2024 Annual Report
Welcome
Nature Knows No Borders
"As we lose habitat and species at an alarming rate, and climate change continues unabated, our best hope is to reach across cultures and geographies and engage deeply in connectivity conservation. Our approach considers the whole landscape and the people who live there to successfully conserve habitat—including important ecosystems that straddle communities and countries. As part of elevating our work in the U.S. and globally, the Center participated in several significant international gatherings this past year where we were able to move transboundary connectivity conservation forward, including conferences for the Convention on Migratory Species in Uzbekistan and Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia. I am inspired by the diversity of voices at the table, and I am so proud that our staff continues to solidify our leadership to ensure connectivity is part of the global conversation, especially during this time of political divides and uncertainty. Thank you for sharing our commitment to connecting people and connecting landscapes for a healthy future."
-Gary Tabor, Founder & CEO
Our Vision
A world where nature and people thrive in connected, resilient landscapes
What is Connectivity?
What is ecological connectivity and why is it important?
Ecological connectivity is the unimpeded movement of species, connection of habitats, and flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth such as wildlife migration, free-flowing rivers, and pollination.
Year in Review
Where in the World Was the Center in 2024?
Fragmentation threatens landscapes and wildlife all over the world, but geography is no obstacle for our team. We are always ready to work with partners globally to co-create and apply proven solutions.
Sonoran Pronghorn Connectivity
Yellowstone Safe Passages
Canadian Wildlife Movement
Conserving Jaguar Corridors
Global Leaders in Connectivity
Africa Connectivity Modeling
Central Asia Connectivity
Nepal Canopy Bridges
Fence Impacts in Mongolia
Protecting Zambia's Wildlife
Mapping Habitat Connectivity
Asian Elephant Crossing Guidelines
Sonoran Pronghorn Connectivity
The endangered Sonoran pronghorn, native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico, is in severe peril due in part to the lack of ecological connectivity between isolated herds. This prevents free movement across the landscape to find food, water, and mates. In March 2024, the Center led the Sonoran Pronghorn Connectivity Workshop in Arizona, uniting agencies, NGOs, Tribal communities, and researchers in a forward-thinking project to reconnect isolated herds and advance the Sonoran pronghorn’s long-term recovery.
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Yellowstone Safe Passages
Roughly 50% of all car accidents on US Highway 89 just north of Yellowstone National Park are attributed to avoiding or colliding with wildlife. In 2024, Yellowstone Safe Passages—a community coalition of which the Center is a founding member—applied for and was awarded state funding for an engineering feasibility study of the Dome Mountain area. This site was identified as a top priority for a wildlife crossing in a previous wildlife and transportation assessment conducted by the Center with the Western Transportation Institute. The award brings the coalition one step closer to applying for federal funding to construct the crossing.
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Canadian Wildlife Movement
The Center’s science team is working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada/Conservation de la nature Canada and Parks Canada on a large-scale research project to answer the question “What kind of conservation land management, and how much of it, ensures that landscapes are connected for species?” The effort involves six study areas in Canada across five ecozones, each representing a different group of species. The desired outcome of the study is bigger and better conservation that will keep wildlife on the move across the country.
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Conserving Jaguar Corridors
As part of the Wildlife Connect Initiative, the Center, supported by jaguar experts under the leadership of WWF-Bolivia, identified jaguar corridors in the Pantanal-Chaco region spanning Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. These corridors support biodiversity by aiding jaguars and other species’ movement amid rising development and fragmentation. In 2024, the Center led a workshop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where 23 regional participants prioritized criteria for corridor conservation. Based on this input, scientists from the Center ranked the top 10 corridors for action in each country. Countries and partners are now working to conserve these critical linkages, ensuring ecological connectivity and biodiversity protection across the region.
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Global Leaders in Connectivity
In 2024, the Center played a pivotal role at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/CoP-16) in Cali, Colombia. Part conservation expo and part intergovernmental negotiation, CoP-16 attracted 23,000+ participants from 190+ countries aiming to accelerate implementation of the treaty to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations. Our team gave impactful presentations, participated in negotiations, and hosted an event showcasing connectivity conservation success stories. By continuing to highlight the critical role of ecological connectivity in achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and other international commitments, the Center is inspiring increased action and investment for advancing efforts toward a more connected natural world.
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Africa Connectivity Modeling
While the increasing human population and climate change threaten wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania, both governments have taken key steps to conserve wildlife corridors. Working with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Center led a two-day workshop as a first step in a larger project to engage in long-term corridor conservation along their shared border based on the habitat and movement needs of native species. The workshop provided an opportunity for representatives of the governments of Kenya and Tanzania, NGOs, and university researchers to plan next steps toward ensuring a connected, resilient, transboundary landscape.
