Chapter 26 Wildlife Responses to Park Visitors in Winter

Abstract

Theme Executive Orders and regulations of the National Park Service stipulate that snowmobile use must cease if it is determined to be causing considerable adverse effects to resources in national park units, including the disturbance of wildlife or their habitats (Exec. Order No. 11644 § 3(2); Exec. Order No. 11989 § 2; 36 C.F.R. § 2.18(c)). In 2000, the National Park Service concluded that “snowmobile use at current levels adversely affects wildlife” in Yellowstone National Park and proposed the elimination of this activity (65 Federal Register 80915). However, less than 3 years later the Service proposed to continue snowmobile recreation based on new requirements for cleaner, quieter snowmobiles and guided group tours (68 Federal Register 51533, 69268). The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia chastised the Service for this reversal and mandated the elimination of snowmobiles which, in turn, led to additional litigation, conflicting legal decisions (District of Columbia 2003, District of Wyoming 2004), and development of another final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision to implement revised winter use plans (72 Federal Register 70781). We sampled the behavioral responses of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), and trumpeter swans (Olor buccinator) to snowmobiles and coaches in Yellowstone to: (1) document human activities associated with snowmobiles and coaches, (2) quantify responses of these wildlife to human activities, (3) identify conditions that increased the likelihood of wildlife responses, and (4) assess the effects of human disturbance on their distribution and demography.