Terry Tatsey never sought a life of public service–he had long planned to work on his family’s ranch, but life had other plans. Terry was instrumental in building Blackfeet Community College’s environmental science program, before serving on the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council where he worked to integrate Amskapi Piikani values and knowledge into management decisions.
The Center recently conducted a connectivity analysis for the Custer Gallatin National Forest, modeling what could become a new approach to forest planning with landscape connectivity in mind.
In early September, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) applied to the federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program for a discretionary grant to help fund a $26-million project that includes a new wildlife overpass, upgrades to an existing underpass, and a bridge retrofit to allow wildlife to pass safely over and beneath US Highway 191 in Southwest Montana. Through the Montana Wildlife and Transportation Partnership, MDT teamed with the Bozeman-based, nonprofit Center for Large Landscape Conservation to move the grant application forward. US-191 parallels the Gallatin River, cutting through critical habitat for resident, wide-ranging, and migratory species in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
What does wildlife know of human-made borders? Often, not much; animals generally navigate landscapes without regard for county, state, or country lines—unless impacted by factors such as hunting pressure or habitat loss. Human-made lines on a map don’t necessarily affect wildlife. But what about roads and fences—physical barriers that interrupt their paths? In the case of the endangered Sonoran pronghorn, these barriers are stark realities that threaten their long-term survival.
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is home to the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. But as the numbers of area residents and annual visitors have grown, so has the incidence of wildlife-vehicle collisions. On US Highway 191 through and around Yellowstone National Park, large mammals like elk and deer are hit with increasing frequency and rising traffic volumes make it harder for wildlife to access habitat on either side. To address these problems, a team from the nonprofit Center for Large Landscape Conservation and Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute embarked upon a two-year study to better understand wildlife movement and improve road safety along this busy route.
It is one of the most pressing questions of our time: How do we adapt to the impacts of climate change? October 2022 marked the return of The National Adaptation Forum, which brought together climate adaptation practitioners to share ideas, evaluate opportunities, and create synergies across occupations to try to answer that urgent question. The scale of the challenges is great and because of this, practitioners from artists and municipal officials to natural resource managers came together to work towards systems-level change.
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation is seeking an experienced management professional with a strong background in the conservation field and a desire to help shape the future of a growing and dynamic organization. The Senior Director of Conservation will lead and inspire program staff to deliver innovative and strategic programs and initiatives that support the Center’s mission, strategic vision, and guiding philosophy. They will develop and implement program strategies at the local, regional, national and international level to advance and promote ecological connectivity.
As we deal with the economic and health fallout of COVID-19, and look to rebuild our economy and future, the smartest recovery plans will include measures to conserve wildlife habitat connectivity. Projects designed to connect habitat—such as wildlife crossing structures that span roads and highways—not only create healthier and safer landscapes and communities; they also create local jobs, bolster domestic manufacturing, provide a boost to the outdoor recreation industry, and stimulate ecological restoration economies.
Thirty years ago, the Disney movie the Lion King was released, telling the story of Simba, a young lion prince, who, after the murder of his father Mufasa, flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. Other memorable characters are the warthog Pumbaa, the red-billed hornbill Zazu, the mandrill Rafiki, and the meerkat Timon—all species that play a role in the richly biodiverse ecosystems of east Africa. Partly because of this movie, and zoo visits, children and adults around the world are familiar with the wildlife of the iconic landscapes of east Africa.
The forests, deserts, mountains, oceans, and other landscapes that support life on Earth are not defined by boundaries on maps. A single river—or a wildlife migration route—might pass through state, federal, tribal, and private lands. For this reason, collaboration that reaches across invisible borders is essential for effective landscape conservation, and the Catalyst Fund is making strategic investments in organizational capacity to make such collaborative conservation successful.
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