Interdisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Wildlife Corridors

Amy D. Propen is faculty in the Writing Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is author of At Home in the Anthropocene and Visualizing Posthuman Conservation in the Age of the Anthropocene.

“In today’s increasingly human-dominated world, nonhumans need all the help they can get. They deserve safe areas in which to travel about, and human-free corridors are the least we can do for them to have better lives and to enjoy the freedoms these areas offer. Amy Propen carefully explains why providing corridors is the compassionate and empathic thing to do and why we must do all we can to offer these ‘luxuries’ during the rage of humanity.” — Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy—and Why They Matter“In these times of climate disruption and biodiversity collapse, it can be challenging to hold hope and find solutions. A paradigm shift is needed in conservation, both scientifically and socially. Amy Propen details in this excellent new book how the growing movement around wildlife corridors offers a way forward. Her call for a new approach that weaves ecological restoration with a ‘conservation practice grounded in an ethic of care and empathy’ is both welcome and essential. As she writes here, rethinking our human spaces and how they can accommodate—rather than banish—wildlife is critical to the future of the wild world.” — Beth Pratt, Founder and Executive Director, The Wildlife Crossing Fund.“In this timely contribution, Propen draws together recent propositions from the diverse fields of environmental philosophy, animal studies, and indigenous worldviews, with extensive empirical research on a range of actually existing, diversely defined wildlife corridors. The resulting text is a hopeful one, showing readers the promise of carefully constructed wildlife corridors for meeting the challenges of holding space open for wildlife to survive and even, perhaps, thrive in times of ecological crisis.” — Dr. Aurora Fredriksen, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, The University of Manchester."The volume promises a great read for anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of how wildlife corridors function and how they can be effectively implemented in conservation strategies." —Conservation Biology."Propen has provided a compelling set of illustrations to identify a direction for wildlife corridor implementation in the future. Her emphasis on the value of human and wildlife coexistence through inclusion of interdisciplinary perspectives is a welcome and fresh addition to the body of literature on this topic."—Journal of Wildlife Management.

• List of Figures; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Key Concepts and Ideas: Connectivity from a Species Perspective; 3. Designing and Managing Wildlife Corridors; 4. Emerging Theoretical Perspectives: Compassionate Conservation, Empathy, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge; 5. The Wildlife Crossing on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, USA: Respecting the Spirit of Place; 6. The Monkton Wildlife Crossing and the Blue-Spotted Salamander: Vermont’s First Amphibian Crossing Tunnels; 7. The Railway from Oxford to London Marylebone: Transportation Upgrade Meets Compassion for Vulnerable Habitats; 8. Aerial Corridors in Urban Environments: Light Pollution and Migratory Birds; 9. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Marine Protected Areas; 10. Looking Ahead: New Perspectives and Best Practices Related to Wildlife Corridors; Bibliography; Index