Berkshire Wildlife Linkage

The linkage-wide data sets, completed in 2015, are based on interpretation of the Critical Linkages II (2013) data created by UMass-Amherst, supported by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts http://www.umasscaps.org/applications/critical-linkages.html). Critical Linkages data are designed to help identify priorities from a statewide perspective.  This interpretation defines priority road segments that provide the greatest benefit to wildlife connectivity if wildlife crossing structures are incorporated into the transportation network.  The interpretation also identifies three sets of priority connectivity areas, answering three questions:

1.       Where does Critical Linkages II identify areas that if developed would most disrupt connectivity to the entire network of conservation nodes?
2.       Which set of priority connectivity areas connects nodes that lead to a continuous corridor through western MA from the VT border in the North to the CT and NY borders in the South?
3.       Which set of priority connectivity areas connects nodes that are within a set of large, intact “forest cores” identified by TNC as the forests most likely to support a full range of ecosystem benefits if effectively conserved?