Infographic: A patchwork of lands fragments wildlife migration
New legislation helps connect private and public parcels for wildlife flow.
For generations, elk and mule deer in the remote South San Juan Mountains along the Colorado-New Mexico border have migrated from summer’s alpine meadows down to the grassy lowlands where they spend their winters. Most of the higher portion of this major migration corridor lies on U.S. Forest Service lands — even in a wilderness area — but the ungulates’ path also cuts directly through some of the largest privately owned properties in the region. If those parcels were sold and developed, their loss would cut off the seasonal wildlife flow.
Similar situations exist across the region, where huge ranches sprawl across wildlife habitat at the feet of mountain ranges and sometimes take up entire valley floors. Land-management agencies can help protect the adjoining public lands from development, but they have little say about what happens on these private parcels, which have become critical pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of wildlife conservation.
This is especially true in the Intermountain West, where population growth and soaring land values have put a premium on undeveloped private lands. Rarely can governments or conservation organizations afford to buy these properties outright. But landowners, land trusts, nonprofits and public agencies can often cobble together enough money to purchase development rights to the land — thereby creating a conservation easement, often at a fraction of the overall property value. The property owner retains ownership but agrees to work with the state to manage the land for ecosystem health.
That’s exactly what happened in the South San Juans. In July, private landowners working with the Chama Peak Land Alliance, The Conservation Fund, the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service put a conservation easement on the 16,723-acre Banded Peak Ranch — the final piece of a 30-year, 65,000-acre effort that permanently protects this entire wildlife corridor.
Thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act, which passed this summer, such deals could get a significant boost. The act fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, thereby doubling the amount of cash available for purchasing private inholdings or funding conservation easements on them. This infographic highlights a few of these public-private partnerships.
SHIFTING BIOMES
Climate change drives species into higher elevations and latitudes. The Nature Conservancy mapped the potential migration routes that could result as habitats shift.
Eric Siegel is an editorial intern for High Country News. Email him at [email protected] or submit a letter to the editor. Follow @eric_siegel1
- Wildlife
- Public Lands
- Infographic
- Department of Interior
- Bureau of Land Management
- U.S. Forest Service
- Climate Change