Now that nearly a decade has passed since U.S. Forest Service included explicit requirements for maintaining or restoring ecological connectivity in its 2012 Planning Rule, it is timely to assess how the agency has implemented this connectivity mandate. The Center for Large Landscape Conservation conducted research on challenges and opportunities for integrating ecological connectivity into national forest planning and management. The following findings and recommendations—which address 1) science, 2) planning, 3) management, 4) partnerships and 5) regional coordination— are drawn from 45 key-informant interviews with Forest Service staff and partner organizations, and an analysis of 17 draft and final forest plans revised under the 2012 Rule.
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