Contact: Jacob Blandford, Appalachian Landscape Conservation Coordinator, Center for Large Landscape Conservation,
[email protected]Overview:Ecological connectivity is a critical component of landscape conservation, supporting viable fish and wildlife populations by enabling movement across the landscape, facilitating seasonal migrations, gene flow, and other natural processes. Additionally, connectivity is critical for enabling species to adapt to climate change by allowing them to move freely to track shifting habitats and suitable climate conditions. Connectivity conservation is an important consideration when managing game species, sportfish, and Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including awareness of possible consequences like the spread of invasive species and wildlife diseases. Maintaining and enhancing ecological connectivity at multiple scales—from fine-scale habitat corridors and pinch points, up to the vast extent of the Appalachian Mountain corridor—is a priority shared by SEAFWA and fish and wildlife agencies throughout the region.
Many partner networks and collaboratives in the Southeast region are working collaboratively to enhance landscape conservation and connectivity and support implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) at the regional scale. These include the SEAFWA technical committees, the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, Appalachian Peoples and Places Conservation Collaborative, along with many watershed, habitat linkage, state/provincial, and other conservation partnerships.
This symposium brings those networks together and aims to enhance knowledge of ecological connectivity initiatives, promote cross jurisdictional collaboration, and foster partnerships for advancing habitat connectivity by highlighting ecological connectivity strategies, how these strategies have been implemented in the region, and the results that have been observed so far. Sessions will focus on the cutting-edge science that informs management actions aimed at increasing connectivity and mitigating vehicle-wildlife collisions. Case studies will highlight applications of this science to on-the-ground management of fish and wildlife.
