Resource Library:

Wildlife And Habitat

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published Jun 2008

New Trails for a Significant Texas Playa Wildlife Preserve

by American Trails Staff

Design for trail system provides wildlife viewing and teaches about playa resources.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - I. What happens to plants near trails

by American Trails Staff

Encouraging visitors to stay on the trail is the most important issue, and is made easier by providing attractive, well-designed trail systems. Managers should also identify populations of plants that have been designated as threatened, endangered, or sensitive.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife and Trails Checklist — Step B: Considering alternatives

by American Trails Staff

The checklist focuses specifically on wildlife issues of trail planning and is designed to mirror comprehensive planning processes.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife and Trails Checklist — Step A: Getting the Whole Picture

by American Trails Staff

Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - K. Making informed decisions

by American Trails Staff

Any trail will have at least some impact on wildlife. Therefore, deciding whether the recreational value of a trail outweighs those impacts is a community choice, or in some cases, a legal question.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - J. Managing trails with wildlife in mind

by American Trails Staff

Offering wildlife interpretation and environmental education to trail users can play an important role in reducing impacts to wildlife. People more readily protect what they understand and appreciate.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - How Wildlife Responds to Trails

by American Trails Staff

The construction of a trail is just one impact on the habitat it passes through. The activities of visitors and the response of wildlife are also components of the long-term trail impacts.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - Part G. A site’s existing impacts

by American Trails Staff

Assessing the amount of human disturbance already along a potential trail alignment can help set more real- istic wildlife goals for a trail project. Trail alignments may pass through one or more of the general levels of modification along a gradient from urban to pristine.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - Part F. Species and places of special interest

by American Trails Staff

While some species (such as bald eagle and Ute ladies-tresses orchids) and habitats (such as wetlands) have legal status that must be respected in the process of trail building, others may deserve special attention because of the value placed on them by a local community.


published Sep 2018

Wildlife And Trails Primer - Part E. The importance of streamside areas

by American Trails Staff

By understanding the relative quality of riparian areas, it may be possible to find places within the riparian zone for trails that will have less impact on wildlife.