Wildlife migrations highlight importance of both private lands and protected areas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Gigliotti, Laura C.; Xu, Wenjing; Zuckerman, Gabriel R.; Atwood, M. Paul; Cole, Eric K.; Courtemanch, Alyson B.; Dewey, Sarah R.; Gude, Justin A.; Hnilicka, Patrick; Hurley, Mark A.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Kroetz, Kailin; Lawson, Arthur; Leonard, Bryan; MacNulty, Daniel R.; Maichak, Eric J.; McWhirter, Douglas E.; Mong, Tony W.; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Scurlock, Brandon M.; Stahler, Daniel R.; Middleton, Arthur D.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109752

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…While our study included a large sample size, affording a significant advance in our picture of diversity and plasticity across this system, there were several limitations. Although this is the most comprehensive sample of multiyear elk movement data from the GYE, it is possible our results under‐ or overestimated switching rates given that we lacked multiple years of consecutive data from 6 of the 26 known herds in the ecosystem (Gigliotti et al, 2022). Similarly, it is possible that relatively minor shifts in distances traversed and/or elevation changes were denoted as switches due to the automated classification of migratory tactics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Centered around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the area encompasses surrounding national forests and tribal lands, as well as a mosaic of agricultural lands, energy infrastructure, and rapidly expanding urban and suburban development (Hansen & Phillips, 2018; Rickbeil et al, 2019). Elk in the GYE mainly spend the winter in lower elevation grasslands and shrublands on a mix of multiuse public and private lands, where they experience the highest amount of anthropogenic‐influenced habitat, including residential and energy development, agricultural land, and feeding grounds in some portions of Wyoming (Gigliotti et al, 2022; Rickbeil et al, 2019). Many elk migrate in spring towards higher elevation alpine meadows and coniferous forests in less developed national parks or forests, where they spend the summer before returning to winter ranges in fall or early winter (Middleton et al, 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used GPS collar data collected between 2006 and 2020 from 361 adult female elk in 20 herds. Our dataset contained 840 elk-years (defined as an individual's arrival date at a winter range up to the return to the winter range in the subsequent year), with fix rates ranging from 30 min to 48 h. This dataset is a subset of movement data from the 26 known GYE herds for which GPS data have been collected (Gigliotti et al, 2022), using data only from individuals with at least two consecutive years of movement data (20 of the 26 herds).…”

Section: Study Area and Movement Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diverse migratory portfolios drive inter‐annual switching behavior of elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

et al. 2023

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A growing body of evidence shows that some ungulates alternate between migratory and nonmigratory behaviors over time. Yet it remains unclear whether such short‐term behavioral changes can help explain reported declines in ungulate migration worldwide, as opposed to long‐term demographic changes. Furthermore, advances in tracking technology reveal that a simple distinction between migration and nonmigration may not sufficiently describe all individual behaviors. To better understand the dynamics and drivers of ungulate switching behavior, we investigated 14 years of movement data from 361 elk in 20 herds across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). First, we categorized yearly individual behaviors using a clustering algorithm that identified similar migratory tactics across a continuum of behaviors. Then, we tested seven hypotheses to explain why some ungulates switch behaviors, and we evaluated how behavioral changes affected the proportions of different behaviors across the system. We identified four distinct behavioral tactics: residents (4.8% of elk‐years), short‐distance migrants (53.7%), elevational migrants (21.9%) and long‐distance migrants (19.6%). Of the 20 herds, 18 were partially migratory, and 5 had all four movement tactics present. We observed switches between migratory tactics in all sets of consecutive years during our study period, with an average of 22.5% of individual elk changing movement tactics from one year to the next. Elk in herds with higher movement tactic diversity were significantly more likely to switch tactics and often responded more effectively to adverse environmental conditions, compared to those in herds with low movement tactic diversity. During our study period, switching increased the prevalence of both short‐ and long‐distance migrants, decreased the prevalence of elevational migrants, and had no effect on the prevalence of residents. Our findings suggest that rather than contributing to the declining migratory behavior found in the GYE, switching behavior may enable greater resiliency to continuously changing environmental and anthropogenic conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Area and Movement Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diverse migratory portfolios drive inter‐annual switching behavior of elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

et al. 2023

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“…They can also see in loco how large continuous natural areas present better environmental conditions (e.g., water and air) or harbor animals not found in smaller and less connected areas. The perception of the importance of connectivity in extensive landscapes is essential, for example, for conserving species that make large terrestrial migrations (Gigliotti et al 2022).…”

Section: Hike Duration and Sense Of Placementioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking big: the role of mega trails in creating meaning and sense of place for large landscapes

Castro

Stein

Monroe

2023

Preprint

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Context Providing access to natural areas through recreation is a valuable strategy for garnering social support for nature conservation. Direct experiences bring landscapes into people’s perceptible realms and create sense of place and place meaning. This meaning can even be transferred to similar areas through a brand effect. Mega trails can play a role in creating meaning and sense of place for large landscapes. Objectives We investigated the sense of place and its spatial scale among hikers on the three national scenic trails forming the triple crown of hiking in the USA and discusses their potential to promote large-scale conservation at large landscape scales. Methods We surveyed 602 hikers and assessed the level of sense of place and its spatial scale using Likert scales and heatmaps. Analyses of variance were performed to explore their relationships with hike duration, motivation, and trail section popularity. Results Results suggest that the longer the hiking, the stronger and broader the sense of place. Hikers motivated by national scenic trails present a stronger and broader sense of place, and this difference occurs even among day hikers, suggesting a brand effect. Conclusions Implementing mega trails can create extensive meaningful places, facilitating the understanding of ecological processes and helping to promote large-scale nature conservation. Through the brand effect, mega trails have the potential to reach a wider audience, going beyond long-distance hikers and raising the awareness of millions of people who visit natural attractions about the importance of large-scale conservation.

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“…Private land protection measures, including private reserves, land trusts, and conservation easements, have long contributed to land conservation in the United States despite representing only a small fraction of the total land under protection (Ernst & Wallace, 2008). However, private lands are increasingly considered critical for creating functional, connected, and climate‐resilient protected area networks (Bargelt et al, 2020; Dreiss et al, 2022; Gigliotti et al, 2022; Morgan et al, 2019). While private land conservation takes many forms, conservation easements—voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit the uses of private land to protect conservation values—have garnered particular interest from conservation initiatives in the United States and elsewhere due to their cost‐efficacy and legal flexibility (Capano et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging private lands to meet 2030 biodiversity targets in the United States

Chapman

Boettiger

Brashares

2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Coincident with international movements to protect 30% of land and sea over the next decade (“30×30”), the United States has committed to more than doubling its current protected land area by 2030. While publicly owned and managed protected areas have been the cornerstone of area‐based conservation over the past century, such lands are costly to establish and have limited capacity to protect areas of the highest value for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Here we examine the current and potential contributions of private land for reaching 30×30 conservation targets at both federal and state scales in the United States. We find that compared to publicly owned and managed protected lands, protected private lands (conservation easements) are more often in areas designated as high conservation priority, hold significantly higher mean species richness, and sequester more vulnerable land‐based carbon per unit area. These and related findings highlight the necessity of mechanisms that engage private landholders in enduring conservation partnerships.

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Wildlife migrations highlight importance of both private lands and protected areas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Cited by 12 publications

References 61 publications

Diverse migratory portfolios drive inter‐annual switching behavior of elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Diverse migratory portfolios drive inter‐annual switching behavior of elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Thinking big: the role of mega trails in creating meaning and sense of place for large landscapes

Leveraging private lands to meet 2030 biodiversity targets in the United States

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