RESEARCH PROGRAM > Larger Systems > Wildlife

"Every region should retain representative samples of its original wilderness condition, to serve science as a sample of normality. Just as doctors must study healthy people to understand disease, so must the land sciences study the wilderness to understand disorders of the land mechanism."

Aldo Leopold, as quoted in Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire, Marybeth Lorbiecki (1996)

RESEARCH GOAL - to understand the status and decline of amphibian and desert tortoise populations, as well as the impacts of recreation on wildlife, the role wilderness plays in wildlife conservation, and the contribution of wildlife to wilderness experiences.

WILDLIFE - Wilderness areas are often too small or too far apart to maintain viable wildlife populations and, even within wilderness areas, wildlife species are often directly or indirectly threatened. With human modification of surrounding lands, wilderness may be the last refuge for threatened and endangered species, but in most areas information on this role is lacking. Under the leadership of Steve Corn with the U.S.G.S., amphibian decline is one of the major wildlife research emphases at the Leopold Institute.

Recent research addresses:

Effects of global change on amphibian populations

Phylogeny and distribution of the rare boreal toad

Effective methods for translocating desert tortoises

Effective methods for monitoring wildlife populations

Wildlife management activities in wilderness (e.g., fish stocking)

Impacts of recreation on wildlife populations

FURTHER INFORMATION ON OUR WILDLIFE RESEARCH:

RESEARCH PROJECTS - Searchable Database

PUBLICATIONS (Leopold Institute)

OTHER RESOURCES:

READINGS ON WILDLIFE AND WILDERNESS

BACKCOUNTRY RECREATION IMPACTS TO WILDLIFE: AN ANNOTATED READING LIST (draft) - Volume 5 of the Linking Wilderness Research and Management Series.

AMPHIBIAN RESEARCH SYNOPSIS

HOT TOPICS:

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN WILDERNESS

WILDLIFE VIEWING IN WILDERNESS - POSTER (PDF file)