Could elk roam the Adirondacks again? Researchers map wildlife shifts in a warming world.

Nearly 200 years ago, elk roamed the Adirondack Park, though historical accounts say hunting by European settlers likely caused the animal’s decline.

Today the park isn’t home to any of the giants of the deer family but is positioned above free-roaming herds in the south. With the right connections, conservationists say many animals, potentially even 600-pound elk, could once again be part of the region’s native diversity. They would be among the species relocating to the park to escape the effects of climate change.

Warming temperatures are driving many animals and plants northward and to higher elevations, researchers say. Recent studies show nearly half of the world’s species are on the move because of the changing climate and habitat disruption.

Now, scientists want to know where the world’s wildlife will go and how humans can foster their migration.

Apart from slowing fossil fuel production and prioritizing carbon storage, a direct solution for species inching north as temperatures rise is improving climate connectivity, a term likely coined by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in a 2016 study. The idea builds on the established science of wildlife corridors and land conservation that supports the migration of animals. 

Researcher Jenny McGuire, who worked on the study, said this kind of movement differs from traditional migration patterns. Instead of departing annually and returning, species are permanently moving to areas they’re finding more hospitable.

“They’re moving in such a way that they’re tracking the climates they’re suited to live in or able to live in, and then staying in those places,” McGuire said.

As temperatures rise, many North American species are expected to move up a forested highway stretching thousands of miles from the Appalachians into Canada. The Adirondack mountains are a nexus to that corridor and core forests in Western New York, Vermont and Canada.

Where boreal meets temperate forests

The Adirondack Park sits between the vast boreal forest of the north and the warmer temperate forest of the south. Its microclimates, which are conditions found in local areas and not in others, across different elevations provide resilient habitats for a diverse range of species, said Steve Langdon, director of Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station, west of Long Lake.

“That means we have crazy biodiversity compared to either just a purely temperate area or a purely boreal area,” he said.

The park may provide refuge for species seeking cooler climes and higher ground. One natural feature with a significant presence in the park provides a critical habitat for boreal birds and other species: peatlands.

Such wetlands are cold and deep with layers of organic materials accumulated over thousands of years. The Adirondacks are home to unusually large peatland tracts, including Bloomingdale Bog and Spring Pond Bog. Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station hosts 2,000 acres of peatland, providing plants and animals with a vast and resilient habitat, free from invasive species due to its isolation from human activities.

“None of the Adirondacks is perfectly pristine, but it’s relatively pristine compared to a lot of sites,” Langdon said.

Still, a wetland system like Shingle Shanty is vulnerable to the effects of climate change emerging in the park. Northern peatlands are at the extent of their southern range in the Adirondacks, Langdon said, making them more sensitive to warming temperatures and extreme weather. Protections for the unique ecosystems safeguard not only their biodiversity but also their vast stores of carbon dioxide. Disturbances of peatlands release the sequestered greenhouse gas back into the atmosphere, heating the planet.

As species shift northward, the ecosystems’ complex habitat would become more important for organisms seeking new homes, said Charlie Reinertsen, naturalist and founder of the multimedia company, Twolined Studio. The network of life already residing in wetlands could also decline in numbers, studies show.

“Without our peatlands, without the bogs, these creatures will not exist,” he said

Ideal location for migra

Birds, mammals and some amphibians are likely to show up in northern spots in the coming decades, scientists say, and the park has an outsized role in ensuring their survival.

On a continental scale, the Adirondack Park could become increasingly important for species moving to escape warming, said Alissa Fadden, wildlife connectivity project manager for The Nature Conservancy, because it’s viewed as a resilient stronghold in the face of extreme weather. The area could also be a breeding ground for species on the decline.

“These are the places that are likely going to be better suited to withstand all of the impacts of climate change, but also be able to serve as source populations for wildlife going forward and, really, pumping species out into the future,” she said.

