National Park Service staff is working to improve wildlife connectivity/Rebecca Latson file

National Park Service staff is working on a number of fronts to implement a White House directive to develop or restore and protect ecological corridors, including those relied upon by wildlife during their migrations.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality in March directed federal agencies to maintain such corridors by "developing policies, through regulations, guidance, or other means, to consider how to conserve, enhance, protect, and restore corridors and connectivity during planning and decision-making, and to encourage collaborative processes across management and ownership boundaries."

CEQ gave the agencies until year's end to outline their plans.

"Ecological connectivity is an important element of our management approach. The NPS uses science to manage parks that are inextricably linked to the landscapes surrounding them," said Sara Melena, the acting director of communications for the Park Service's Natural Resource Stewardship and Science division, in an email. "NPS is carefully reviewing CEQ's new guidance and will develop a progress report consistent with the request presented in the memo."

Funding for the Park Service's efforts is coming from both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. The Park Service "is engaged in projects using BIL funding that will have an impact on restoring ecosystems, landscape connectivity, and wildlife corridors," said Melena.

"In Fiscal Year 2022, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $15 million for ecosystem restoration projects in national parks. In FY23, NPS received $339 million for Federal Lands Transportation Program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The NPS manages its transportation system to protect wildlife corridors, reduce vehicle wildlife collisions, and considers these improvements during project planning and design," she added. "The law provides new opportunities to apply for discretionary grants through the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, and the agency is currently preparing projects to submit to that program once the notice of opportunity is released."

Beyond the CEQ guidance, the Park Service has been working on the ground to improve connectivity.

 "Increasingly, parks are supporting  broader conservation initiatives, many led by  communities, states, tribes, other federal land agencies that will  restore lands and waters and benefit parks," said Melena. "Collaborative conservation is one more way the NPS can meet its mission to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout the country.”

Developing connectivity plans for marine parks is a little more complicated.

"The National Park Service is entrusted with managing 88 ocean and Great Lakes parks across 23 states and four territories," the spokesperson said. "Park managers work with partners to protect these resources and values in the face of threats emanating from inside and outside of park boundaries. NPS is carefully reviewing CEQ's new guidance and will develop a response consistent with the request presented in the memo."