Guidelines for Winter Recreation near Wolverine Dens in Montane Western North America

Abstract

Wolverine den in snowy areas with boulders or woody debris at or below tree line in montane western North America. They have naturally low reproductive rates, a fidelity to denning areas, and a sensitivity to human presence during denning. The goal was to synthesize existing ecological information for denning wolverine and identify risks from human presence in the categories of timing, distance, footprint, pattern of use, and frequency of use. The authors suggest commercial tenure holders and private users keep recreation in the low-risk category to minimize disturbance on denning females. Denning area surveys should be conducted prior to tenure application or renewals and dens can be identified by a concentration of tracks over more than three weeks from January 15 to May 15. Recreation should be restricted within a 5-km radius of confirmed dens during this window. Best practices include limiting the number of groups and concentrating movement on existing linear features as wolverine are sensitive to disturbance at a very low intensity of use and are at greatest risk when disturbances are dispersed and unpredictable.