New research has spelled out for the first time the gap between official lists of trails in the southern Rockies and the number of trails there actually are, suggesting effects from the growing number of backcountry users may be larger than suspected.
The researchers compiled information over a huge swath of the southern Rockies covering 63,000-square-kilometres. The area included Alberta's Kananaskis country and Ghost Public Land Use Zone, as well as Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks and B.C.'s Purcell Wilderness Conservancy.
In all, the researchers found 24 per cent of all trails in the southern Rockies were undocumented and unmanaged. That's almost 6,000 kilometres of trails totally off the books.She said recreational overuse can create significant effects. Trails can erode or be widened and braided. Streams can be muddied. Trees and other plants can be damaged.
Some areas have so many trails they could already be causing problems for wildlife. One of the tools land managers use to estimate the effect is density — how many kilometres of trail or road exist in a given square kilometre. "Everything from dogs on the landscape to how we're doing our creek crossings, are we avoiding riparian areas."
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