Wildlife-Recreation Partnership with Conservation Northwest
Whether its hiking, biking, kayaking, skiing, or any number of other recreation activities, spending time moving outdoors can enhance human health and happiness. Participation in outdoor recreation activities has steadily increased over the past decades. Washington state, like much of the mountain west, has experienced marked increases in recreation, both in response to region-wide population growth and the COVID-19 pandemic (Fig. 1). This massive increase in human recreation is an emerging concern for wildlife managers as little is know about how recreational activities, particularly at the increased frequency, duration, and volume we are currently experiencing, effects wildlife.
Fig. 1. Visits to USFS National Forests increased dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (Outdoor Foundation 2021, National Visitor Use Monitoring Report, 2000).
To address this issue and learn more about how wildlife are responding to recreation we are partnering with Conservation Northwest (CNW) to develop a report summarizing the existing wildlife-recreation science. This report will focus on scientific literature relevant to Washington wildlife and ecosystems to inform CNW's new Wildlife-Recreation Coexistence Program. The intent of this program is to both support sustainable recreation and best understand how recreation impacts wildlife and their habitat.
In the Methow Valley our community is inextricably tied to both outdoor recreation and the wildlife that reside herein. As a result, we are eager to learn more about the relationship between wildlife and recreation to inform management and coexistence here in the Methow, throughout our state, and the throughout the greater mountain west. We are excited for this opportunity to partner with CNW and look forward to sharing our findings!