Recreation index for the Washington Habitat Connectivity Action Plan. Recreation index was one of several components of the human footprint layer used by TerrAdapt to create the Ecosystem Core and Corridor models. It is scaled between 0 and 100.

Participants in the WAHCAP advisory groups and workshops voiced significant concerns about the current and rapidly increasing impacts that recreational activities (e.g., hiking, biking, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, and target practice) have on connectivity functions and values in Washington’s public lands and particularly in the Cascade mountains. Significant recent increases in number of visitors to many areas has led to dramatic impacts on the ecological structure and function of these areas with particularly negative impacts on many wildlife species like elk.

TerrAdapt’s human footprint model included impacts of recreation by calculating road density (as an indicator of human access and activity). In addition, the model included hiking and biking trails, campgrounds, backcountry campsites, ski areas, and resource roads that provide access to off-trail areas as well as urban trails and walkways. These activities were represented in the model as site-level effects as well as distance effects radiating from the source to account for noise, light, invasive species, and other impacts. We heard differing perspectives in our TAG meetings about the relative impact of recreation activities per se, with some experts advocating for human footprint values associated with the features to be much higher and more comparable to road and other human infrastructure.

Recreation index for the Washington Habitat Connectivity Action Plan. Recreation index was one of several components of the human footprint layer used by TerrAdapt to create the Ecosystem Core and Corridor models. It is scaled between 0 and 100.

Participants in the WAHCAP advisory groups and workshops voiced significant concerns about the current and rapidly increasing impacts that recreational activities (e.g., hiking, biking, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, and target practice) have on connectivity functions and values in Washington’s public lands and particularly in the Cascade mountains. Significant recent increases in number of visitors to many areas has led to dramatic impacts on the ecological structure and function of these areas with particularly negative impacts on many wildlife species like elk.

TerrAdapt’s human footprint model included impacts of recreation by calculating road density (as an indicator of human access and activity). In addition, the model included hiking and biking trails, campgrounds, backcountry campsites, ski areas, and resource roads that provide access to off-trail areas as well as urban trails and walkways. These activities were represented in the model as site-level effects as well as distance effects radiating from the source to account for noise, light, invasive species, and other impacts. We heard differing perspectives in our TAG meetings about the relative impact of recreation activities per se, with some experts advocating for human footprint values associated with the features to be much higher and more comparable to road and other human infrastructure.