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 Back to Chapter 2:Science-Based Management Articles Lynx inventories under way in the Intermountain Region By Laura Hudson Inventories yield large benefits for Devils Postpile National Monument By Linda Mutch Carl Sandburg Home: Biodiversity in a small park By Anne Ulinski New report on air quality in California Class I national parks By Annie Esperanza and Judy Rocchio Assessing potential social consequences of deer management in Cuyahoga Valley By Kevin L. Skerl “Flightlines”: Developing partnerships for migratory bird conservation in the North Cascades By Robert C. Kuntz II USGS science supports NPS in managing park resources By John Dennis, Sharon Kliwinski, and Lindsay McClelland Other Developments USGS science helps protect Congaree Swamp MGM2: Economic analysis for park-community planning Process emerges for park vital signs water quality monitoring Award-winner profiles - Weber and Finley honored for science-based management efforts Ungulate management - Tule elk at Point Reyes Technology in monitoring - Knowing where the falcons go |
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 Effects of snowmobiles on wildlife Snowmobiles are a popular and controversial means of winter transportation in many units of the National Park System. A concern is that increasing numbers of snowmobiles in the parks might be affecting wildlife, from large ungulates and carnivores to small mammals that burrow under the snow. Of particular interest are changes in animal behavior, mortality, susceptibility to disease, and population that might be related to snowmobile use. Experts disagree on the type and severity of this winter stress. In order to assess the state of scientific knowledge and the efficacy of snowmobile monitoring protocols to relate snowmobile use to changes in wildlife, the NPS Biological Resource Management Division and the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (RM-CESU) convened an expert workshop in April 2001. Biologists from the Universities of Montana and Idaho worked with an interagency steering committee to organize the three-day workshop. Participants included university scientists and experts from federal and state agencies, including the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and States of Alaska, Colorado, and Idaho. The experts determined where monitoring protocols currently exist and recommended research to develop additional protocols that will address the multitude of resource management questions. Few studies link wildlife stress responses directly to snowmobiles. This research area needs considerable attention before managers will have the necessary monitoring tools. Results of these discussions are included in a proceedings volume, available from Kathy Tonnessen of the RM-CESU. |
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This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--2001, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 2001 (publication D-2255) /YearInReview/yir/yir2001/02_management/02_od2_snowmobiles.html Last Updated: |