Roads and highways pose significant barriers to wildlife movement and have led to habitat fragmentation and isolated populations. This issue of wildlife connectivity has been gaining substantial traction as a priority conservation issue and is garnering significant investments by Departments of Transportation and land management agencies. Wildlife crossing structures can help increase permeability for wildlife across those barriers and create safer roadways for drivers. Different types of crossings will facilitate different types of wildlife and implementing these structures is a complex marriage of science, policy, engineering, and design. To better understand the state of wildlife connectivity in California, Wildlands Network has compiled, to date, the most comprehensive database of wildlife crossing structures in the State and is continually cataloging and mapping structures that are in planning or in construction. We cataloged over 200 wildlife crossings ranging from amphibian tunnels to the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will be the biggest wildlife crossing in the world. During this presentation, we will explore the wildlife crossings map and some of the unique projects in California. I will also discuss how this information can be utilized by land managers, researchers, and NGOs, and where more research is needed to advance wildlife connectivity in California.

California’s pumas are being driven towards extinction. These wide-ranging predators face many threats from humans. Poorly planned roads and development have fragmented the landscape, dividing pumas into isolated subpopulations and leading to high levels of inbreeding. Puma mortalities due to car strikes, rat poisons, disease, and retaliation for preying on pets or farm animals are common while wildfire and climate change present ongoing and intensifying threats. If we want pumas to thrive in our changing landscapes for generations to come, we must adapt our behaviors and infrastructure to safely coexist with this iconic species. The Center for Biological Diversity’s Urban Wildlands Program advocates to protect pumas and improve wildlife connectivity by pushing back against poorly planned sprawl development with environmental laws, sponsoring science-driven conservation policies that improve wildlife connectivity and restrict rat poisons, and spreading the word about puma conservation. To engage a broader audience with the science of puma ecology and conservation, I released a graphic novel, Tales of the Urban Wild: A Puma’s Journey, in October 2023. Using science, policy, and art, we highlight the challenges that pumas and other wildlife face and demonstrate how we can safely coexist to ensure the state’s rich biodiversity thrives.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the most widely occurring marine angiosperm in the world and the primary type of subtidal vegetation found in estuarine ecosystems on the continental west coast. Eelgrass beds function as critical nurseries and spawning sites for a variety of invertebrates and fish, including the Dungeness crab, Pacific herring, and salmonids, and provide foraging habitat for many birds. Because of its important ecosystem functions, eelgrass is protected as Essential Fish Habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Services, providing it with regulatory protection. Impacts to this often under-appreciated resource are accounted for using pre- and post-construction monitoring. However, it can be challenging to tease apart project-related impacts from natural and climate- related fluctuations in eelgrass distribution and density, which can affect a project’s mitigation obligations. The establishment and long-term monitoring of reference sites can help these analyses and inform mitigation strategies. Here we present an overview of eelgrass survey methods, limitations of each method, and best practices for monitoring eelgrass beds in the face of elevated variability in marine ecosystems driven by climate change.

Wild horse (Equus caballos) and burro (E. asinus; WHB) stakeholders in the American West are divergent in their views of free-roaming equids on public lands. Management authority for free-roaming equids on designated public lands was given to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U. S. Forest Service (USFS) in 1971 by U.S. Congress with the passing of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA). In 1976 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) mandated the BLM and USFS to manage public lands for multiple-uses which included livestock grazing, energy development, recreation, and timber harvest. Since the passage of WFRHBA and FLPMA almost every WHB management option has been met with frustration and contention by some faction of stakeholders. Currently, WHBs populations on designated public lands exceed numbers the BLM and USFS determined were in balance with other multiple-uses. Historically, true collaboration around the issue has been lacking apart from the banding together of like-minded organizations. As climate change exacerbates resources impacts on Western public landscapes, leaving already arid lands drier and forage amounts and diversity lessened, the need for true collaboration among divergent stakeholders is abundantly clear. However, how to collaborate sustainably and healthily is unclear. This talk outlines frameworks, developed by coalition groups and specifically with BLM in mind, for achieving collaboration with diverse stakeholders and decision-makers. Progress has been made in terms of educating Congressional representatives, appropriators, and broader environmental, wildlife, and conservation groups who have typically kept this extremely noisy issue at arm’s length, and which has resulted in increased funding for the agency towards more comprehensive, ecologically sound and humane management approaches. These positive changes will be described.

The Mohave ground squirrel is a California state-listed threatened species that has been petitioned for federal listing twice, in 1993 and 2005 and is not currently federally listed. In March 2022, coordinated meetings resulted in draft proposals directed at the most critical research questions for this species. There is currently a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for MGS that is led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and this group has been active since at least 2008 to support this species. The TAG acts as an advisory group to the Department but does not include functions that could actively support funding these research proposals or training opportunities for this species. To support these functions as well as coordinating the active MGS volunteer corps, a new non-profit was officially formed in January 2023. Our group now has state and federal non-profit status, over 75 members, and has obtained grant funding to assist in determining the distribution and status of the species throughout its range in the western Mojave Desert. We have many active committees with activities to report. We've made many strides forward, and learned a few lessons along the way.

Hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) are at risk of severe population decline and face significant impacts from wind energy facilities (Friedenberg & Frick 2021; Rodhouse 2019). For the first time in California, actions to reduce these impacts are being implemented at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area. An adaptive management strategy was designed to ensure that the best available science and emerging technologies are used to assess impacts on bats, and that impacts are minimized to the greatest extent possible while maximizing energy production. First, blanket curtailment stops turbines from spinning at low wind speeds during the high-risk period from April to October. Second, acoustic monitoring at turbine height and ground level facilitates analysis of bat activity in relation to wind speeds and bat fatality patterns, which could inform smart curtailment. Third, submission of carcasses and tissue samples supports genetic research to inform population-level impacts. Finally, installation of Motus towers near wind energy facilities and funding Motus tag deployment supports migration research, which could inform siting of future wind energy facilities. As wind energy scales up, collaboration and incentives to implement creative solutions are needed to mitigate adverse impacts to bat populations.