Reconnecting Nature

Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center

 As biodiversity continues its decline, a new report highlights key projects that are working to reconnect nature through “wildlife corridors.” The report from Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center offers examples of how human-made barriers can be modified to allow animals to safely traverse through natural corridors between habitats.

Nature in the U.S. has been fragmented into many pieces by roads, fences and other development that blocks the movement of animals. This can knock whole ecosystems out of balance and leave species more susceptible to other challenges like disease and climate change when they are sectioned off into small mating pools.

Wildlife crossings over and under roads are perhaps the most understood type of corridor, but many varieties and flavors exist. This report features 7 case studies that exemplify different ways we can create and protect linkages between various habitat areas, and explains how this would help local wildlife.