Exceptional Connectivity

Because of its unusual geography, the Siskiyou Crest is an important migration corridor for numerous species which move across the ridges and into the watersheds, including mammals, like black bear, cougar, elk, Pacific fisher, and the returning gray wolf; many bird species, including the northern spotted owl, bald eagle, white headed woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, northern goshawk, Townsend’s solitaire, and the recently reintroduced California condor. As climate change increases temperatures, these migration corridors allow animals and rare plants to take refuge from the heat of the lowlands by migrating north into high mountain habitats, or west by moving towards the Pacific Ocean.

Broadscale connectivity science has found the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion and the Siskiyou Crest, more specifically, to be among the most important forested ecosystems in the West from the standpoint of connectivity. This is due to its relatively large patches of intact forest habitat and the connectivity that exists between them.^[2] Connectivity analysis has also found the Siskiyou Crest to be an important linkage between large protected landscapes.^[3] Additionally, a localized analysis and literature review pertaining to the Cascade-Siskiyou region that focused on connectivity values expanding outward from the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, ranked the Siskiyou Crest as one of the highest priorities for maintaining connectivity in the region.^[4]

The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project (CHEC) published by the California Department of Transportation and California Fish and Game also identified large portions of the Siskiyou Crest as a Natural Landscape Block, and a key habitat for the protection of intact nature and wildland character. The CHEC was developed with an interdisciplinary team of over 250 resource specialists from over 60 organizations and agencies across California. This work identifies anchor points on the landscape that support intact habitats, minimal fragmentation and wildland quality habitats.

Portions of the Siskiyou Crest region have been identified as Essential Habitat Connectivity, an area deemed essential for the movement of species between more intact habitats in the Red Buttes and Siskiyou Wilderness Areas.^[5] The Western Governors Association also mapped connectivity across the West and identified Large Intact Habitat Blocks and Important Connectivity Zones throughout the Siskiyou Crest region.^[6]

Research has also shown the Siskiyou Crest region to contain the least barriers to species movement and the greatest potential for connectivity between coastal areas and inland mountains in the Pacific Northwest.^[7] As the axis for biodiversity on the West Coast, the connectivity value of the Siskiyou Crest is unparalleled in the American West, and should be matched with strong environmental protections focused on biodiversity, habitat connectivity, carbon storage, climate resilience, and Indigenous land management using Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).