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Vital Connections for WildlifeFrom the Eccentric Newspaper When we think about the protection of high-quality natural areas and the wildlife they support, we usually think of large parcels of land. This is good, because the wildlife we love needs plenty of elbow-room to thrive. But there is another way wildlife can be encouraged to stick around. It is the concept of corridors. As the fragmentation of open land continues apace, wildlife, whose ranges often exceed the boundaries of protected open space, need ways of getting from one protected area to another. Big picture planners look at riparian corridors, pipeline and electrical easements, trailways, greenbelts, and greenways, to find ways of linking up large protected parcels. One of the most touching examples of this large-scale linking up is in New Jersey, where the Interstate highway is occasionally spanned with wide, well-vegetated overpasses, designed specifically for wildlife, to protect them from becoming road kill while they move from one protected area to another. River corridors, where well-vegetated buffers line the riverbanks, offer corridors for a wide variety of wildlife, including the fish in the river itself. These vegetated buffers filter the water and take up pollutants that might otherwise harm the fish. Ideally, these buffers are vegetated with native plants, which prevent erosion and offer a diverse menu to the wildlife residing there or passing through. Abandoned railroad beds typically harbor native plant species that haven’t been seen for years in other places. They offer already cleared corridors where walking trails for humans can be developed. If they are well planned to preserve and enhance the vegetation needed by wildlife, these, too, can provide safe passage for wildlife, allowing them to browse as they travel from one protected area to another. Efforts are underway in every state to link up such trails into a nationwide trail network. Many townships and municipalities in Oakland County have already been linked in this way, and plans in other communities are on the drawing board. There are other corridors as well. These, though often overlooked, play a vital role in maintaining valuable wildlife habitat. Often, seemingly insignificant hedgerows or tree lines are rich treasure troves of native plant genotypes, and provide food and cover for wildlife. Enlightened planners are educating homeowners to maintain the tree lines and hedgerows between their properties, an idea that author, Sara Stein, promoted passionately in her ground-healing book, Noah’s Garden. Even those who live on small parcels and have many neighbors, can be involved in preserving wildlife habitat, simply by not cutting down the trees and shrubbery between their property and that of their neighbor. Some neighbors are even collaborating to create native gardens between their homes, - intentional corridors, where wildlife can move through the neighborhood safe from harm’s way. This linking up aspect of wildlife protection is a good metaphor for another kind of linking up that is taking place, with amazing partnerships being formed spontaneously between businesses, governments, environmental groups and individual volunteers at all levels. A tremendous amount of creative energy is being released in these synergistic relationships. A reverse NIMBYism is developing, as people who formerly felt isolated in their environmental work are coming together and are starting to say, “I want this in my back yard, my township, my county, my state.” Everyone has a role to play in protecting wildlife habitat. Whether a person owns 200 acres, or only a small half-acre lot, there are many ways wildlife can be helped to thrive.
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