Harbor Boulevard Wildlife Underpass

Introduction to Corridors

A wildlife corridor is a strip of land that mitigates in the movement of animals between disconnected areas of their natural habitat often separated by human activities like roads. An animal’s natural habitat would typically include a number of areas necessary to thrive, such as wetlands, burrowing sites, food, and breeding grounds, but when not there may prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within isolated populations. A Corridor may also help facilitate the re-establishment of populations making sure they don’t extirpate from the habitat. Urbanization can split up such areas, causing animals to lose both their natural habitat and the ability to move between regions to use all of the resources they need to survive. Habitat due to human development is an ever-increasing threat to biodiversity, and wildlife corridor is a possible solution. Wildlife corridors are important for large species requiring significant sized ranges; however, they are also vital as connection corridors for smaller animals and plants as well as ecological connectors to provide a rescue effect. “We’ve studied the small ones, a couple of hundred yards [wide],” and they work, said Paul Beier, a conservation biologist at Northern Arizona University (Robbins 1).

Satellite image of the area

Harbor Boulevard Wildlife Underpass
Pieces of the underpass being aligned

The Habitats That the Corridor Will Unite

The first thing that does need to done is a conservation easement of the land or something that would protect the land from being developed and destroying more of this environment. This also will also help the habitat as the government and the land owner or whoever is operating the habitat will have an adaptive management process to ensure the habitats survival. The first habitat area I have chosen is located around highway 89A and Glasfordhill road and there are houses nearby none of the actually border the habitat as roads come between. The second habitat still borders the 89A highway by only on the south part the only impediment of movement upon the animals would be a building being built right on the south right corner of the habitat. Because the two habitats have an abiotic area in-between causing the animals to either stay or try and cross. The first habitat is next to Granite Dells and is part of bottom east part. The topography of this part of the habitat has a lot more pinyon (or piñon) pines among the granite rocks than any other part of this or the other habitat. The higher number of trees and large rocks in this area act as great shelters for coyotes. The second habitat is larger and is more of a spatial area as there just rolling hills and more shrubs as the hills on this side are slightly big. This habitat is fairly barren of vegetation other than shrubs and wild grasses, but this area does seem to have more vegetation further back and more rabbits and jackrabbits which might help coyote demographics. At night light pollution is the first habitat is problem due to the housing developments on the east and south sides, and the vehicle headlights blind animals that are trying to cross and often get hit. The corridor I am proposing will seemingly eliminate the dangers animals are having with this highway and will allow them to access an even larger area to graze and catch prey and live being able to be further away from humans. The landscape linkage would create a 5 square mile habitat which will especially help the coyotes as the can have territories as 10-12 square miles (Winkler 2). The first habitat would have ecotonal features but its size is considerably small due to the development of houses on the south side.  

Coyote in Tucson, AZ





A family of Burrowing Owls



Why This Species Needs a Corridor

Environmentalists firmly believe that the coyotes are necessary to preserve the balance of nature. Some sportsmen feel the coyote is responsible for the declines in game species. Biologists agree that individual animals preying on livestock and poultry should be destroyed but that the species as a whole is not necessarily harmful, because much of its diet is made up of destructive rodents. Biologists also agree that coyote populations have no lasting effects on other wildlife populations. So the controversy rages on. While there is no exact number given on coyote deaths last year, in the twentieth century, an estimated 20 million coyotes were killed. How long is it thought when this killing of coyotes will not extirpate this animal? This corridor would ensure that coyote genetic interchange would continue into the future. Many of the reasons the coyote is killed on a regular basis is that it is not a game animal thus the animal can be killed at any time during the year. The reason you would need a corridor for these two habitats is the highway in-between them as many animals are killed be traffic when trying to cross. Another aspect is that the main supply of water is in the smaller habitat by adding a corridor it would allow the animals to get to the water. The Burrowing Owl is endangered in Canada, threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western USA. It is a state endangered species in Colorado. While the burrowing owl is listed on the Least Concern list its populations in areas like Arizona have dwindled along with other areas of the world. The major reasons for declining populations in North America are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat. Burrowing Owls readily inhabit some anthropogenic landscapes, such as airport grasslands or golf courses, and are known to take advantage of artificial nest sites (plastic burrows with tubing for the entrance) and perches. When these burrowing owls inhabit these kinds of area inbreeding can become a problem due to the scarcity of the animals in one area.

Deer using a corridor

How the Corridor Will Help These Species Move

                The movement of the coyote will be greatly improved as the enormous amount of room to roam and obtain food in the second habitat will be better than that of the first. The burrowing owl will not itself be likely using this corridor but it will be affected by it. The reason I say this because coyotes are top predator of this area and if they can’t find rabbits or jackrabbits to eat they will go after prairie dogs and other small rodents that the burrowing owl eats. Thought this corridor is mainly for the coyotes and other animals like pronghorn, skunks, porcupines, rabbits, jackrabbits, and other creatures that walk on the ground it main purpose is to help umbrella species as their birthrates are dropping due to more top predators in a smaller ecosystem. The temporal of the animals and species will last longer and there numbers will grow larger as there will be a safe passage to the animal’s core habitat whether it is in the first or the second habitat. While I do think at first the animals might not use the corridor I do believe that it will as studies have shown that small corridors work and help to create better diversity. "Corridors have a positive impact on the diversity of species" (Ellen Damschen).

Wildlife corridor in Southern California

Conclusion

                What I have learned is how much better a species weather it is a bird or animal that walks on the ground can thrive when there is a corridor. While I do now that coyotes are consider treats or not likeable they act as key animal as they keep populations of rabbits and jackrabbits down. The reason coyotes have been seen more or are closer to civilization in not because they want to but because of the development of population in more areas like Prescott Valley. When the animals territory is reduced that territory habitat fragmentation thus they move to new areas looking for food. Even though Prescott and Prescott Valley are growing and the fact that we live in a desert there are still an enormous amount of species and animals living around this area that we must protect. The expansion of both Prescott and Prescott Valley is good, but we need to make sure we don’t lose all the areas that harbor our wildlife. These animals are what help keep our scenery and ecosystem in balance and without them we could see a loss in the beauty and balance of the system. This corridor is such an essential due to the fact that the burrowing owl is becoming extirpated from this area which would be a great loss as they are cool looking bird and there loss changes an ecosystem already being changed constantly due to human activities.  

Map of the habitat the darkened area on the map is where the habitat would be. The second habitat is much bigger than on the map but there is nothing around it so i felt it would be better to show more of the first habitat.  

Works Cited

Federal Highway Administration. N.d. Photograph. Inside Seven. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13).

Google Earth. N.d. Photograph. n.p. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13).

Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority . Harbor Boulevard Wildlife Underpass. 2000. Photograph. Habitat Authority, Whittier. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13).

E.J. Peiker. Coyote. 2000. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13). Photograph. Nature Photographer

    Winkler, Robert. "Coyotes Now at Home in Eastern U.S.." National Geographic News. 6 August 2002: 2. Print. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13). <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0806_020806_coyote.html>.

robbins, Jim. "Can Ecological Corridors Heal Fragmented Landscapes?." Biodiversity Forests Oceans Policy & Politics Pollution & Health North America . 10 Oct 2011: 1. Print. (Date Accessed: 2012, April 13).