Effects of winter recreation on habituated wildlife

Authors(s): D. Reinhart

Publication: Effects of winter recreation on wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Area: a literature review and assessment. Report to the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

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Publication Date: 0000-00-00

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Abstract: Little information exists on the direct and indirect impacts of winter recreation on most wildlife species. However, these effects may create potentially additive or synergistic impacts to wildlife populations (Knight and Cole 1995). Effects include energetic response to humans and human facilities, habituation to human activities, and attraction or conditioning to human foods and garbage (Herrero 1987). Most wildlife species that become habituated or food conditioned from winter recreational activity are not protected under federal law. These include ungulate populations accustomed to winter recreationalists, roads, and snowmobile trails (Aune 1981, Meagher 1993), and carnivores, such as coyote, red fox, pine marten, that become food conditioned to human foods at recreational facilities. Bird species, including ravens, gray jays, and Clark?s nutcrackers, also may become food conditioned and are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Both black and grizzly bears have the potential to become habituated to human activities and food conditioned to human foods (Mattson 1990), but are typically not active during the winter season (Judd et al. 1986). All wildlife species are protected in national parks (NPS 1988). On lands outside national parks, some wildlife species are subject to hunting. Most non-game bird species are protected from direct human-caused mortality by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (U.S.C. Title 16, Section 703). Species in the Yellowstone area protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531, 1982 ammend.) include the whooping crane and peregrine falcon, which are endangered, and the bald eagle and grizzly bear, which are threatened. Whooping cranes and peregrine falcons are not considered winter residents of the Yellowstone area. Gray wolves were recently reintroduced to the Yellowstone area. While naturally occurring wolves are classified as endangered in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, those reintroduced into the Yellowstone and central Idaho ecosystems in 1995 and 1996 were reclassified as ?experimental/non-essential populations? (USFWS 1994). LIFE HISTORY Many wildlife species are residents of the Yellowstone area during winter. Terrestrial species include bison, elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, marten, fisher, river otter, wolverine, coyote, gray wolf, red fox, and snowshoe hare. Avian species include bald eagle, trumpeter swan, common raven, gray jay, Clark?s nutcracker, great gray owl, waterfowl, raptors, and passerine bird species. Many wildlife species migrate or become inactive during winter months. Others however, remain and adjust their foraging, habitat use, and activity patterns to winter conditions. While most winter animals are well adapted to surviving winter situations, winter environments typically create added stress to wildlife due to harsher climatic conditions and more limited foraging opportunities. HUMAN ACTIVITIES Winter recreation has the potential to affect wildlife foraging patterns, habitat use, and interaction with human activities. When winter recreation occurs, some wildlife species may become accustomed to people and, therefore, habituated to human activities. A further step in this process occurs when animals gain and then seek out human foods (Herrero 1985). Examples of the effect of wildlife habituation in winter recreational situations include: 1. Bison in Yellowstone National Park utilize groomed snowmobile roads as travel routes (Aune 1981, Meagher 1993). 2. Ravens converge at winter destination areas, such as developed areas and warming huts, and forage on human foods discarded or left unattended in snowmobile seat compartments and/or packs; this results in property damage. 3. Coyotes and red foxes frequent winter developments and warming huts to seek hand-outs from visitors or forage on improperly discarded food scraps. Some eventually display aggressive behavior, sometimes harming visitors. These animals are removed from the area or destroyed. 4. Areas of winter garbage storage inside and outside Yellowstone National Park attract an array of wildlife species including coyotes, red foxes, pine martens, red squirrels, ravens, magpies, and gray jays. POTENTIAL EFFECTS Very little information exists on specific effects of winter recreation on habituated wildlife. Moreover, the need for more specific scientific monitoring is essential to better understand the complexities of wildlife?human interactions and the direct and indirect effects that winter recreation create on wildlife populations. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether wildlife habituation can be an advantage or a detriment to populations. Studies have indicated a shorter flight distance and a higher tolerance for vehicles and humans as a result of habituation (Aune 1981, Gabrielson and Smith 1995). However, habituation can also lead to unnatural attraction to human-use areas and lead to direct management actions and subsequent human-caused mortality (Herrero 1985, Mattson 1990, Mattson et al. 1992). Potential Opportunity Areas that will be particularly affected include: (1) Destination areas. Highly developed destination areas may negatively impact wildlife where winter recreational sites occur in habitats that wildlife occupy. Winter destination areas are becoming more popular. These include major ski areas and park development areas, and park gateway communities. These can also be low or moderately used areas such as small residential communities and warming huts. Wildlife avoidance of habitats could occur near winter developments. However, the more obvious management concern arises when animals are attracted to developments in search of human foods. In areas with strong bear management guidelines, such as Yellowstone National Park, a strong emphasis is placed on food storage and security (Gunther 1994). However, in winter when bears are hibernating, a lapse in food security appears more common. Managers associated with winter recreational developments should maintain high standards of food security to prevent wildlife species other than bears from becoming attracted to human facilities and foods. Garbage storage facilities should be secured from all forms of wildlife. Planning for new winter recreational developments should include designs for animal-proof food- and garbage-storage facilities and avoid areas that could lead to animal attraction. Areas such as cooking and eating facilities, picnic areas, and garbage collection sites should be built to preclude wildlife attraction and habituation. (2) Primary transportation routes and (3) scenic driving routes. Year-round roads may have significant effects on habituated wildlife. Primary roads may impact wildlife by creating situations where animals seek road habitats in search of food. This may occur because people feed wildlife along roadsides or, to a lesser extent, because animals scavenge dead animals killed along roads. Both types of foraging bring wildlife to roadsides and create further habituation and increase risk of mortality (Gunther et al. 1998). Wildlife managers should try to remove roadside carcasses to avoid scavengers being hit by vehicles. (4) Groomed motorized routes. Snowmobile traffic along high- and moderate-groomed routes may pose a significant problem to habituated wildlife during the winter months. The potential for conflict could occur when animals seek groomed routes in search of food. This may occur from recreationists feeding wildlife along groomed roads or possibly with animals scavenging carcasses killed along these routes. Both types of feeding bring wildlife to groomed roadsides and create further habituation and increased risk of mortality. Wildlife managers should try to remove carcasses to prevent scavengers from being hit by over-snow vehicles. Grooming of roads and snowmobile trails may affect ungulate movements, population dynamics, and management actions (Meagher 1993). Planning for new snow routes should avoid ungulate winter range and important wildlife habitat. (6) Backcountry motorized areas. Ungroomed snowmobile areas may one day pose a significant habituated wildlife problem. Areas of ungroomed snowmobile use typically occur at low levels and should not attract wildlife. The potential for conflicts between wildlife and recreationists would occur when winter snowmobiling increases to higher densities and careless food security is common. (9) Backcountry nonmotorized areas. Backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, and downhill sliding should not pose a problem to habituated wildlife. The potential for wildlife?human conflicts may occur when high-density, human winter recreational activity occurs and food security is a problem. LITERATURE CITED Aune, K. E. 1981. Impact of winter recreationists on wildlife in a portion of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Thesis, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA. Gabrielson, G. W., and E. N. Smith. 1995. Physiological responses of wildlife to disturbance. Pages 95?108 in R. L. Knight and K. J. Gutzwiller, editors. Wildlife and recreationists: coexistance through management and research. Island Press, Washington, D.C., USA. Gunther, K. A. 1994. Bear management in Yellowstone National Park, 1960?93. International Conference on Bear Research and Management 9:549?560. Gunther, K. A., M. J. Biel, and H. L. Robison. 1998. Factors influencing the frequency of roadkilled wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. Pages 32?42 in G. L. Evink, P. Garrett, D. Ziegler, and J. Berry, editors. Proceedings of the International Conference on Wildlife Ecology and Transportation. Florida Department of Transportation FL-ER-69558. Fort Meyers, Flordia, USA. Herrerro, S. 1985. Bear attacks; their causes and avoidance. Winchester Press, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA. Judd, S. L., R. Knight, and B. Blanchard. 1986. Denning of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park area. International Conference on Bear Research and Management. 4:359?367. Knight, R. L., and D. N. Cole. 1995. Wildlife response to recreationalists. Pages 71?80 in R. L. Knight and K. J. Gutzwiller editors. Wildlife and recreationists: coexistance through management and research. Island Press, Washington, D.C., USA. Mattson, D. J. 1990. Human impacts on bear habitat use. International Conference Bear Research and Management 8:33?56. ???, B. M. Blanchard, and R. R. Knight. 1992. Yellowstone grizzly bear mortality, human habituation, and whitebark pine seed crops. Journal of Wildlife Management 56:432?442. Meagher, M. M. 1993. Winter recreation induced changes in bison numbers and distribution in Yellowstone National Park. Unpublished report. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. NPS (National Park Service). 1988. National Park Service 88: management policies. National Park Service, Washington, D.C., USA. USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 1994. The reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Final Environmental Impact Statement. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Helena, Montana, USA. PREPARED BY: Dan Reinhart, Management Biologist, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. REVIEWED BY: Mark Biel, Wildlife Biologist, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.

