Type: journal article

Article abstract: As participation in outdoor recreational activities escalates, land managers struggleto develop managemeny policies that ensure coexistence of wildlife and recreation. However, this requires an understanding of how wildlife responds to various forms of recreational activities and the spatial context in which the activities occur. Therefore, we measured responses of 2 species of grassland sonbirds, one species of forest songbird, and mule deer( Odocoileus hemionus) exposed to a pedestriana, pedestrian accompanied by a dog on leash, and a dog alone (only for grassland birds) on and away from recreational trails. We assessed the "area of influence" for each treatment by determining the probability that an animal would flush or become alert (for mule deer only) given its perpendicular distance to a trail or a line of movement in areas without trails. When animals were disturbed, we measured flush distance (the distance between the disturbance and the animal when flushed), distance moved, and for mule deer, alert distance (the distance between the disturbance and the deer when it became alert). For all species,area of influence, flush distance, distance moved, and alert distance (for mule deer) was greater when activities occurred off-trail versus on-trail.Generally, among on-trail and off-trail treatments in grasslands for vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) and western meadowlark (S turnella neglecta), the smallest area of influence and shortest flush distance and distance moved resulted from the dog-alone treatment, and these responses were greater for the pedestrian-alone and dog-on-leash treatments. In forests, for A merican robins(Turdus migratorius), the area of influence, flush distance, and distance moved did not generally differ between the pedestrian-alone and dog-on-leash treatments. For mule deer, presence of a dog resulted in a greater area of influence, alert and flush distance, and distance moved than when a pedestrian was alone. Natural lands managers can implement spatial and behavioral restrictions in visitor management to reduce disturbance by recreational activities on wildlife. Restrictions on types of activities allowed in some areas such as prohibiting dogs or restricting use to trails will aid in minimizing disturbance. Additionally, managers can restrict the number and spatial arrangement of trails so that sensitive reas or habitats are avoided.