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(The author has carried out and published most of the connectivity modeling described here, with some of the earliest (e.g., for CA) and largest (e.g., for China) connectivity models. Over the same period, he has also collected and published wildlife connectivity data/evidence, including using camera traps, wildlife-vehicle collision, opportunistic and transect observation, animal sign, GPS-collars, and genetic approaches. The opinions here are based on this experience.)

Critical Issues in Transportation: 2024 and Beyond calls for reassessing the role of transportation in addressing major societal challenges and the research that informs the choices that society will need to make in 2024 and coming years.

Bad News: It’s been a year of many firsts around the world. Most heat records were broken, including for the hottest year on record and highest ocean-surface temperatures. There were consequences of this heat for things we know how to measure (like wildfires, sea-ice cover and glacial melting) and many unknown consequences for myriad microbial, plant, and animal species and communities.

Utah state Department of Transportation and Division of Wildlife Resources created an app in 2022 for the public to use to report roadkill on public roads. In this story, they described the several thousand reports they have received in 2023.

Caltrans District 5 and regional stakeholders have been concerned about the number of wild animals being killed on US 101 through Gaviota Pass, Santa Barbara County. Our roadkill hotspots report has identified the areas a regional hotspot for large wildlife collisions.

"Linkage" models are usually developed based on human assumptions about wildlife response to disturbance, and assume perfect knowledge of landscapes by wildlife.  They also result in idealized "linkages" or similar emphasis areas for connectivity conservation.  They are rarely developed based on occurrence or movement information for multiple species, or validated using wildlife occurrence or movement data. In this paper we evaluated 4 connectivity models at the California extent (424,000 km2) and one at a quarter of that extent (Mojave desert).

Visiting scientist Rafael Barrientos and various colleagues found that horizon and nearby light were very influential in determining mountain lion habitat selection. 

See the article here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0370. If you cannot access the article, email the REC for a PDF.

This is the eighth annual roadkill hotspots report from the Road Ecology Center, UC Davis. The report is available here: https://roadecology.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk8611/files/files/CROS-CHIPs_Hotspots_2023_Fin_0.pdf

World Car-Free Day on 22 September a great opportunity to reduce air pollution (unep.org)