Black River Valley Connectivity

Thanks to Sue Morse for photos

Black River Valley Connectivity Project

Photo Credits: Sue Morse and Larry Master

Regional Priority

Project Area

Project StatusMilestones• Secured planning grants (BRI, LTA)• Steering committee launched - January 2007• Connectivity modeling – Spring 07-Fall 08• 3-5 year strategic plan elements in place

Steering Committee Representation• Department of Environmental Conservation• Department of Transportation• Tug Hill Commission• Tug Hill Tomorrow• Wildlife Conservation Society• Major private landowner

Focal Species

1. Bear2. Cougar3. Lynx4. Marten5. Moose6. Otter7. Tanager

Least Cost Path

Identifies the least costly route for an organism to move from one destination to another.

Inputs:

1. Habitat suitability grid

2. Barriers grid

FunConn

Assess the landscape based on animal perception. Graph theory considers all habitat patches and distance/ barriers between them to identify most important connections and patches.

Methods:

I. Create habitat quality

II. Define functional patches

III. Build landscape network

Results - Least Cost Path

All species preferred areas

Summed Corridors

Number of species per pixel

Results - FunConn

Number of speciesper pixel

All species preferred areas

Implementation

Using the results:

I. Research agendaII. Strategy development

1. Land protection2. Barrier mitigation3. Land use planning4. Outreach

Prioritizing Land Protection