
New Research Shows How Much Space Between Houses Keeps Big Game Moving
Housing development is expanding, pushing homes into wild landscapes at an unprecedented pace.
Yet, as residential development moves into previously undeveloped areas, those same species face more than the direct loss of land under a building’s footprint—they also can lose access to the habitat surrounding those homes, multiplying the effective impact of each new structure. Without clear guidance on how much open space must be maintained between homes to conserve habitat for wildlife, new housing developments risk shrinking available habitat and fragmenting the movement pathways animals depend on to move between seasonal ranges.


