Title: The Role of Non-traditional Partnerships in Advancing Connectivity Conservation
Abstract Text: Non-traditional partners increasingly have essential roles in supporting wildlifehighway mitigation projects. The conventional casting of transportation agencies as the sole entity
responsible for mitigating road impacts on wildlife is no longer the dominant narrative.
Whereas departments of transportation are ultimately responsible for a jurisdictions’transportation infrastructure, implementing mitigation projects that reach beyond these agencies’
core mission of safety and operations requires engaging in diverse partnerships to achieve
mitigation and landscape connectivity goals. In addition to the growing collaborations amongtransportation, wildlife, and public land management agencies, community partners are
increasingly stepping up to help ensure that wildlife connectivity priorities are identified, andwildlife mitigation needs elevated in local planning and project development.
Community partners, including local agencies and jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations,land trusts, and other community-based organizations, serve important roles in promoting
landscape connectivity and the success of wildlife-roadway mitigation projects – i.e., projects thatattain wildlife-vehicle collision reduction and wildlife connectivity goals. Partner efforts canfacilitate compatible land use and land management (e.g., land protection, conservation
easements, wildlife-friendly zoning, recreation management) adjacent to wildlife-highway
infrastructure projects in addition to directly supporting the advancement of mitigation
infrastructure projects through research and monitoring, planning and prioritization efforts,
engaging new partners, public education and outreach, and fundraising from diverse sources thatare otherwise inaccessible to transportation agencies. Combined, these efforts strengthen theoverall effectiveness of wildlife infrastructure investments and help to ensure long-term
connectivity benefits for current and future wildlife populations.
This presentation will showcase four case studies of wildlife-highway mitigation projects led bycommunity partners: 1) US 40 Pigeon River Gorge project, led by established nonprofit
organizations; 2) I-70 East Vail Pass wildlife crossings project, led by a newly formed, dedicatednonprofit, 3) Teton County wildlife crossings master plan and implementation, led by the county
government, and 4) the Coyote Valley wildlife linkage, led by a land trust. Each presentation will
discuss the origins of the community partnership; the research and planning conducted toestablish the need for wildlife-highway mitigation; the evolution of a collaborative partnership withthe department of transportation; and share lessons learned and a ‘roadmap’ for supporting thedevelopment of effective partnerships in other communities.

Provide a description of the event's structure (e.g., speaker sequence, presentation titles, roleof audience participants) (200 words) four 15-minute presentations in the following sequence:
This 90-minute symposium will begin with a short introduction by the session organizer, followed by
1.
Chris Colligan: Local solutions to planning and funding of wildlife crossings: A case study
from Teton County, Wyoming

2.
Julia Kintsch: Advancing wildlife crossings on I-70 East Vail Pass through community-ledpartnerships
3.
Marian Vernon: The role of land trusts in enhancing wildlife connectivity: A case study fromCoyote Valley, CA
4.
Liz Hillard: NGO-led road ecology research: a catalyst for diverse partners and local support
for mitigation on I-40 near Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A short (3 minute) question and answer period will follow each presentation with the final 15
minutes of the session dedicated to audience participation and discussion.