Modeling habitat connectivity across the Swan River First Nation traditional territory

This past winter, ApexRMS completed a habitat connectivity analysis in collaboration with Swan River First Nation (SRFN) in northern Alberta. The project explored how current and future forest management practices affect the ability of wildlife to move across SRFN’s traditional territory (SRFNTT), guided by the Traditional Knowledge of the community throughout.

The project focused on modeling habitat connectivity for two species of ecological and legislative importance: pine marten, a sensitive indicator of mature forest health, and boreal woodland caribou, listed as threatened under federal and provincial legislation. To lay the groundwork, ApexRMS team members Sarah Chisholm, Leonardo Frid, and Colin Daniel began by building current-day habitat models for each species, identifying existing suitable habitat across the SRFNTT. These preliminary habitat maps were evaluated at an in-person workshop in Kinuso, AB, where SRFN community members shared their observations about where and how these animals move across the land. Their contributions led to significant revisions, with participants noting that both species are rarely seen within the territory today, a finding that reshaped the models in important ways and highlighted how much place-based knowledge can strengthen this kind of analysis.

Using the omniscape package for SyncroSim, three scenarios for habitat connectivity were compared: current conditions which acted as a baseline, a future harvest scenario, and a modified harvest scenario with proposed protected areas. The results told different stories for each species. Pine marten connectivity was projected to become increasingly concentrated through narrow movement corridors as harvest proceeds, a trend that protected areas helped to offset. For woodland caribou, which are already largely absent from the territory, the picture was more concerning: future harvest was projected to further reduce their ability to move across the landscape. The results reinforced what community members shared at the workshop: large, undisturbed areas are essential for wildlife on this land.

We’re grateful to Swan River First Nation community members and to Todd Bailey (Director of the SRFN Land and Environment Stewardship Department) who made this work possible. We look forward to their continued collaboration.