But according to the environmental scientist, that question is clouded by several factors. Wood stoves add a certain ambiance to homes but are not the most efficient way to heat it. And they do, indeed, take a serious toll on the environment. But according to folks who study habitat density, the road less traveled may actually be the path to the most amount of environmental damage. Interstates and other major highways, while contributors to habitat fragmentation, are, in fact, only a small piece of the environmental puzzle, says Regnerus.
Big highways bring big pollution.
But small roads, like the thousands of individual logging roads that riddle lands supervised by the U.S. Forest Service, slice animal habitat perilously thin. The working definition of a secure habitat is one linear mile of road per one square mile of wilderness. An aerial view shows habitat fragmentation in Montana. Amazingly, the Forest Service itself is the world's most prolific road builder. According to the alliance, which has been studying the backroads of Eastern Rocky Mountain parklands since 1994, Forest Service maps are etched with a confusing 430,000 miles of road, with many more uncharted.