Researchers have new evidence that enhancing wildlife connectivity between national parks in the West would help animals live hundreds of generations longer.
A study in the journal Scientific Reports analyzed the value of protected migration corridors between Yellowstone and Glacier national parks and between Mount Rainier and Northern Cascades national parks. The findings show that establishing such linkages would boost wildlife populations, diversity, and their ability to adapt to climate change.
鈥�There's increasing pressure that's being placed on wildlife populations, not only in western North America, but worldwide,鈥� said William Newmark, a curator at the Natural History Museum of Utah and lead author of the study. 鈥淥ne of the most effective ways to conserve medium to large mammal species communities is to create linkages between existing protected areas.鈥�
The researchers' analysis of the Yellowstone-Glacier network included comparing current and historical migration patterns to estimate how quickly half of the parks' mammal species would be lost. They found that, if reconnected along those migratory routes, the wildlife in both parks would live about 682 generations longer.
鈥淵ou could increase persistence time by a factor of 4.3 in the Yellowstone-Glacier Network relative to individual parks,鈥� Newmark said.
Those routes tend to follow mountain ranges, which Newmark said is extremely helpful from a planning perspective.
鈥淭hese mountain ranges are almost entirely public lands,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ost of them are managed by the national forest, so it's actually highly feasible to establish these linkages in this location 鈥his is probably one of the most cost -effective ways that we have to conserve species worldwide.鈥�
The authors noted that the proposed corridors cross two- and four-lane highways, requiring multiple wildlife overpasses and underpasses. While those are increasingly common around the region 鈥� and 鈥� Paul Beier, professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University and a study co-author, was quoted as saying in a that "a much greater effort will certainly be required if we are to reduce the known adverse impacts of highways on species movement and dispersal.鈥�
Still, Newmark said the study's findings can be applied far beyond the American West.
鈥淭he patterns of species loss and habitat remnants are fragments are global patterns, and thus you can use this methodology, these equations that we derive to look at the effects of current activity on large mammal persistence and many other areas worldwide,鈥� he said.
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