Ron Sutherland
An interview with North Carolina’s Chief Scientist of Wildlands Network
1. Can you walk us through your work in habitat connectivity mapping and the challenges you faced?
Wildlands Network has a long history of being on the cutting edge of mapping priority areas for protecting habitat connectivity for wildlife. Habitat connectivity is simply the degree to which a landscape facilitates the free movement of species. We started with preparing regional conservation designs for various portions of the Rocky Mountains, then added a “Wildlands Network Design” for the immense and relatively intact Northern Appalachians region as well.
But we also ran several state-level planning exercises in the southeast, including one event in North Carolina that led to a connectivity plan for the entire state. I was hired at Wildlands Network in 2010, and I set to work pretty quickly trying to figure out how we could prepare a regional design for the Southeast, building on the work of Tom Hoctor and others who had prepared the Southeastern Ecological Framework about 10 years before. We worked with Clemson University to use their supercomputer to map out habitat connectivity for 7 vertebrate species, ranging from red wolves to bears to timber rattlesnakes.
Then, as technology continued to advance, I realized that we could finally attempt to map the entire Eastern Wildway all at once. We had talked about continental-scale Wildways for years, as an inspiring vision for how North America could be stitched back together with corridor networks covering all of the major mountain chains. But the Wildway maps were always just generic swoops on the map. In 2016, I decided to fix that, and, after assembling a host of relevant conservation data sets, I drew up the first draft of a detailed Eastern Wildway vision, stretching from Florida to Quebec, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Within those boundaries, the proposed cores and corridors of the Wildway formed a beautiful and organic network, covering a full 50% of the land area. This ambitious design matches the Half-Earth scale that famous conservation biologist EO Wilson said was necessary to save at least 85% of the planet’s biodiversity.
You can see the Eastern Wildway map here: https://wildlandsnetwork.org/resources/eastern-wildway-map.
The Wildway design was necessarily a bit coarse at that tremendous scale, and we continue to work on improving and articulating the design, including refinements here in North Carolina. Our hope is to inspire the conservation community to work together to reconnect the natural areas of the East into a cohesive network that will support the full range of wildlife species. Habitat protection (for example, buying conservation easements from willing sellers) is one facet of connectivity conservation. But we also know that addressing barriers to wildlife connectivity is key, and in that respect, highways become a critical aspect of our work. Roads often block animals from being able to move across the landscape. Wildlands Network has therefore put a great deal of work in recent years into developing field research programs and public policy interventions designed to help wildlife cross highways safely. Fortunately, there are proven solutions called wildlife road crossings. These are overpasses, underpasses, culverts, and various other structures that, when combined with the right kind of fencing, have been shown to reduce wildlife vehicle collisions by as much as 90%! The challenge though is that the crossings are expensive up front – the economic math says they will easily pay for themselves over time in terms of reduced property damage and human injuries. So for the moment, we have to be very strategic in where we install wildlife crossings to do the most good for biodiversity while also protecting the safety of human motorists.
2. As you well know, North Carolina is home to the endangered red wolf species. How do you intertwine their conservation within your work in habitat connectivity?
Red wolves are indeed one of the world’s most endangered species, and the last decade has been really challenging for those of us trying to save red wolves from going extinct in the wild. From 2012 to 2020, the red wolf population dropped from around 120 individuals to only 8 collared and confirmed animals left in the wild, all in North Carolina. Gunshot mortality and other forms of illegal killing were a big part of that decline, but over the course of the red wolf reintroduction program, vehicle strikes on roads have been the #2 cause of death. As the USFWS has recently reinvigorated their efforts to save the species, they resumed releasing wolves at Alligator River and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuges. Unfortunately, a high percentage of the released wolves were quickly killed on highways as they attempted to find their territories.
The good news for trying to prevent red wolves from being hit by cars is that in the mid 2000’s, a large study was conducted by NCDOT to determine where to install wildlife crossings on the portions of US 64 through Dare and Tyrrell Counties. This stretch of highway cuts through the entire north end of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, often just a short distance from the set of large fields at the refuge where the wolves spend a great deal of their time. NCDOT ultimately agreed to install an entire system of dozens of wildlife crossing structures large and small, but then the plan fell apart when the agency lost the funding and momentum to finish the job of 4-laning the highway.
Wildlands Network and our partners (including Team Right of Passage) are now hoping to work with NCDOT to design, fund, and build at least some of the wildlife crossings that were planned for US 64, to prevent more wolves from being killed on this busiest of roads in the red wolf recovery area. Tragically, the breeding male of the Milltail pack of wolves (2323m) was recently struck and killed on the highway, and before that one of his young daughter wolves was also killed. These deaths represent huge setbacks for the red wolf recovery effort, and we hope to do everything we can to get crossings built and fencing installed as quickly as possible.
