to evaluate connectivity priorities in two ways: (1) among land units outside of our pool of large core protected areas and (2) among units administratively protected as Inventoried Roadless (IRAs) or Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Corridor values varied substantially among classes of "unprotected" non-core land units, and land units of high connectivity value and priority represent diverse ownerships and existing levels of protections. We provide a ranking of IRAs and WSAs that should be prioritized for additional protection to maintain minimal human modification. Our results provide a coarse-scale assessment of connectivity priorities for maintaining a connected network of protected areas.
The Wilderness Society, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America.
R Travis
RT
Belote
The Wilderness Society, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
Matthew S
MS
Dietz
The Nature Conservancy, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Brad H
BH
McRae
Conservation Science Partners, Inc., Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
David M
DM
Theobald
Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America.
Meredith L
ML
McClure
The Wilderness Society, Black Mountain, North Carolina, United States of America.
G Hugh
GH
Irwin
The Wilderness Society, Hallowell, Maine, United States of America.
Peter S
PS
McKinley
Gage Cartographics, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America.
Josh A
JA
Gage
The Wilderness Society, Denver, Colorado, United States of America.
Gregory H
GH
Aplet
D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002980:Climate; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D063148:Plant Dispersal; D014481:United States