The Arizona Wildlife Linkages Workgroup

The Arizona Wildlife Linkages Workgroup is a collaborative effort between nine public agencies and nonprofit organizations:

• Arizona Department of Transportation
• Arizona Game and Fish Department
• Bureau of Land Management
• Federal Highway Administration
• Northern Arizona University
• Sky Island Alliance
• USDA Forest Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Wildlands Project

	The partners began collaborating on this project beginning with the "Missing Linkages" workshop in April 2004. Biologists, engineers, planners and land managers have worked together since then to identify large blocks of protected habitat, the potential wildlife movement corridors through and between them, the factors that could possibly disrupt these linkage zones, and opportunities for conservation.
	Recognizing that habitat connectivity is a landscape issue involving multiple land jurisdictions, this workgroup has engaged in unprecedented cooperation and facilitated discussions and partnerships to help ensure a unified approach to wildlife linkage conservation and management.
	This reinforces the commitment to and efficiency of wildlife connectivity measures undertaken by all stakeholders, using research and adaptive management in ongoing evaluations of those measures.

The Arizona Wildlife Linkages Workgroup Mission Statement

“To identify and promote wildlife habitat connectivity using a collaborative, science based effort to provide safe passage for people and wildlife”