Researchers used GPS data from dozens of elk collared by the Southern Ute Tribe in southwestern Colorado. Elk populations migrate between low-elevation winter ranges to avoid deep snow and high-elevation summer ranges to track seasonal changes in available are for foraging.
The research team, led by Conservation Science Partners, analyzed the elk herd’s current migration patterns from southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. Then the team projected how those routes will look in 2050 due to changes in temperature, precipitation and vegetation cover, and growth in development, population and traffic.
Researchers found migrating elk could be more spread out in the winters as their range expands because of shrinking snowpacks. In the summers, however, herds could be more compacted as their suitable range is cut in half because of declining summer rainfall and increasing human development.
That means new wildlife crossings, like bridges and tunnels, will be needed, said Caitlin Littlefield, director of climate adaptation science at Conservation Science Partners and the study’s lead author.
“Wildlife crossings can enable continued access to new or expanding ranges, or continued access to resources like, say, forage that’s shifting in time and space,” said Littlefield, adding that crossings and related infrastructure like fencing can reduce wildlife mortality by 80%.
She added that the study shows state and federal agencies the need to invest in wildlife crossings that consider the climate’s impact on animal movements. Moreover, she said it’s important that new crossings are built to withstand climate-driven extreme weather, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, and heatwaves.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The photo included in this story is licensed under Flickr Creative Commons.
