We have designed this easy-to-use and broadly accessible tool to get a better sense of where animals are moving across the landscape to inform conservation decisions and habitat restoration opportunities. Potential linkages have been identified by The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Data and the Housatonic Valley Association’s GIS team. Volunteers ground truth these areas to get a clearer picture of their functional connectivity for wildlife. We are especially interested in identifying pinch-points where movement may be funneled or restricted by fences, lack of cover, and other fine-scale features not picked up through remote modeling. Pinch-points are areas that, if further developed and compromised, could disproportionately restrict wildlife movement as the climate changes and species adapt their ranges in search for food, water, shelter, and mates.

The resulting set of assessed linkages allows Follow the Forest partners to prioritize their conservation efforts. In areas that require future attention, we set up wildlife cameras to learn more. In certain areas where the connections between forests are tenuous , we have identified areas in need of restoration. This includes roadside invasive species management, retrofitting culverts help animals pass under the road, and conducting outreach to important stakeholders such as town conservation commissions, highway departments, and landowners to implement changes that will benefit migrating wildlife. Approaching this research through the lens of community science helps us raise public awareness of wildlife connectivity needs and empower communities in our fight against climate change.