3. What are some of the key components in identifying the top 20 highway hotspots in need of wildlife crossings?
As I mentioned, there is not enough money out there yet (we’re working on funding too!) to build wildlife road crossings everywhere they are needed. So we have to be strategic. Wildlands Network decided in 2015 to start working on ways of prioritizing where to install wildlife crossing structures around the entire state of North Carolina. We finished one broad report before the pandemic slowed our progress, but then in 2022 we were able to produce a very compelling “NC Top 20” report, highlighting our take about the most critical sites for mitigating highway barriers for wildlife. It wasn’t just a modeling exercise – we started with using road characteristics, habitat connectivity models, and wildlife vehicle collision data to identify the range of road sites where crossings would be needed. But then we sent these draft sites out to a large group of wildlife conservation experts. The experts ranked the most important sites (and even provided suggestions for new sites), helping us narrow down 179 potential locations to the top 20 locations for North Carolina. This included US 64 at the coast (for red wolves, black bears, and a host of reptile and amphibian species) and also I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge in the NC mountains, where that busy highway wraps around Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The full report can be read here: https://wildlandsnetwork.org/resources/prioritizing-wildlife-road-crossings-in-north-carolina-1
4. What are the next steps in breaking ground for wildlife crossings to be built in these hotspots?
Now that we have the hotspots identified, the next step is to make sure they are well-communicated to NCDOT staff in each part of North Carolina. Then, we need to work with partners to help NCDOT raise the funds to get the crossings built. Fortunately, there is a new pot of federal grant money dedicated to building crossings, the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021. Unfortunately, North Carolina’s six (!) applications to the Pilot Program in 2023 were all shot down – the nationwide demand for funding for wildlife crossings made the program very competitive! We will work with NCDOT to submit even stronger applications in 2024, including we hope a proposal to build crossings and fencing on US 64 for the red wolves.
Raising public awareness is absolutely critical to the success of our efforts to getting wildlife crossings built in NC. The good news is that thanks to social media, more and more people are being exposed to the idea that wildlife crossings represent a win-win in terms of keeping wildlife and people safe. But there is much more work to do, and we greatly appreciate the work of Team Right of Passage in helping us tell the story of why NC needs more wildlife crossings.
5. How do we keep the public informed on progress and offer ways in which they can help?
There are a lot of different ways we can try to keep people up to speed on what is going on with wildlife crossing work in North Carolina. This website is one such tool, for example – giving people direct insights into the habitat connectivity needs of the red wolves and other species. We can also give presentations, make and share social media posts, and do media interviews.
The public can get involved in a number of ways. Reaching out to elected officials to encourage them to support (and fund) wildlife crossings is a good starting place. People can also read our NC Top 20 report and get familiarized with some of the highest-priority locations we’re targeting. You can also check out our work on I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, just visit www.smokiessafepassage.org to read about the large collaborative effort up there. Of course, driving slower through natural areas and watching out for wildlife is always a good idea. Unfortunately, not many wildlife vehicle collision are preventable, sometimes deer just fly out of nowhere and crash through people’s windshields. That is why we urgently need to get more crossing structures and fencing built. Wildlands Network also welcomes donations to support our road ecology work in North Carolina and beyond, just visit www.wildlandsnetwork.org/donate.
6. What would wildlife crossings look like in low-lying areas like Eastern North Carolina?
The lack of substantial terrain on the sides of highways in the coastal plain of North Carolina makes overpass and underpass installation more difficult. For overpasses, you would need to provide substantial ramps on either side of the road to make sure wildlife can get up and over the highway at a safe height. Underpasses would be easier, but you can’t just dig a tunnel under the road bed in much of eastern NC, as the water table is so high, you’d end up with a flooded pathway that would only work for aquatic species. To install dry underpasses in flat coastal environments, the road itself needs to be elevated so there is room underneath for animals to cross under. This is the approach that was taken for the existing set of 3 wildlife underpasses on US 64 between Plymouth and Roper, NC, to the west of where we want to build more crossings for red wolves. When that portion of the highway was 4-laned, they raised up the roadbed and installed a set of underpasses combined with miles of 10’ chain link fencing.
Wildlife crossings can come in various sizes depending on the target species. While large mammals like black bear, red wolves, and elk and deer may need relatively large structures, many smaller wildlife species such as snakes, turtles, skunks, and salamanders can use small culverts to pass under roadways, as long as the right kind of fencing is used to guide the animals to the right spots.
7. What is the most recent win for habitat connectivity in North Carolina?
With support from National Parks Conservation Association, Wildlands Network, NC Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Great Smoky Mountains Association, the Conservation Fund, and a range of other groups in the Safe Passage Coalition, the NC General Assembly included $2 million for wildlife road crossings in western NC in the budget that was passed in 2023. This is the first time the state legislature has directly funded wildlife crossing work, and we hope the funding stream becomes permanent, so that we can keep building more of these much needed structures year after year. Crucially, the state funds can be used to match federal grants such as the Wildlife Crossings Pilot program.
Other recent wins would include the construction of a small underpass for wildlife in western NC, and the approval of plans to build a very large overpass on NC 143 (also in the NC mountains) so that wildlife and Appalachian Trail hikers can cross the highway. There have also been good strides made in protecting habitat along key wildlife corridor routes in various parts of the state.
We recently re-launched the NC Wildlife Connectivity Coalition, an energetic group of partner conservationists and road ecologists working together to promote habitat connectivity. Contact Nikki Robinson (nikki@wildlandsnetwork.org) to join the coalition.
We also continue to build momentum towards building wildlife road crossings on I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge. We published the results of our 3-year study with NPCA last year: https://wildlandsnetwork.org/resources/pigeon-river-gorge-report. And we’ve made great strides (under the leadership of Dr. Liz Hillard) in documenting how wildlife are using a set of tunnels under the park entrance road at Gorges State Park in southwestern NC. These tunnels may be a great model for how we can reduce roadkill and increase connectivity at similar parks around the state.