Wildlife Connectivity

What is this project about?

The Wildlife Connectivity Project is a multi-phase initiative led by Nature Squamish and supported by the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society (HSBRIS). Through collaboration, we’re working to improve land use planning and help conserve biodiversity in our ecologically rich region—now facing growing pressures from human activity and climate change. Our work is aligned with Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy which is intended to coordinate land management activities across all levels of government and enhance collaboration with NGO and Indigenous-led conservation initiatives.

To date, the project has included several phases including:

• 2021-2023. Scoping to assess methodologies and develop a project road map;
• 2023-2026. Research to assess regional biodiversity, identify habitat cores, patches and linkages, and develop maps and other tools to share our results;
• 2026-onwards. Education to support ongoing conservation planning and land stewardship.

Our Project Overview includes more detail about the context and approaches for our work. We also have a one-page summary.

This short video from Parks Canada explains in a compelling way the meaning of wildlife and ecological connectivity.

How did we get here?

Our project began in May 2019 when a concerned citizen addressed the District of Squamish Council, highlighting the gap between policy and action on wildlife and habitat connectivity. Although the need was recognized in local bylaws and the Official Community Plan, no concrete steps had been taken. What was missing was an understanding of which habitats most needed protection, along with clear mapping of the connectivity corridors that support long-term ecosystem resilience in the face of rapid environmental change.

Private donations enabled our Society to begin a project scoping phase. We engaged CoastRange Environmental in 2021 to do some preliminary work on what it might take to do better. Additional support from private donors, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) and BC Nature/BC Naturalists’ Foundation, enabled continued research through 2022–2023, including evaluating tools and technologies. During this time, we also began building connections with other groups and individuals focused on biodiversity conservation.

Recognizing the potential for our Squamish project to have significance for the entire Átl’ḵa7tsem/Howe Sound Biosphere Region, we began collaborating in 2023 with HSBRIS. Through HSBRIS, our project has received funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada. We also received funding from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and the District of Squamish, and grants from the Real Estate Foundation of BC, the Sitka Foundation, the  McLean Foundation, and the BC Conservation and Biodiversity Awards Foundation.

Why do we need to act now?

Southwestern British Columbia, like many densely settled regions of the world, is experiencing increased threat of biodiversity loss caused by the pressures of urban growth and development. More than 25% of wildland habitat in our Biosphere Region has been lost either to permanent human settlement or to ongoing resource development activities. Such resource development activities have been supported by road infrastructure that is increasingly transforming the backcountry into a human-dominated landscape (BC Cumulative Effects, 2021).

These pressures threaten the culture and values of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) as well as the rich biodiversity for which our area is known. Climate change is already affecting habitat and the need for animals to move to adapt will only increase.

While current patterns of disturbance by humans are likely to continue, the potential for biodiversity loss can be mitigated in part by establishing wildlife connectivity networks that facilitate the flow of wildlife and ecological processes across a rapidly changing landscape.

What have we done?

From 2023 through 2026, our project team worked with subject experts to undertake a regional biodiversity assessment and identify habitat cores, patches and linkages, from a micro to landscape level, for local and representative species. This in-depth research used state-of-the-art landscape modelling combined with species distribution models based on actual wildlife observations. Eighteen focal species were chosen as indicators of habitat needs across the region’s wildlife communities, from wetland-dependent amphibians with micro-ranges, to wide-ranging large mammals such as grizzly bears, and alpine dwelling mountain goats. A final revision to the model added three more species.

The resulting Connectivity Network Model, shared via our EcosScapes website, provides guidance on which areas are most important for biodiversity conservation.

What are the next steps?

The research phase of the project concluded in spring 2026. However, we remain committed to supporting our core partners and others through ongoing education as they seek ways to apply our research results to policies, processes, and operations.

Our project report, Connected Landscapes for Wildlife and People, presents a framework for assessing and monitoring ecosystem health and connectivity, as well as guidelines to inform ongoing conservation planning and land stewardship.

Our EcoScapes Learning Hub provides tools, maps and resources to support conservation planning.