Keywords: Wildlife, Management, Human activity, Animal, Mammal, Ungulate, Carnivore, Canidae, Canine, Canis latrans, Coyote, Wolf, Gray wolf, Canis lupus, Fox, Red fox, Vulpes vulpes, Marten, Pine marten, Martes martes, Bird, passerine , perching , Passiformes, Raven, Aves, Corvus corax, Jay, Gray jay, Perisoreus canadensis, Nucifraga columbiana, Nutcracker, Clark's nutcracker, Food, Feeding, Forage, Ursidae, Bear, Black bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos horribilis, Ursus americanus, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Idaho, Grand Teton National Park, Teton County, Jackson Hole, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Crane, Whooping crane, Grus americana, Falcon, Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, Eagle, Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Bison, Ungulate, Bison bison, Cervidae, Elk, Wapiti, Cervus elaphus, Deer, Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, Moose, Alces alces, Sheep, Bighorn sheep, Ovis Canadensis, Feline, Felidae, Mountain lion, Cougar, Puma, Felis concolor, Lynx, Lynx Canadensis, Lynx lynx, Bobcat, Felis rufus, Marten, Martes americana, Fisher, Martes pennanti, Otter, River otter, Lutra canadensis, Mustelidae, Wolverine, Gulo gulo, Lagomorph, Hare , snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus, pine marten, Martes martes, red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, squirrel, rodent, Rodentia, Magpie, Pica pica, swan, trumpeter swan, Olor buccinator, Raven, Corvus corax, Jay, Gray jay, Perisoreus canadensis, Nutcracker , Clark's nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana, Owl, Great gray owl, Strix nebulosa, Waterfowl, Water bird, Anatidae, Raptor, Migration, Habitat, Forage, Food, behavior, human activity, Yellowstone National Park