Approach
Many species exist in only a small portion of their historical range. When managers intend to reintroduce individuals or populations to remnant habitat, it may be possible to select areas that are expected to remain suitable over the long-term as the climate changes (Kuemmerle et al. 2012, Sax et al. 2013). This can help ensure that conservation efforts are not "wasted" by reintroducing a species to locations that may not be viable over the long term.
Tactics
- Capture bighorn sheep from a thriving population and reintroduce them into areas that are expected to be suitable habitat.
- Capture copperbelly water snakes from populations that are not listed, and introduce them in wetland complexes in northern Indiana and Ohio that are geographically isolated from extant endangered populations.
Strategy
Strategy Text
The geographic range of a species may shift under climate change, based on key life-history traits or future migration of suitable habitat. Particularly in instances where there is a high degree of confidence in future shifts, it may be appropriate to intentionally facilitate expand a species' range to ensure that newly suitable habitat is occupied. The following Approaches cover several ways for wildlife managers to anticipate and take advantage of shifting conditions.
Citation
LeDee, O.E., Handler, S.D., Hoving, C.L., Swanston, C.W. and Zuckerberg, B. 2021. Preparing Wildlife for Climate Change: How Far Have We Come? Jour. Wild. Mgmt., 85: 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21969