Trails and Wildlife

Recreational trails help create enjoyable outdoor experiences and offer visitors ways to connect with nature. However, as with anything that we build on the land, a trail changes its surroundings. The construction of a trail is just the initial impact on the habitat it passes through. The activities of visitors and the response of wildlife are part of the longer-term trail impacts. Sometimes the response of wildlife to a trail doesn’t last long, as when a bird stops feeding as a hiker approaches, only to continue eating after the hiker has passed. With increasing levels of use and changes in the type of use, there may be sufficient disturbance along a trail that some wildlife may move away permanently. In other situations, disturbance by humans may cause nest abandonment, decline in parental care, shortened feeding times, increased stress, and possibly lower reproductive success.

As our region continues to develop, maintaining large areas of habitat free of maintained trails will have a positive influence on our wildlife populations. NH Fish and Game recently developed a statewide tool to assess existing trails and site new trails in the most wildlife-friendly way (see the weblink below). This mapping tool highlights areas particularly important for wildlife that, if avoided, would help to minimize trail disturbance to wildlife. It also evaluates how much habitat is being impacted by existing trails or proposed trail layout by looking at the alert and flight distances of wildlife. The goal of this tool is to help balance the desire for recreational trails and the needs of wildlife.

The tool is based on the following principals:

• Keep unfragmented trail-free areas as large as possible
• Avoid small patches of high quality or special habitats
• Avoid riparian areas, permanent features in the landscape that serve as important wildlife corridors
• Avoid locations of rare wildlife

Durham is working with UNH and NHFG to create well-planned, well-marked, and sustainably managed trails network that improves recreational experiences for residents and the UNH Community, while protecting the ecological, research, and management values of their lands.