Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Georgia
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is a large federal program aimed at protecting and restoring the largest system of surface freshwater in the world. Among its project portfolios are efforts to prioritize terrestrial conservation projects to increase habitat connectivity for species of conservation importance to GLRI partners. Anthropogenic land uses can reduce native wildlife species’ ability to move through landscapes, potentially obstructing the movement of non-volant species to climate refuges to the north. An area of focus of the GLRI is the support of decisions aimed at restoring and conserving areas that link habitats across the complex of federal-owned lands in the ecoregion. The principal scientific partners in this work are USGS and the University of Georgia, and client partners consist of federal agencies involved in the GLRI. This work will produce analyses of landscape connectivity under alternative future scenarios and will quantify local-level contributions to regional-scale connectivity. This granular information will aid decision makers charged with choosing conservation acquisitions and actions aimed at maintaining high levels of connectivity in the face of uncertain future landscapes.