Keeping the Crown of the Continent Connected: an Interagency US2 Connectivity Workshop Report
Waller J and Graves T. 2018. Keeping the Crown of the Continent Connected: an Interagency US2 Connectivity Workshop Report. NPS/USGS. West Glacier, MT
US Highway 2 in Montana, between West Glacier and East Glacier, is both an important transportation corridor and an important wildlife movement corridor that connects Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex. Glacier and "the Bob" provide over 2.5 million acres of protected area that is critical to a variety of wildlife species. Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) railroad operates within the US 2 corridor. Two defining characteristics of this portion of the US2 corridor are relatively low highway traffic volume and relatively high railroad traffic volume. Over the last year, an interagency group of local researchers and managers met in two workshops to evaluate existing research and data sources, identify knowledge gaps, and establish a research framework to increase understanding of wildlife use of the US2 corridor. The long-term goal is to identify explicit management options for preserving short-term trans-highway movements, seasonal migrations, and dispersal movements of animals, plants, and ecological processes. This report builds on previous efforts to understand and plan for terrestrial wildlife connectivity across this inter-jurisdictional corridor by beginning a multi-agency conversation for collaborative research and management.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Waller, John; Graves, Tabitha
- Date of Issue
- 2018
- Publisher
- NPS/USGS
- Units
- CRCO , GLAC
- Keywords
- connectivity, US Highway 2, wildlife movement
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals