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Are Recreation and Conservation Compatible?
• Recreation may:– Harm, harass, or kill wildlife– Subsidize predators– Change the balance
of a community– Reduce and degrade natural
habitat– Fragment, isolate, perforate
remaining habitat– Increase edge– Provide an entry point for
invasives
(Czech and Krausman 1997)
27% of federal endangered, threatened, or proposed listed species are harmed by outdoor recreation, including ORVs
Only Agriculture, Water development, and Commercial land conversion
harm more (Wilcove et al. 1998)
Outline for Today
• Review research evidence about the observable effects of recreation on wildlife
• Identify general features of recreation and attributes of wildlife that determine the outcome of the interaction
• Introduce a host of management options that may promote coexistence among recreationists and wildlife
• Suggest sources of additional information
Allcampgrounds_line.shp
Contours_Kernel(84)Mora_predators.txt10203040506070809095
Mora_campground.shp
0.5 0 0.5 1 Miles
N
EW
S
View1Campground Influences on
Predator Prey Dynamics
Yellow Warblers in Yellowstone(Hansen et al. 2001)
•Campgrounds are mostly in lowland, riparian areas of highest productivity
•High predator loads may reduce prey population viability
•Accentuates general findings that parks rarely protect the most productive lowlands
Changing Predator-Prey Dynamics May Accentuate the “Rocks and Ice” Bias in Parks
Essence of the Interaction
Type of Recreation•Hunting•Fishing•Nature Viewing•Hiking•Skiing•Horseback Riding•Rock Climbing•Spelunking•Pets•Swimming•Boating/Personal Watercraft•Snowmobiling•ORVs•Mountain Biking•Aircraft•Recreational Site Development
Essence of the Interaction
Type of Recreation
PredictabilityFrequency and MagnitudeTiming Relative to Annual CycleLocationSeason (weather)
Essence of the Interaction
Type of Recreation
PredictabilityFrequency and MagnitudeTiming relative to Annual CycleLocationSeason (weather)
Properties of the AnimalBody SizeLife History StrategyPrevious Experience / LearningGroup SizeAgeSex
Essence of the Interaction
Type of Recreation
PredictabilityFrequency and MagnitudeTiming relative to Annual CycleLocationSeason (weather)
Properties of the Animal
Ability to Adapt or Habituate
Individual Response
Essence of the Interaction
Type of Recreation
PredictabilityFrequency and MagnitudeTiming relative to Annual CycleLocationSeason (weather)
Properties of the Animal
Ability to Adapt or Habituate
Individual Response
Population ResponseCommunity Response
Ecosystem Response
Strategies to Enhance Coexistence of Wildlife and Recreationists
Closures• Least popular, but
needed in some cases, especially for sensitive species– Breeding season
campground closures– Game pockets during
orienteering– Nursery or roost caves
for bats
Strategies for Coexistence
• Spatial Restrictions– Temporary buffers based on flushing
distances• Likely modified with acclimation or habituation
• Temporal Restrictions– Closures at critical times
• Hours, days, weeks, months
Strategies for Coexistence
• Managing Human Behavior– Restrict type, location, intensity of use
• Bus rather than individual cars• Limit pets• Encourage indirect, predictable, slow
approaches
– Provide interpretive signage
• Provide visual and auditory barriers– Escape cover and vegetative
screening
Coexistence Ultimately Depends on Our Values and Ethics
• Recreation can foster awareness of impacts and possible changes in attitudes, values, and ethics
•Recreation is a way to rekindle our connection to the land, which may then foster a biocentric (as opposed to simply anthropocentric) ethic (Oelschlaeger 1995)
•This reconstruction of our land ethic may supercede, but certainly will enhance, our ability to conserve natural resources simply on economic grounds
Learning More
Effects of Recreation on Rocky Mountain Wildlife, www.montanatws.orgMy Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Class notes and references, www.courses.washington.edu/vseminar