Do Jackson Hole’s Busiest Trails Create a Wildlife ‘Sacrifice Zone’? Study Finds Coexistence.
Researchers analyzed 1.9 million images and found elk were most affected, while several other species kept using heavily traveled trails.
- Wildlife near Jackson continues using trails despite heavy human recreation, according to a recent ecological inquiry that analyzed 27 remote cameras across a 36-square-mile area.
- The six-year Neighbors to Nature: Cache Creek Study sought to determine if local trails had become 'sacrifice zones' overrun by outdoorsy residents and millions of annual tourists in Teton County.
- Conservation scientist Courtney Larson analyzed 1.9 million images, including 54,000 dog detections and 8,300 wildlife photos. Elk avoided high-traffic areas, while Mule deer and Black bear showed little significant avoidance.
- Bridger-Teton National Forest is revising a 36-year-old forest plan, with officials hoping to use this baseline data to build new metrics for wildlife-recreation coexistence.
- Active management—including seasonal closures and keeping visitors on trails—is required to maintain coexistence, said retired Bridger-Teton recreation specialist Linda Merigliano, as the area's resilience depends on bordering wild country including the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Do Jackson Hole's busiest trails create a wildlife 'sacrific
Trail runners, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers and townsfolk just out for lunchtime walks take to the trails around Jackson in droves. Bordering wild country that includes a wilderness area and wildlife refuge, recreators regularly bump into and sometimes conflict with wildlife, whether it’s moose , wolves , mountain lions or even grizzly bears . But encounters with bipeds don’t appear to faze an impressive array of wildlife. That’s one of…
Associated Press News
Do Jackson Hole’s busiest trails create a wildlife ‘sacrifice zone’? Study finds coexistence.
Trail runners, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers and townsfolk just out for lunchtime walks take to the trails around Jackson in droves.
Do Jackson Hole’s busiest trails create a wildlife ‘sacrifice zone’? Study finds surprising coexistence.
Trail runners, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers and townsfolk just out for lunchtime walks take to the trails around Jackson in droves. Bordering wild country that includes a wilderness area and wildlife refuge, recreators regularly bump into and sometimes conflict with wildlife, whether it’s moose, wolves, mountain lions or even grizzly bears. But encounters with bipeds don’t appear to faze an impressive array of wildlife. That’s one of…
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