“Trail-Building: Habitat Destruction by a Different Name”

Scientists are generally honest in what they say, but not in what they choose to study. It's obvious that trail-building destroys habitat. So why has so little been written about this? Despite a diligent search in one of the world's best academic libraries, I couldn't find a single book or article on the harm done by trail-building.

I notice that whenever I see a picture of a trail, I think, “Oh, a trail. So what?” It takes an effort of will to think about the wildlife habitat that was destroyed to build the trail. And the habitat destruction isn't restricted to the trail bed.

As Ed Grumbine pointed out in his book Ghost Bears, a grizzly can hear a human from a mile away and smell one from five miles away. And grizzlies are probably not unique in that. In other words,...

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