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Conservation Biology & Genetics
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The
mission of
the Institute is to increase humankind's understanding, appreciation,
and protection of our natural environment; particularly wildlife
populations and wild landscapes. Our goal is to enable human
beings to live in harmony with other species. |
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Yellowstone
to Yukon
CERI is involved
in the Yellowstone
to Yukon Conservation Initiative primarily 
as a part of Y2Y Conservation Science and Planning Subcommittee.
The overall goal is to develop a Conservation Area Design, or
Wildlife-Wildlands Network for the region that will maintain
biodiversity and ecosystem functions in the face of increased
human population growth and development. Y2Y describes the Wildlife-Wildlands
Network as:
"Y2Y
Conservation Initiative's preliminary conservation area design
provides a scientifically defensible approach for conserving
biodiversity in the Yellowstone to Yukon region. To implement
the Y2Y Vision of ensuring the world-renowned wilderness, wildlife,
native plants and natural processes of the Yellowstone to Yukon
region continue to function as an interconnected web of life,
we need to analyze current landscape conditions with the objectives
of a) identifying suitable habitat for focal wildlife species
that function as umbrellas for other biota, and b) specifying
those human activities, management practices and landownership
that are wildlife friendly (i.e., foster the persistence of healthy
wildlife populations) versus those that negatively place species,
critical habitats and ecological processes at risk.
To achieve these two objectives, the science contributing to
Y2Y's conservation design is based on explanatory models that
include key variables important to influencing policy and management.
The results are made spatially-explicit and mapable-thus allowing
us to identify where on the landscape to focus conservation efforts,
how much area is needed, and what to do there to maintain or
restore biological and ecological values.
The science goal behind the creation of our preliminary Wildlife/Wildlands
Network (WWN v1.0) is to:
Maintain
in perpetuity viable and well-distributed populations of all
native species and the ecological processes they depend upon
in the face of human population growth, habitat alteration, changing
land use, and global climate change.
We will
meet the science goal in a first-cut conservation area design
by December 2002 using an approach that produces:
1. Mapped distributions of suitable habitat of select focal species
of carnivores and birds, and aquatic systems;
2. Considers different life histories for carnivores, birds and
aquatic species, and utilizes appropriate approaches to conservation
designs that best protect their needs and the systems upon which
they depend;
3. Areas of risk to species, critical habitats and processes
due to natural and human caused stressors; and
4. Appraisal of how conservation of certain focal species provide
"umbrella" protection for other species.
As a part of
the Y2Y Initiative, the Craighead Environmental Research Institute
(CERI) is designing and working to implement a reserve based
upon the habitat needs of grizzly bears: a Northern Rockies
Reserve Network which can maintain viable populations of
native plants and animals. The goal of our work is to protect
a large enough area of interconnected habitat in the Northern
Rockies to maintain grizzly bears for over 1000 years. This design
must allow for expected growth of human  populations,
and for large-scale variation in climate change such as global
warming. GIS mapping and field work consisted of three interrelated
parts 1) refining a baseline reserve design map of the
Northern Rockies between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; the
Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem; and the Selway-Bitterroot
Ecosystem, and 2) developing a map for the Southern portion
of the region, and 3) completing a pilot study at Bozeman Pass to document highway
fatalities of wildlife and work with the Montana Department of
Transportation to mitigate them.
We are doing this work in conjunction with the Yukon-to-Yellowstone
Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), American Wildlands, Wild Utah,
and the Wildlands Project. When completed, there will be a protected
matrix of core areas and connecting movement corridors that contain
enough undisturbed habitat to maintain an average population
size of 2000 grizzly bears for perpetuity. Results from the Bozeman
Pass study are being used to protect habitat for wildlife, including
bears, and to reduce road-kill. A full report on the Bozeman
Pass study accompanies this report. These techniques will be
applied to other regions of the Northern Rockies in 2002.
In cooperation with American Wildlands we completed a habitat
suitability map which identifies suitable grizzly bear habitat
throughout the Northern Rockies, and least-cost-path movement
habitat (corridors) between patches of secure habitat. A similar
draft map for the Wyoming Great Divide
(including sections of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado) was completed
in February 2002 and is being reviewed by regional biologists.
CERI is also
working with Dr. Michael Gilpin to support his work in developing
a java-based Decision Support System
that will guide Y2Y in making optimal biological choices in the
completion of the Wildlife-Wildlands Network.
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Craighead
Environmental Research Institute