The Greater Chassahowitzka black bear population is the smallest documented in North America with fewer
than 20 individuals. Its future depends on landscape linkages with other bear populations that are separated by
denatured habitat. We used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify potential landscape linkages
between this isolated population and six others in Florida. Pathway lengths ranged from 60–194 km with
varying potentials for facilitating black bear dispersal. Each pathway incorporated 35Ð88% conservation land
and encountered at least 11 dispersal bottlenecks. Even pathways that incorporated extensive conservation
land encountered bottlenecks that make these linkages potentially unviable. All six pathways, however, passed
through ≥95% core black bear habitat. Thus, the infrastructure for a conservation network is still largely
intact. The Suwannee pathway provides the best opportunity to restore connectivity between the Greater
Chassahowitzka Ecosystem (GCE) and a southward colonising bear population in the Big Bend region.
However, intensification of development poses an immediate threat to maintaining connectivity between the
GCE and other bear populations in Florida. Through immediate strategic planning and active conservation
and restoration measures, many of the generated pathways can provide long-term connectivity. Least-cost path
analyses can aid in the conservation of wide-ranging animals by providing managers with a science-based,
empirically derived blueprint of potential landscape linkages.