Mountain recreation displaces large carnivores from their habitats
Recreational activities on mountain trails are pushing large carnivores like grizzly bears and wolves away from their native habitats, even when those trails lie hundreds of meters from where the animals roam.
A new study from the University of Alberta highlights the need for improved land management practices that allow people and wildlife to peacefully coexist.
This issue is particularly pressing in the Bow River Valley, long recognized as a natural corridor linking the prairies to the Continental Divide.
Over the past 15 years, a team of researchers led by Peter Thompson set up camera traps at more than 1,600 sites in the Bow River Valley and surrounding areas.
These traps were in place between 2007 and 2022, capturing over a million images of humans and tens of thousands of images of grizzly bears and wolves.
The scientists then used statistical models to assess the relationship between human activity and carnivore presence on the landscape.
Human recreation and large carnivores
Upon examining the images and activity patterns, the researchers discovered a significant disturbance effect from busy trails, extending far beyond the immediate path.
The results showed that wolves and bears did not merely avoid the immediate vicinity of high-traffic areas; they stayed away from locations hundreds of meters away as well.
Thompson, formerly a postdoctoral fellow with Colleen Cassady St. Clair in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, is now a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University.
“We initially thought bears might use hiking trails as efficient routes when humans weren’t around, but they actually avoid these areas altogether,” said Thompson.
“Our results show that human recreation has significant effects on wildlife, substantially influencing their behaviour even hundreds of meters away from the trail.”
Widespread displacement of large carnivores
For grizzly bears, half of the displacement effect from high-use trails remained in effect up to 300 meters from the trail. For wolves, this displacement was observed up to 600 meters away. Thompson noted that the phenomenon is considerably more extensive than was previously believed.
“When trails become busier, people may not realize the extent to which they are disrupting wildlife movement and habitat security,” Thompson added.
This finding demonstrates that outdoor enthusiasts using high-traffic trails, especially in popular regions, could unknowingly be displacing wolves and bears from substantial parts of their natural habitat.
Effects of recreation on wolves
While grizzly bears are visibly impacted by busy trails, the displacement effect was even more pronounced for wolves. Their avoidance of human activity at distances of up to 600 meters likely relates to their year-round activity cycle, which intersects with winter recreation such as skiing and snowmobiling.
This further highlights how multiple forms of recreation can compound the stress on top predators.
“Wolves are even more affected by human recreation than grizzly bears, and they are active year-round, coinciding with winter recreational activities,” said St. Clair, Thompson’s former supervisor.
“This research highlights the critical need to manage human use in a way that allows people to share the landscape with these wary predators.”
Mitigating the impacts on large carnivores
The Bow River Valley is particularly significant for wildlife, functioning as a key passageway for many species.
Shifts in animal movement due to human traffic on trails could compromise the valley’s role as a corridor for genetic exchange and resource access.
If large carnivores are consistently deterred from these areas, the consequences could include altered feeding patterns, reduced breeding success, and changes in predator-prey dynamics.
Land managers in this region may consider strategies such as creating buffer zones, limiting trail access during peak activity times, or issuing guidelines that reduce disturbance in critical wildlife areas.
Such steps might help maintain the valley’s ecological function and ensure that grizzlies, wolves, and other species can continue to move freely.
Need for thoughtful recreation planning
The paper’s authors emphasize that as recreational use of mountain trails grows, the effects on wildlife will likewise increase.
Raising awareness about how trail use displaces animals, even far from the trail itself, could encourage more responsible behavior among outdoor enthusiasts.
Measures such as seasonal trail closures, visitor education programs, and designated wildlife corridors could help minimize the disruption to grizzly bears, wolves, and other sensitive species.
The findings in the Bow River Valley also reflect broader challenges faced worldwide as conservation areas strive to balance human recreation with wildlife protection.
By taking preemptive steps – whether through trail design, user quotas, or educational outreach – policymakers and conservation managers can better safeguard critical habitats for large carnivores and foster a more harmonious coexistence between people and nature.
Reevaluating our use of mountain trails
This study provides actionable insights into how recreational activities influence the distribution and well-being of apex predators.
With wolves and bears essential to ecosystem balance, preventing their displacement has ecological significance beyond individual species.
According to Thompson, these results show that human recreation has significant effects on wildlife, and these findings are a call to reevaluate how we manage and use mountain trails.
Through careful planning and targeted conservation efforts, there is hope that humans and large carnivores can continue to share these magnificent landscapes for generations to come.
The study is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
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