Washington State, USA

Abstract

Washington State's diverse ecosystems have been under intense pressure from extractive industries such as logging, fishing, and mining for at least a century. While these extractive economies have declined in recent years, only small, isolated patches of intact habitat remain in the densely populated Puget lowlands in western Washington and the heavily farmed and grazed Columbia Plateau in the east. The need to maintain and restore habitat connectivity has therefore become a primary driver of conservation science and action across Washington. As the climate changes, there will be an even greater need for connectivity across this fragmented landscape to enable species range shifts. Lessons from an effort to integrate climate change into a statewide habitat connectivity assessment suggest that a strong mandate for addressing climate change, engagement of diverse constituencies, and alignment of disparate efforts are critical for successful adaptation planning and action.