Mapping Habitat Connectivity for Multiple Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species On and Around Military Installations

Aaron Moody, UNC-Chapel Hill; Nick Haddad, NC State University;
Bill Morris, Duke University; Jeff Walters, Virginia Tech

Link to Factsheet

Abstract

Objective: The goal of this project is to develop methods for identifying lands on and around military bases that provide high connective value for suites of species of management concern. Using a set of rare, threatened, and endangered species with divergent life histories (red-cockaded woodpeckers, St. Francis’ satyr butterflies, Carolina gopher frogs, and tiger salamanders), we will develop a system for multiple-criteria optimization of habitat connectivity management. We will accomplish this by integrating field observations of animal movement, movement models, and habitat and landscape models, in a spatially explicit analysis framework. The widely varying life histories of the species we propose to study are reflective of the actual conservation challenges faced on and around many DoD installations. A key outcome of the proposed research is a spatially explicit decision support system for managing habitat connectivity for multiple taxa within the context of land-use, land-management, and land procurement objectives, constraints, and opportunities on and around DoD installations. This framework will be developed at Ft. Bragg, NC, and tested at Camp Lejeune, NC.