Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization
Abstract With continual growth in recreational trail use, it is becoming increasingly complicated to balance demands for outdoor recreation opportunities with wildlife conservation. To better understand how mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) respond to trail‐b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Ecosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70305 |
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| author | Chloe Beaupre Alissa Bevan Jessica R. Young Kevin A. Blecha |
| author_facet | Chloe Beaupre Alissa Bevan Jessica R. Young Kevin A. Blecha |
| author_sort | Chloe Beaupre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract With continual growth in recreational trail use, it is becoming increasingly complicated to balance demands for outdoor recreation opportunities with wildlife conservation. To better understand how mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) respond to trail‐based recreation, we deployed remote cameras in a paired study design to assess ungulate encounter rates relative to recreation traffic counts and distance from trails. Our methodology allowed us to estimate the magnitude of human activity on public land trails, which can be challenging, but is a key step in understanding recreational effects on animal utilization, especially if any interaction in trail proximity and human traffic rates exists. Paired cameras provided a comparison of animal encounter rates on‐ and off‐trail at varying trail proximities, and the on‐trail camera also yielded daily recreation traffic counts to assess how animals respond to varying traffic for each camera pair. Elk avoided busier trails and showed a strong positive response to distance from trails, while mule deer exhibited a positive response to higher traffic counts and no measurable effect of trail proximity. We identified a distance to trail threshold of 600–655 m, where elk utilization shifted from lower‐than‐expected utilization to higher‐than‐expected utilization, indicating that this elk population was redistributed to some degree within 57.5% of the study area's extent. Quantifying recreation traffic counts was key to understanding species' responses to recreation, highlighting the need for managers to consider both trail placement and human traffic regulation to mitigate recreation impacts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2c3c34fb01594a7a8c6b500addde45fa |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2150-8925 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-2c3c34fb01594a7a8c6b500addde45fa2025-08-20T02:35:07ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252025-06-01166n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.70305Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilizationChloe Beaupre0Alissa Bevan1Jessica R. Young2Kevin A. Blecha3Clark School of Environment and Sustainability Western Colorado University Gunnison Colorado USAClark School of Environment and Sustainability Western Colorado University Gunnison Colorado USAClark School of Environment and Sustainability Western Colorado University Gunnison Colorado USAColorado Parks and Wildlife Gunnison Colorado USAAbstract With continual growth in recreational trail use, it is becoming increasingly complicated to balance demands for outdoor recreation opportunities with wildlife conservation. To better understand how mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) respond to trail‐based recreation, we deployed remote cameras in a paired study design to assess ungulate encounter rates relative to recreation traffic counts and distance from trails. Our methodology allowed us to estimate the magnitude of human activity on public land trails, which can be challenging, but is a key step in understanding recreational effects on animal utilization, especially if any interaction in trail proximity and human traffic rates exists. Paired cameras provided a comparison of animal encounter rates on‐ and off‐trail at varying trail proximities, and the on‐trail camera also yielded daily recreation traffic counts to assess how animals respond to varying traffic for each camera pair. Elk avoided busier trails and showed a strong positive response to distance from trails, while mule deer exhibited a positive response to higher traffic counts and no measurable effect of trail proximity. We identified a distance to trail threshold of 600–655 m, where elk utilization shifted from lower‐than‐expected utilization to higher‐than‐expected utilization, indicating that this elk population was redistributed to some degree within 57.5% of the study area's extent. Quantifying recreation traffic counts was key to understanding species' responses to recreation, highlighting the need for managers to consider both trail placement and human traffic regulation to mitigate recreation impacts.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70305camera trapelkhuman activityhuman wildlife interactionmule deerrecreation |
| spellingShingle | Chloe Beaupre Alissa Bevan Jessica R. Young Kevin A. Blecha Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization Ecosphere camera trap elk human activity human wildlife interaction mule deer recreation |
| title | Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| title_full | Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| title_fullStr | Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| title_short | Recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| title_sort | recreational trail traffic counts and trail proximity as a driver of ungulate landscape utilization |
| topic | camera trap elk human activity human wildlife interaction mule deer recreation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70305 |
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