Potential for recreational restrictions to reduce grizzly bear–caused human injuries

Gunther, Kerry A.; Haroldson, Mark A.

doi:10.2192/ursus-d-18-0005.1

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The danger posed by their similarities in travel can be exacerbated by the increasing popularity of trails for other forms of recreation, such as mountain biking when bears and humans encounter each other at high speed with little warning (Servheen et al, 2017). Thus, our findings support management programs, planning processes and outdoor education programs that recognize these inherent similarities in travel between grizzly bears and humans and try to minimize their potential conflict (Coleman et al, 2013a;Gunther and Haroldson, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Quantifying energetic costs and defining energy landscapes experienced by grizzly bears

Carnahan

Manen

Haroldson

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Animal movements are major determinants of energy expenditure and ultimately the cost–benefit of landscape use. Thus, we sought to understand those costs and how grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) move in mountainous landscapes. We trained captive grizzly bears to walk on a horizontal treadmill and up and down 10% and 20% slopes. The cost of moving upslope increased linearly with speed and slope angle, and this was more costly than moving horizontally. The cost of downslope travel at slower speeds was greater than the cost of traveling horizontally but appeared to decrease at higher speeds. The most efficient walking speed that minimized cost per unit distance was 1.19±0.11 m s−1. However, grizzly bears fitted with GPS collars in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem moved at an average velocity of 0.61±0.28 m s−1 and preferred to travel on near-horizontal slopes at twice their occurrence. When traveling uphill or downhill, grizzly bears chose paths across all slopes that were ∼54% less steep and costly than the maximum available slope. The net costs (J kg−1 m−1) of moving horizontally and uphill were the same for grizzly bears, humans and digitigrade carnivores, but those costs were 46% higher than movement costs for ungulates. These movement costs and characteristics of landscape use determined using captive and wild grizzly bears were used to understand the strategies that grizzly bears use for preying on large ungulates and the similarities in travel between people and grizzly bears that might affect the risk of encountering each other on shared landscapes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Quantifying energetic costs and defining energy landscapes experienced by grizzly bears

Carnahan

Manen

Haroldson

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Another explanation for a muted response of lynx to recreation could be that recreation in GNP is mostly concentrated on trails and may occur in a predictable enough fashion that lynx were able to cope to some degree. Other carnivores respond more strongly to off‐trail versus on‐trail recreation (Heinemeyer et al 2019, Gunther and Haroldson 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canada lynx occupancy and density in Glacier National Park

2023

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Protected areas are the cornerstone of conservation strategies for threatened and endangered species. Because protected areas often are insulated from many anthropogenic threats, and contain substantial topographic relief, they may be particularly important as climatic refugia for cold-adapted, atrisk species. Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are a cold-adapted, threatened species, and reach the southern limits of their distribution in the contiguous United States, where they exist in several disjunct populations largely on multiple-use lands (e.g., national forests). Glacier National Park (GNP) is one of the few, large, protected areas located within Canada lynx range in the contiguous United States, and therefore a potentially important lynx stronghold within the Northern Rockies lynx recovery unit. Despite its potential importance, knowledge of lynx populations within the park is extremely limited. We completed a park-wide occupancy survey of lynx using an array of motion-sensitive cameras during summers in 2018-2021. Within a smaller area of the park, we also estimated lynx density by identifying individuals from subtle markings on the inside of the front leg and employing spatially explicit capture-recapture analysis. Finally, we linked park-wide predictions of occupancy with local density to estimate lynx population size across GNP. Lynx were distributed across much of the park in summer and occupancy was influenced by a combination of snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) relative abundance, forest associations, climate, and fire. We were able

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“…This trend is also apparent in our study area. For example, Hayden Valley (a non‐BMA) has one of the highest index values for grizzly bear density in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and is the site of 3 of the last 5 human fatalities due to bear attacks in Yellowstone National Park (Gunther and Haroldson 2020). Restrictions to recreation in areas with high densities of bears likely increase the safety for recreationists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grizzly bear responses to restrictions of recreation in Yellowstone National Park

Loggers,

Litt,

van Manen

et al. 2023

J Wildl Manag

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Avoiding humans will be more difficult and energetically costly for animals as outdoor recreation increases and people venture farther into wildland areas that provide high‐quality habitat for wildlife. Restricting human access can be an attractive management tool to mitigate effects of human recreation activities on wildlife; however, the efficacy of such measures is rarely assessed. In 1982, Yellowstone National Park identified areas important to grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) to help protect critical grizzly bear habitat and reduce the likelihood of human injuries by bears. Referred to as bear management areas (BMAs), human access is restricted in these areas for 2–8 months each year, with timing and type of restrictions varying by area. We examined 2 datasets to evaluate grizzly bear selection of BMAs and differences of bear density in BMAs and non‐BMAs. First, we used 17 years of recent global positioning system telemetry data for grizzly bears to assess their selection of BMAs during periods when human access was allowed, and when access was restricted. We used step‐selection functions to test the hypothesis that bears spend time in places that allow them to avoid people and select quality food sources. There was support that grizzly bears differentially select for BMAs regardless of whether human access was restricted at the time, compared with areas outside BMAs, and that selection changed with sex and season. Only males during the summer and hyperphagic seasons changed their selection of BMAs based on whether access restrictions were in place, and overall, male bears preferred unrestricted BMAs (BMAs without restrictions in place). Females preferentially selected BMAs regardless of whether the area had access restrictions in place only during the mating season. Individuals varied widely in their preference for BMAs and access restrictions. Bears likely choose to spend time in BMAs based on available food resources rather than restrictions to human access. Supporting this interpretation, our analyses indicated that a greater proportion of BMA in an area was associated with higher densities of grizzly bear. Thus, restrictions to human access likely help reduce the potential for human–bear interactions, accomplishing one of the original objectives for establishing the BMAs.

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Potential for recreational restrictions to reduce grizzly bear–caused human injuries

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Quantifying energetic costs and defining energy landscapes experienced by grizzly bears

Quantifying energetic costs and defining energy landscapes experienced by grizzly bears

Canada lynx occupancy and density in Glacier National Park

Grizzly bear responses to restrictions of recreation in Yellowstone National Park

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