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CLIMATE CHANGE ALBERTAS BIODIVERSITY 37ASSISTED MIGRATION Wild populations have two primary ways of responding to environmental change adapting behaviourally or genetically to new conditions or moving to track suitable conditions through range shifts. Species with limited dispersal abilities in fragmented habitats or with high habitat specificity may not have the capacity to move to where conditions are more suitable and this could increase their risk of extirpation or extinction. Assistedmigrationtheintentionaltranslocation ofaspeciesbeyonditscurrentdistributionto areaswhereclimateispredictedtobemore favourableinthefuturehasbeenproposedas apotentialproactiveconservationtoolto addressthisrisk. The BMCCA project supported two translo- cation experiments to assess the feasibility and some of the potential risks and benefits of assisted migration as a climate change adaptation strategy. These experiments have included assessments of the climate-related risks to existing populations of the potential for successful establishment of populations in new areas and of translocation methods that could be implemented in conservation programs. Montane Mammals Columbian Ground Squirrels adjust their hibernation timing in response to environmental conditions even though this timing is partly genetically controlled indicating the potential for this species to respond relatively quickly to changing climatic conditions. In recent years Columbian Ground Squirrels have been emerging from hibernation later in the spring as a result of late spring snowstorms resulting in reduced fitness and population viability. In 2008 Jeffrey Lane 2014 initiated a series of translocation experiments in the Alberta Foothills demonstrating that both genetic variation and individual responses to the environment contribute to variation in hibernation timing. In addition translocation was validated as a research and potential management tool with many individuals surviving more than a year post-translocation. The results of this long-term research supported by the BMCCA project have implications for the effectiveness of using assisted migration as a management tool to address potential population declines in montane mammals resulting from a changing climate. Photo Columbian Ground Squirrels mid-sized rodents of Albertas Rocky Mountains hibernate in underground burrows for typically 250 days of every year.