{"id":46156,"date":"2025-01-17T10:23:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T15:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=46156"},"modified":"2025-01-19T11:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T16:12:52","slug":"tabor-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/tabor-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Alum Helps Protect Wildlife\u2014By Connecting Their Habitats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Gary Tabor \u201981 is a leader in large landscape conservation, which mitigates the human encroachment that threatens animal life<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Melissa Newcomb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">How does the grizzly bear cross the road? Very carefully\u2014and sometimes, with help from <a href=\"https:\/\/cals.cornell.edu\/gary-martin-tabor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Tabor \u201981<\/a>. For four decades, the ecologist and wildlife veterinarian has worked to protect animals by combatting the ever-increasing threat of habitat fragmentation, as a global leader in a field called &#8220;large landscape conservation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based in Bozeman, MT, Tabor\u2014who\u2019s also a professor of practice in CALS\u2014has contributed to projects on every continent except Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By designing wildlife \u201cbridges\u201d that replicate animals\u2019 natural pathways across roads, for example, he has helped save thousands of creatures from vehicle collisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"An aerial view of an animal crossing bridge on I-80 in Nevada.\" class=\"wp-image-46304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/An-aerial-view-of-the-Pequop-Summit-animal-crossing-on-I-80-in-Nevada.-Credit_-NDOT-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">NDOT<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tabor served as an advisor for this wildlife crossing bridge project on Interstate 80 in Nevada.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnly 17% of the planet is protected land\u2014and a lot of wildlife doesn\u2019t live in that area,\u201d Tabor says, noting that 70% of Africa\u2019s wild animals are located outside designated reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI believe that, from an animal health perspective, the biggest threat is that we have unprecedented levels of habitat fragmentation around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words: the more that humans interfere with the places where animals live\u2014like turning an undeveloped tract into residential or commercial space, building roads, or polluting water\u2014the more that wildlife is left to face the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I believe that, from an animal health perspective, the biggest threat is that we have unprecedented levels of habitat fragmentation around the world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2007, Tabor founded the nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/largelandscapes.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Center for Large Landscape Conservation<\/a> to address that very issue. It conducts its own large-scale conservation work and supports similar efforts by other groups worldwide\u2014helping to protect hundreds of millions of acres and countless species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, he chairs the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group of the <a href=\"https:\/\/iucn.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">International Union for Conservation of Nature<\/a>\u2019s World Commission on Protected Areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CALS alum, who holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Penn, has also done his share of hands-on care\u2014treating forest elephants in Uganda, rhinos in Tanzania, and great apes in Central Africa, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Tabor bottle feeding two moose calves in Alaska.\" class=\"wp-image-46307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/Gary-raising-moose-calves-in-Alaska-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bottle-feeding moose calves in Alaska in summer 1985.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>On the Hill, he teaches <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.cornell.edu\/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=60&amp;coid=1123063\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wildlife Corridor Conservation &amp; Crossing Design<\/a>, a spring capstone course in which students can work on real-world projects\u2014researching them and even pitching their own solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need protected areas that are large enough for species to maintain their life cycle,\u201d he says, \u201cfor them to move and migrate, for them to shelter, to reproduce, to have food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But as Tabor explains: what constitutes a \u201clarge\u201d landscape is relative, depending on the location and the species that live there. In New England, it\u2019s 200,000 acres; in Canada\u2019s boreal forests, it\u2019s 20 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We need protected areas that are large enough for species to maintain their life cycle, for them to move and migrate, for them to shelter, to reproduce, to have food.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In the mid-1990s, Tabor led one of the world\u2019s first large-landscape conservation efforts, <a href=\"https:\/\/y2y.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yellowstone to Yukon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has protected more than 24 million acres between the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Rockies\u2014land that\u2019s the last stronghold for the 17 largest mammals in North America, from grizzly bears to bighorn sheep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Tabor explains, habitat fragmentation often forces animals to weave in and out of protected areas into areas that pose greater threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"An Asian Elephant walks away from an excavator.\" class=\"wp-image-46305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/1_Asian-Elephant-Shovel-AH0A5633-Edit_Gary-Tabor-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Asian elephant in Borneo; the nearby backhoe maintains roads on a oil palm plantation that fragments the animals&#8217; habitat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He estimates that\u2014on the low end\u2014100 million large mammals die in vehicle collisions annually; those global losses include especially vulnerable species like leopards and tigers in India, elephants in Africa, and Tasmanian devils in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do Tabor and his colleagues convince animals to span a busy highway? They study their natural habits and instincts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Female grizzlies with cubs, for instance, would shy away from an underpass; they prefer to be higher up, so they can scan for threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tiny critters like salamanders and other amphibians, by contrast, need special culverts beneath a road that allow them to cross without drowning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p> How do Tabor and his colleagues convince animals to span a busy highway? They study their natural habits and instincts.<br><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tabor&#8217;s research helped provide a scientific basis for the Federal Highway Administration\u2019s first-ever <a href=\"https:\/\/highways.dot.gov\/federal-lands\/wildlife-crossings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wildlife Crossings Program<\/a>. Established through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, it funds projects to build overpasses and underpasses in areas that have been especially perilous to wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as the program\u2019s website notes, it doesn\u2019t just benefit animals: the nation\u2019s more than 1 million annual roadway collisions cost society upwards of $8 billion and cause tens of thousands of serious injuries to drivers and passengers, as well as hundreds of fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all interconnected,\u201d Tabor says of his conservation work. \u201cNature, animal health, and human health are all impacted together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: Tabor atop Bears Hump in Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada. (All photos provided, unless otherwise indicated.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published January 17, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gary Tabor \u201981 is a leader in large landscape conservation, which mitigates the human encroachment that threatens animal life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":46308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[9795,30369,23626],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-46156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alum Helps Protect Wildlife\u2014By Connecting Their Habitats - 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