The Colorado Department of Parks released in September a concise publication on trails and wildlife that should prove of immense value to the trails movement. The free, 54-page publication is a direct outcome of the Trails and Wildlife Task Force, created last year through the Colorado State Trails Program. A diverse citizen committee gave advice and oversight to the agency, helping to formulate central ideas. The Task Force also sponsored an annotated bibliography of scientific articles about trails and wildlife. Rather, it is an introduction to the subject, combined with excellent advice to help people make judgements about their impacts and to take action to avoid those impacts.
Planning is key.
Few existing trails were constructed with a high degree of planning, because most are old. Today, the art of planning trails is quickly evolving and increasingly encountering the issue of wildlife and natural ecosystems. A classic example is the stream or river corridor through a city. Because of historic flooding and old economies, many waterways in cities offer the last undeveloped wildlife habitat - all the more critical because it is riparian habitat, which so many need. This is also a favorite place for people to recreate, and a zone where streets and buildings don't block trail routes.