Canyons are extreme environments due to their dramatic topography, intense temperatures, and unpredictable floods. In the American West, millions of global travelers visit these geologic feats to experience their unique landscapes and desert wildlife. Help us explore how mass tourism may change wildlife ranging and foraging behaviors by identifying animals across gradients of human-use environments.

 

Human presence in natural areas inevitably affects the wildlife that lives there. Tourists may disturb large animals like cougars, cueing anti-predator behaviors that lead to the wildlife avoidance of high human use areas. Alternatively, tourists often attract and habituate small animals like squirrels and chipmunks by providing access to human foods. As tourist areas develop and build necessary infrastructure like restrooms, gift shops, and restaurants, some wildlife take advantage of these buildings for refuge from unpredictable desert conditions. Canyon Critters seeks to understand the ecological impacts of tourism on wildlife by using camera-traps and hair-collecting tunnels to explore both wildlife behavior and diet.

 

Study sites include : Zion National Park, Town of Springdale, Grand Canyon National Park, Eagle Crags Trailhead.

 

Nature-based tourism is on the rise, with U.S. National Parks now receiving more than 330 million visitors per year. Park managers need scientific evidence to inform visitor management and animal conservation strategies. The current National Park deficit estimated at $11 billion leaves research funds slim, with most efforts focused on endangered or charismatic species. Despite being the most common animals to interact with visitors, squirrels and chipmunks are often the least studied. Evidence is needed to mobilize funding and prioritize park areas for management.