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Central Asia Connectivity
A project supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund called “Improving Capacity and Connectivity Between Reserves in Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan” aims to enhance conservation in the transboundary Kugitang Mountains. In December 2024, the Center facilitated a field mission in Uzbekistan’s Surkhan State Nature Reserve and a park ranger exchange with Koytendag State Nature Reserve in Turkmenistan to foster collaboration between the neighboring countries. We also facilitated a connectivity planning workshop in Termez, Uzbekistan, to identify high-priority areas for connectivity within the country and across borders. These efforts support shared strategies for meeting the needs of wildlife and communities, including advancing a proposed transboundary UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
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Nepal Canopy Bridges
Nepal is expanding its Narayanghat-Butwal Road to four lanes, further threatening arboreal species such as langurs and rhesus monkeys. The road expansion could cause more animals to be hit by vehicles and increase barriers to their movement. However, canopy bridges would allow them to cross high above the roadway as an effective and relatively low-cost solution. Through the ALIGN Project, staff from the Center and WWF-US developed recommendations to support WWF-Nepal advising the Nepal government about the need for canopy bridges along with guidelines for design, construction, and monitoring.
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Fence Impacts in Mongolia
Fences built to prevent livestock and wildlife access across roads and railways and into commercial farms cut off areas that Mongolians traditionally use for grazing sheep. Working with the Mongolia Bird Conservation Center, our team conducted more than 67 interviews with nomadic herder families to learn how this newly created maze of barbed-wire fencing might affect their traditional livelihoods and wildlife movement. This project aims to increase understanding of impacts on herders—whose voices have not been evenly included in national discussions of fencing and cashmere production—to help inform wildlife and herder-friendly decisions around future fencing and other linear infrastructure planning.
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Protecting Zambia's Wildlife
The Center is leading assessment of the high-speed M9 highway through Kafue National Park—Zambia’s oldest and largest national park—in partnership with the Zambia Carnivore Programme. The final study will make recommendations for options to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and create a monitoring framework to reduce impacts on species like elephants, wild dogs, antelopes, and lions.
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Mapping Habitat Connectivity
In partnership with the Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance, the Center mapped habitat connectivity for elk, prairie dogs, and mule deer in the Northern Great Plains. This marks a key first step toward a larger connectivity analysis that BNGA member tribes can use to support their efforts to help native species thrive on their traditional territories.
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Asian Elephant Crossing Guidelines
As part of our leadership role with the Asian Elephant Transport Working Group, the Center co-authored the first-ever guidelines for designing elephant-specific crossing structures. Workshops and discussions continue to promote practical projects among conservation and infrastructure professionals in the 13 countries where Asian elephants still roam.
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Connectivity 101
Recognition of ecological connectivity as an essential approach to conservation is growing dramatically worldwide. The Center co-created the transformative, free course Connectivity 101, empowering 1,500+ learners so far from more than 64 countries with foundational knowledge, tools, and strategies to restore wildlife habitats and advance connectivity conservation.
2024 Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation proudly received the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE-NA) 2024 Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award. This honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of applied landscape ecology.
Feature Article
Transboundary Conservation: Building Partnerships for Shared Landscapes
When lynx, elephants, markhors, bears, or elk move in search of water, food, or mates, they don’t stop to show their passports at the border or pause to consider which areas are protected; wildlife goes where it needs to survive. In this feature article, interviews with Center staff illuminate the challenges and opportunities associated with several of our current efforts to reconnect landscapes that straddle international borders.
Financials
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation is a 501(c)(3) organization supported by a broad network of funders. The Center finished the year with a surplus of $475,636, which includes $398,732 in restricted funds carried over for regranting activities in future years through the Network for Landscape Conservation (NLC). The Center’s financial position continues to be exceptionally strong, with a debt to asset ratio of 12%.
Fiscally Sponsored Projects
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation fiscally sponsors two national networks, providing them with strategic counsel, organizational infrastructure, and management to allow them to focus on reaching their program goals.
The Network for Landscape Conservation (NLC) advances cross-border, collaborative conservation as a vital approach to sustain nature, culture, and community. They connect people to ideas and innovations—and each other—to build a community of practice for landscape conservation. The rapidly growing network currently includes more than 250 organizational partners and 5,000 individual practitioners.
The US Biosphere Network (USBN) is made up of 28 internationally recognized places across the US called biosphere regions. Communities and organizations work together in biosphere regions to connect people and nature, from deserts to forests, grasslands to rivers, and mountains to oceans and coasts. USBN’s vision is a healthy global environment where people and communities prosper through shared knowledge and stewardship of the benefits and beauty of nature.
NatureConnect
The Center works to enhance the planet’s resilience and reconnect our fragmented natural world through science, policy, practice, and collaboration. We are pleased to offer our expert technical advisement services in these areas through NatureConnect, a diverse suite of services, tools, and products to help achieve connectivity and landscape conservation goals.
Support Our Work
It takes all of us working together to address our planet’s most urgent needs. By contributing to the Center, you play an important role in advancing proven solutions to restore ecosystem resilience and protect biodiversity in the face of the growing climate crisis. Together, we can ensure a future where landscapes are connected so nature thrives and wildlife has room to roam.
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