IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Stein, J. | |
| Roads less traveled? The effects of roads on wolves and brown bears worldwide | |
| 2000 Full Book | |
Interest in the effects of roads on natural systems is on the rise. Forest Service Chief Dombeck is in the process of evaluating the agency's current roads policy, and the journal Conservation Biology devotes much of its February 2000 issue to taking a comprehensive look at the subject. Roads and road density can be used as an index for human disturbance since they are often associated with increased human access to previously inaccessible areas and with human settlement or resource extraction. Research indicates that two of our native large carnivores the gray wolf, and the grizzly bear are sensitive to human disturbance. The wolf is currently listed as endangered across the lower 48 states, and the grizzly bear is listed as threatened in its few remaining isolated populations outside of Alaska. Agency resource managers and conservation organizations are both interested in the restoration and recovery of these two species. I undertake a worldwide review of the extant literature to test the hypothesis that roads and other linear features like trails, fire breaks, and seismic lines, have a significant effect on the movement of these two species across the landscape, influence their behavior, and ultimately, may affect their survival. This review was also undertaken in an effort to characterize the differences, if any, of the effects of roads on wolves and bears. It is hoped that a consolidation of these materials will serve as a useful resource for scientists and policy makers that are interested in the long-term persistence of our top carnivores. |
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