In this era of reconciliation, traditional ecological values are increasingly incorporated into resource management. Many indigenous communities also value geospatial information to manage their traditional territories, including to analyze cumulative effects and natural disturbances. Despite these shifts, we are still lacking sufficient examples of fully collaborative quantitative research driven primarily by traditional values. To explore the potential of geospatial techniques to investigate traditional ecological values, I examined habitat spatial configuration and connectivity for three game animal species of great cultural significance to the Tŝilhqot’in First Nation of British Columbia, Canada; moose (Alces alces), fisher (Pekania pennant), and beaver (Castor canadensis). Two analysis areas with cultural significance and an ongoing history of hunting and logging were chosen in collaboration with the Tŝilhqot’in. First, I used existing geospatial datasets to identify high-quality habitat for each species based on life activities. Most browse and associated prey species are limited to shrubby riparian zones around wetlands, streams, and lakes in this climatic region. Therefore, I identified these land cover types using 1;20,000 predictive ecological modeling (PEM) scale moisture regime data and the shrubland category of a 30m resolution classified Landsat layer. I combined this with classified tree crown closure Landsat data to identify shelter habitat (canopy closure > 30%) near riparian zones. To determine the suitability of the landscape for the species, I then used connectivity analysis to measure habitat configuration and fragmentation metrics such as patch size and distribution.
Results/Conclusions
Tentative results indicate that large parts of the analysis areas demonstrate poor habitat configuration and connectivity for fisher and beaver, with intermediate to poor connectivity for moose. Spatial data indicates that fragmentation is primarily caused by recent cut blocks. Notably, wetland forage and forested cover habitat declined by approximately 30% within the 400 m riparian buffers recommended by moose biologists for the region. Such fragmentation by open areas effects the dispersal abilities of the three species across their home ranges, between browse and shelter habitat, and between seasonal ranges. However, as moose browse in brush or young forest, some sufficiently regrown cut clocks may support them in the short term. Overall, fragmentation has many effects on animal species resilience, such as increased genetic isolation, decreased food and nesting opportunities, and predation. In addition, it has strong implications for past land management that can help guide future management strategies and analysis techniques that better support traditional values.