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.

Why do we need connectivity and how can we measure it?   Animals move across landscapes to meet daily, seasonal, and lifetime needs. Such movements are necessary for survival of individuals and the persistence of the population and species. Movements occur across a wide range of scales from daily movements (meters to kilometers) to seasonal migrations (tens to hundreds of kilometers) to lifetime movements (thousands of kilometers in sum). Human developments and other alterations of natural habitat act to fragment animal populations and habitat, and to restrict movements. In the short term, restricted movements can have negative impacts on populations and ecosystem functions. In the long term, restricted movements can reduce gene flow and have negative impacts on metapopulations and species. To maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functions in both the short and long term it is necessary to maintain habitat connectivity so that individual animals can move across the landscape. Each species has a range of habitat types through which it can move (arguable called corridors), and within which it can survive and reproduce (cores). There is a considerable body of knowledge about home ranges and suitable habitat for core areas, but less is known about movement habitat or corridors. In western North America corridors are not narrow strips of habitat that humans create; they are existing landscapes through which animals have moved for centuries and in many cases the habitat is still intact. Corridors (or linkages) are mostly wild areas; human developments tend to fragment them for many species. We need to identify where corridors exist, and work to protect and maintain them. Detailed movement data are difficult to obtain, and are either extremely time-consuming or expensive. Methods to obtain these data include intensive observation, often enhanced by radio-telemetry; and satellite telemetry utilizing either orbiting satellites or stationary satellites employing Global Positioning System (GPS). Because detailed data on movement and habitat use are lacking, conservationists have relied upon modelling habitat characteristics which are preferred by focal species, and using maps of preferred habitat to prioritize areas for the conservation of movement (or linkage) habitat (or corridors). Although an array of terms have been used with slightly different definitions, these are basically models that identify what the best available data agrees to be habitat through which given species are likely and able to move. These models allow us to make inferences about habitat connectivity between core areas of secure habitat over very large areas where detailed knowledge is lacking. Although models of movement habitat are based upon sound biological principles and utilize whatever data are available on habitat use, we lack a clear understanding of how well these models reflect the habitat through which animals actually move and the choices they make; and we lack a clear understanding of the differences and similarities between the various models and their results. CERI projects in 2002 will 1) directly relate the results of one model approach (least cost path) to location and movement observations acquired via GPS collars in 2 different spatial contexts, and 2) relate the results of that model to the results of other models in 2 different spatial contexts. Areas used for question 1 span the range of Y2Y (Greater Yellowstone, and Muskwa-Kechika). Areas used for question 2 are key areas for connectivity in the Y2Y (MacArthur Lake and Crowsnest Pass).