This dataset is a component of a complete package of products from the Connect the Connecticut project. Connect the Connecticut is a collaborative effort to identify shared priorities for conserving the Connecticut River Watershed for future generations, considering the value of fish and wildlife species and the natural ecosystems they inhabit. Click here to download the full data package, including all documentation.

This dataset represents the regional conductance index, which is a measure of the total potential amount of movement of plants and animals (ecological flow) through a cell from nearby terrestrial core areas at the scale of a few to ten kilometers. Regional conductance increases with the size and proximity of nearby cores, because larger cores produce larger numbers of plants and animals and the probability of an individual getting to any particular location decreases with distance from the source. Regional conductance also reflects the resistance of the focal cell and intervening cells between the nearby cores based on their ecological dissimilarity to the cells in the nearby cores. For example, a forest cell between largely forested cores would have higher regional conductance than if it were lake. Regional conductance differs from local conductance in that it is based on a designated core area network and measures the amount of ecological flow between the designated cores.