New research recently published out of UW’s Prugh Lab, and led by former PhD student turned Wildlife Ecologist Michael Procko, looks at the impacts of non-consumptive outdoor recreation on elk and elk calving in the Cascades. This type of recreation includes quieter, non-motorized forms like day hiking, horseback riding, backpacking, mountain biking, etc. 

The research addresses the potential impacts of recreation on Tulalip Tribe elk harvest numbers, which have steadily declined in recent years. Procko placed 80 cameras along trails and restricted access roads on DNR and USFS land in the Cascade Range to capture human, animal and vehicle movement during the summer and fall of 2022. 

Elk were nearly half as likely to be captured on camera in the locations where recreational estimates exceeded 22 people per day. The findings support other recent research that indicates that even low levels of recreation have the potential to displace wildlife and, in this case, disturb elk calving. These negative impacts of recreation on elk are at odds with Indigenous rights to harvest elk throughout their traditional territories. 

Research like Procko’s allows Indigenous tribes and conservationists to make informed policy recommendations to land managers and planners on how to best protect wildlife from recreational disturbance. 

Read the research published in Ecosphere here.