04/08/2025
I’m excited to be giving a presentation on wildlife movement and habitat connectivity in the Northern Sierra this Thursday (4/10) at 6:30pm at the County Library in Quincy! The presentation is co-hosted by Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness as part of their ongoing Cultivating Connectivity speaker series. I realize that my talk directly overlaps with Words and Music over at Patti's Thunder Cafe, so I may also throw in a song and dance upon request to better compete!
It's an exciting, but perilous time for wildlife in the Northern Sierra, which is one of the most biodiverse regions in western North America and a hub for rewilding in the United States. Elk, gray wolves, and fishers are repopulating the region after many decades of absence and multiple migratory mule deer and pronghorn herds occur in the region. In the Feather River Watershed alone, more than 340 bird species, 90 mammal species, 40 reptile and amphibian species, and 2,200 plant species/varieties have been observed! Threats to this biodiversity and the habitat connectivity wildlife and plants need to survive include: large, high-severity fires, roads, climate change, incompatible development, and incompatible federal policies, staffing, and funding.
Plumas Audubon, Friends of Plumas Wilderness, Wildlands Network, Hardy Conservation, and other partners are working to create a connected network of resilient ecosystems that allow wildlife to move, adapt, and thrive amid a changing landscape and climate. We are also working on a science-based conservation strategy that addresses the threats listed above.
In addition to the importance of habitat connectivity and wildlife linkages, I’ll be discussing barriers to wildlife movement, such as roads, fences, and development, and ongoing research aimed at identifying and conserving the most important wildlife linkages in the Northern Sierra.
Citizen science is playing an increasingly important role in identifying conservation and wildlife linkage priorities. I’ll provide an overview of opportunities to engage in citizen science in Plumas County and the Feather River Watershed, then will specifically cover the UC Davis California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), a volunteer-driven citizen science database. Information collected through CROS helps guide policy, management strategies, and funding decisions to reduce roadkill and improve habitat connectivity, including where to locate road crossing structures! I’ll provide background on the database, discuss how road ecology research informs conservation efforts, and offer insights into the state, federal, and private funding for wildlife movement projects. In addition to learning how road ecology shapes conservation efforts in California, participants can also learn how they can get involved and play an important role in collecting roadkill data and providing wildlife connectivity solutions in the Northern Sierra!
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!
https://plumassun.org/2025/03/20/presentation-explores-impacts-of-roads-on-wildlife/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJieTdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHs_YEG8FyGCHIQR508go-IK6jQt4mmqm6CIxn_TijKhwmFE990oMsksta3aK_aem_FsoLAyCk-_ontgmIXW06-g
Continuing on the themes introduced in their Cultivating Connectivity speaker series program in 2024, co-hosts Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of
