Mule deer and wind turbines in the Columbia Hills of WA. Credit: Mike Schroeder

The Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) is an open collaborative science-based effort to produce tools and analyses that identify opportunities and priorities to provide habitat connectivity in Washington and surrounding habitats.

The people of Washington State treasure our state’s wildlife and natural places. However, as our state becomes increasingly populated and developed, connections across the landscape necessary for wildlife survival are being broken. Wildlife require the ability to move from one habitat to another in search of mates, food, shelter, and new homes as conditions change.

Recognizing that our landscape is changing across the West and that healthy fish and wildlife populations contribute significantly to our quality of life, the Western Governors’ Association launched the Wildlife Corridors Initiative, which called for identification of key wildlife migration corridors and crucial wildlife habitats in the west to inform future discussions and efforts. In Washington State, the WHCWG is assisting in response to this call.

This website aims to make the scientific products easily accessible, and provide links to relevant efforts and information.  To date analyses and data layers are currently available at the statewide scale in current condition and in consideration of anticipated impacts of climate change.  Finer scale analysis is underway in the Columbia Plateau ecoregion, with plans to address additional ecoregions in the future.