The Wildlands Project and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Network

   The Wildlands Project is a long-term effort to protect and restore the ecological integrity of North America, from Panama to Greenland. Most of the planning so far has taken place in the western United States and Canada, northern Mexico, and the northeastern United States and Canada. Formed in 1991 the Wildlands Project has involved a unique mixture of scientists and activists committed to ambitious, large-scale conservation. Compared to other conservation groups, the Wildlands Project places relatively more emphasis on maintaining, buffering, and connecting existing wilderness areas, “rewilding” landscapes that have been compromised by such factors as habitat fragmentation and loss of large carnivores and natural disturbances, and communicating the ecological values of wilderness. Most importantly, the Wildlands Project is moving beyond defensive efforts to present a positive, bold vision: we are developing a template for where we should focus on protecting and restoring wild nature.

   As a means to the end of rewilding North America, the Wildlands Project has consistently invoked the concept of a continental-scale network of core conservation areas connected by broad habitat linkages. The continental-scale network, in turn, is composed of a linked system of regional-scale networks. Protecting and restoring populations of large carnivores and other potentially ecologically important or wide-ranging species has been a dominant theme of all Wildlands Project plans. Grand Canyon Wildlands Council’s central goal is to complete the design of the Grand Canyon Wildlands Network, one of the regional networks, in the Grand Canyon ecoregion. This ecoregion extends from the Mogollon Rim to the high plateaus of Utah, and from Grand Wash to the headwaters of the Little Colorado River.

Grand Canyon Wildlands Council has started with existing land ownership and status to identify the core areas, such as parks and wilderness areas, in a working Grand Canyon Wildlands Network. We added proposed wilderness lands we surveyed, along with other ecologically important lands proposed for special agency designations. We also added possible movement corridors for wide-ranging species like pronghorn antelope, where these species have been observed—these need to be verified scientifically. For the next stages of design, we created a model of the full range of habitats for the Grand Canyon ecoregion. We used U.S. Geological Survey satellite data combined with vegetation mapping from Grand Canyon National Park and the San Francisco Peaks. The rare habitats like alpine tundra, riparian areas, and springs were added to the working map. At the same time, our scientists compiled a list of focal species, including important biological information about them. Together, the habitat map and focal species information will be used to select additional land areas in need of protection and actions to take on behalf of native wildlife and plants. We will continue to report on our progress.

In the Grand Canyon ecoregion many opportunities to implement the Grand Canyon Wildlands Network have already arisen during the design phase. We worked hard to support the designation of the two new national monuments on the Arizona Strip because these areas were prominent in the working Grand Canyon Wildlands Network. We also wanted to make real change on the ground through our riparian restoration work and springs studies, having already found that these habitats were some of the most highly altered, rarest, and most ecologically important in this region. We have relied on the hard work of many volunteers and professionals to carry out these projects and we extend our great appreciation to all those who have contributed thus far.