1/27 Paper 3 is a book chapter by Dugelby, Foreman, List, Miller, Humphrey, Seidman, Howard published in Large Mammal Restoration book out in 2001 called #Rewilding the Sky Islands Region of the Southwest (North America) 
2/27 Firstly, based on some quick google searches, the Sky Island region looks spectacular! Can anyone share photos, videos, art etc of this stunning landscape and the wildlife found there? #photography #video #art #rewilding fs.fed.us/wildflowers/be… defenders.org/wild-places/sk…
3/27 This chapter explains how #rewilding can be applied to create a Sky Islands Wildlands Network over the 4 million hectare region. It focuses on 9 large animals that are Umbrella, Keystone, Flagship, Habitat quality indicators, Wilderness quality indicators, and/or Prey.
4/27 ‘Umbrella species’ Species that have either large habitat needs or other requirements whose conservation results in many other species being conserved at the ecosystem or landscape level. Biodiversity a-z & Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
5/27 ‘Keystone species’ Species whose influence on ecosystem function and diversity are disproportionate to their numerical abundance. Biodiversity a-z & Soulé and Noss 1998
6/27 ‘Flagship species’ A species used as the focus of a broader conservation marketing campaign based on its possession of one or more traits that appeal to the target audience. Biodiversity a-z & Verissimo & Fraser 2009
7/27 The 9 large animals are the Mexican wolf, Grizzly bear, Jaguar, Mountain lion, Bighorn sheep, Bison, and Elk. All of them are considered Umbrella and Flagship species. And the wolf, mountain lion, and bison are considered Keystone species.
8/27 What species do you consider to be umbrella, flagship, or keystone in your region? Are they present already or would you like to see them reintroduced? #rewilding #reintroduction
9/27 Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) thought lost to the region in the 1980s or 90s. The major threat they would face is from vehicle-assisted poaching. They do not persist in areas with a road density higher than 0.58 km/km2.
10/27 The management recommendations for the Mexican wolf focus on road closures, wolf releases, poaching investigation, reduced livestock grazing, and a review of hunting regulations.
11/27 Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). The last Mexican grizzly was killed in 1960 and in New Mexico and Arizona in the 1930s. ‘As the most powerful and imposing carnivore south of the Arctic in NA, the grizzly is a classic flagship species.’
12/27 Grizzly bear habitat use declines when road density reaches 0.8 km/km2. The management recommendations to allow grizzly reintroduction may include some road closures to provide large blocks of undisturbed habitat.
13/27 Black bear (Ursus americanus) is a popular species in North America with expansive area requirements make it a flagship and umbrella species. Management requires better hunting regulation.
14/27 Jaguar (Panthera onca) has large area requirements (10-90 km2) and so can be an effective umbrella species. It is reported to be a keystone species in tropical regions, but perhaps not in SIWN because of low population density at this northern edge of its range.
15/27 Recent (for 2001) sightings of jaguar in New Mexico and Arizona spiked public interest and a group of ranchers, the Malpai Borderlands Group, developed a protection campaign, despite potential conflict from jaguar killing livestock.
16/27 Management recommendations for the jaguar focus around protections in the region and the source population in Mexico. It is reported to be particularly susceptible to human disturbance and is thought less resilient than pumas.
17/27 Mountain lion (Puma concolor) is a keystone species that exerts top-down pressure on ungulate prey. It has been suggested that harvest free areas of at least 2600 km2 should be created and that regions of the SIWN would be ideal for this.
18/27 The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a charismatic species and popular species and have been reintroduced to regions with the SIWN. The conservation challenge is disease spread by domestic sheep.
19/27 The management recommendations for bighorn sheep centre around continued reintroductions while minimising human disturbance and fragmentation of habitats.
20/27 American bison (Bison bison) are highlighted as an important species for protecting ecological processes on grassland in the region. There is the hope that a currently fenced population could become the source of a free-ranging one in the future.
21/27 Elk (Cervus canadensis) is included as a flagship species but also as an important prey species for carnivore recovery. The management recommendations suggest working with ranchers and hunters to replace cattle with elk trophy hunting.
22/27 To conclude, the authors put this forward their proposal as a radical but essential step towards regional landscape restoration. They report it is driven by ecological goals but also make the case that it would be beneficial for people as well.
23/27 They highlight the economic benefits to communities living next to large natural ecosystems and believe ‘economic health is a true by-product of ecological health’.
24/27 To deliver a Sky Islands Wildland Network will require changes in social attitudes about property rights, government regulations, and accepting responsibility for actions that degrade nature – which will be challenging
25/27 ‘We must move beyond the pervasive negative mindset that prevents us from restoring natural landscapes while developing healthy local economies.’
26/27 That is paper 3 done. You can find it here: books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr…
27/27 If you’re interested in following up on these original #rewilding papers I suggest tuning into the @Rewilding Rewilding Earth podcast. Particularly episodes 1 and 2 with Dave Foreman and Reed Noss rewilding.org/category/rewil…
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