Some data show tree species are also moving northward. It’s unlikely that the Adirondacks will look much different in the next century, Mark Lesser, scientist and professor at the State University of New York Plattsburgh, said. Yet there is evidence that boreal trees including black spruce and eastern larch are moving. Such species are normally found in the world’s most northern forest, which wraps around Alaska, northern Europe, Russia, Canada and a small part of the U.S.

“All of those species are kind of at their southern range limits and might be facing more difficulties from warming climates,” Lesser said.

Birds such as the rusty blackbird and boreal chickadee could inch northward, according to long-term data collected by Adirondack researcher Michale Glennon. Although climate change is part of the problem facing rusty blackbirds, its proximity to mercury found in puddles and dwindling food may be contributing to its decline, Glennon, a senior research scientist for the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute, said. Still, connectivity is crucial to the boreal birds’ survival.

Some birds can be deterred by large swaths of land without their normal habitat, Glennon said, like open farmland or industrial sites. “Although they can fly, that definitely doesn’t mean that connectivity is not relevant to them,” she said.

While the park is largely protected, there’s more to be done to ensure its capabilities for climate migration. Land conservation in areas like the Lake Champlain Valley between the park and the Green Mountains and the Black River Valley need more protection against development, Fadden said.

“All of these places are a bit more fragmented, there are more roads and development,” she said. “We know these areas are critical for maintaining the connections between these core areas for wildlife to be able to move as climate changes.”

Lands surrounding the park also require conservation attention. Protections offered outside of the Blue Line are equally essential to climate connectivity as those inside, experts say.

Protecting connectivity

Ensuring the Adirondacks’ connection to other parts of the state and wildlife corridors is a priority for some conservationists. To that end, organizations like the Adirondack Land Trust are working outside of the park’s boundaries.

“Natural systems don’t know the Blue Line, natural systems don’t know political lines,” Chris Jage, conservation program director for the land trust, said.

The trust’s focus outside of the park involves land connections from the Tug Hill Plateau to the west and   Vermont’s Green Mountains to the east, he said. Some of the land trust’s  work is in reaction to the effects of climate change, Jage said, and targets farmland, rivers and streams to secure wildlife connections.

Land many miles from the Blue Line can have implications for the park, scientists say. Akwesasne, home to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe along the St. Lawrence River, is still facing the effects of water and air pollution from Superfund sites tied to General Motors, Alcoa and Reynolds Metals operations along the St. Lawrence and Grasse rivers.

“You can follow the Grasse River from the top of the watershed in the western Adirondacks and it’s an incredibly beautiful river, but when you get down to Akwesasne, where it flows into St. Lawrence, you can’t eat any fish, period,” said Langdon.

Giving fish a healthy habitat and improving their connectivity is critical, said Tony David, director of the Mohawk Tribe’s environment division. In 2016, he led a project to remove Hogansburg Dam, opening paths for fish and other creatures. Protecting the aquatic ecosystems is part of the community’s reciprocal relationship with the animals, David said.

“People who are the traditional practitioners of Mohawk culture have this intimate and deep connection with these resources and they don’t just see it as a commodity, something to be exploited,” he said. “They see it as something that is put here for us to use and is part of our survival.”

A constellation of conservation organizations including the Adirondack Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy are entering deals to secure patches of land between the Blue Line and its surrounding area. The Staying Connected Initiative, which began over a decade ago, is dedicated to connectivity and led by TNC. Several projects intersect with the Adirondacks.

Although he couldn’t specify where, Dirk Bryant, TNC’s director of lands and program director of its New York Appalachians program, said the organization is working with partners on deals involving acreage around the park’s edges.

Animals finding pathways outside of the Blue Line could one day call the Adirondacks home, and conserving land and water for species migrating due to climate change can also benefit people, conservationists say. Rewilding areas fragmented by roads or other infrastructure, for example, could boost air quality for people impacted by pollution. Expanding protection considerations beyond the park’s boundaries is a key step for both conservation and community wellbeing, Langdon said.

“There’s no compelling reason, ethical or moral or intellectual reason, that we should treat anything outside of the Blue Line any differently than we treat anything inside of the Blue Line,” he said.

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