Balancing Recreation and Conservation in California and Beyond
I grew up in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, in the heart of the critical wildlife corridor linking the Santa Monica Mountains to inland wildlands and mountain ranges. Nearly every weekend of my childhood was spent hiking through the network of open spaces stretching across this linkage. Those early experiences shaped my understanding of what it meant to love and value the natural world and the incredible wildlife that calls it home, from mountain lions and bobcats to mule deer and rattlesnakes.
I remember one hike in particular: I was alone on a quiet trail in Malibu Creek State Park. The morning fog still clung to the ridgelines, and the chaparral was damp from the previous night’s rain. As I rounded a bend, I came upon a small group of coyotes. We all froze. For a long moment, no one moved as we carefully watched each other. Then, silently, the coyotes turned and slipped off the trail, vanishing into the brush. I continued on without much thought. Encounters like that were common and part of what made hiking there so special.
That memory only gained significant meaning much later, after I joined Wildlands Network. Back then, I had no idea that the landscape I loved was one of the most important and imperiled wildlife corridors in Southern California. I didn’t realize that the trails I walked, however lightly, cut through habitat used by species trying to move between and survive within shrinking wild spaces. I never considered how my presence might alter the behavior of the very animals I was so excited to see, or how the spread of roads, trails, and development was slowly squeezing the pathways wildlife had relied on for generations.
Through my work on National Forest recreation planning efforts at Wildlands Network, I’ve come to understand that recreation, even seemingly low-impact activities like hiking, is not a neutral force on the landscape. The location of trails, the frequency of use, and the type of recreation they support all influence how wildlife interact with their environment. Recreation can fragment habitat, disrupt movement, and erode ecological connectivity. In trying to enjoy nature, people like me can unwittingly threaten the very ecosystems and wildlife we cherish.
At the same time, I’ve also come to appreciate just how deeply communities value recreation, whether for the economic opportunities it provides or for the personal connection to wild places it creates.
Reconciling these two truths— that wildlife need connected landscapes and people want access to recreation—is one of the most complex and important challenges in conservation today. At Wildlands Network, we’re working to meet this challenge by advancing science-driven planning, collaborating across sectors and interest groups, and focusing on long-term ecological health. Our work in the Northern Sierra illustrates what this balance can look like in practice.
Photo by Wildlands Network
The Northern Sierra: A Case Study
The Pacific Wildway is our vision for a connected wildlife corridor stretching from British Columbia through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California, all the way to Baja California, Mexico. The Northern Sierra is a critical segment of this Wildway, enabling movement north-south through the Sierra Nevada and east-west into the Great Basin. This region is vital for wide-ranging species like mountain lions, migratory mule deer herds, and animals reclaiming historic range, such as wolves and elk.
Recently, however, interest in developing new recreation opportunities, particularly on National Forest lands, has surged in the Northern Sierra. While these efforts are often rooted in the desire to stimulate local economies and encourage outdoor engagement, many of the proposed routes pass through sensitive habitat, including summer range for migratory deer, breeding areas, and critical habitat for threatened and endangered species.
To better understand the potential impact of these proposals, Wildlands Network convened a coalition of conservation partners and commissioned a review of existing science on recreation impacts on conservation. The findings confirmed an unfortunate reality: while the degree of impact varies, all types of recreation, from hiking and biking to motorized use, can negatively affect wildlife movement. Recreation and connectivity are often competing interests, especially when trails are sited without integrated ecological planning.
Why Is It So Hard to Get This Right?
As we dug deeper into this challenge, we collaborated with state and federal land managers to better understand the barriers to more balanced planning. Two major obstacles quickly became clear:
1. Fragmented and inaccessible data
There’s no centralized, easily accessible repository of relevant ecological data, so land managers from federal and state agencies often lack the tools to assess how proposed trails intersect with wildlife corridors or sensitive habitat. While valuable data exists, it’s scattered across multiple institutions and formats. As a result, decisions are often made with incomplete or outdated information, and analysis of trail alternatives is time-consuming and inconsistent.
2. Scientific uncertainty
Even though we know recreation affects wildlife connectivity, key questions remain unanswered. For example, how do different species react to different types of human activity? What thresholds exist for trail density or visitation before habitat becomes functionally fragmented? Without answers, land managers, trail advocates, and conservationists struggle to minimize impacts on wildlife while meeting public demand for recreation opportunities.
Smarter Planning and Stronger Collaboration
To address these gaps, Wildlands Network partnered with Jodi McGraw Consulting to develop a GIS-based planning dashboard. This tool overlays highways, forest roads, trails, and proposed trail routes with key ecological data such as core habitats, watersheds, and known movement areas so planners can quickly identify potential conflicts and make more informed trail siting decisions.
We’re also collaborating with the Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, land managers, and conservation organizations to co-create a shared vision for a connected Northern Sierra. Together, we’re identifying priority wildlife areas, developing best practices for recreation siting, and working to fill key knowledge gaps. We look forward to continuing this collaborative process and anticipate releasing a final report from this process within the next two years.
Photo by Mari Galloway
An International Vision
This issue isn’t unique to the Northern Sierra. The tension between recreation and conservation exists everywhere, from BLM lands and National Forests to state parks and local open spaces. As interest in outdoor recreation grows across the continent, so too does the pressure on wildlife and wildlands.
At Wildlands Network, balance is at the heart of our work. The Wildways vision seeks to foster healthy coexistence that balances the needs of people with the needs of wildlife. We believe that thoughtfully planned recreation can complement conservation goals and deepen people’s relationship with the land. But it requires intentionality, collaboration, and a commitment to putting the best available science into practice.
As a result, our goal is not to halt recreation but rather to help guide it to the right places. By identifying and engaging in recreation within “least conflict” zones where wildlife needs and recreation opportunities align, we can support both ecological integrity and human access. Better planning doesn’t mean closing off nature to humans; it means ensuring our enjoyment of it doesn’t come at the expense of the species that depend on these landscapes.
That’s why we’re pursuing strategic goals like minimizing the biodiversity impacts of roads and motorized trails and advocating for wildlife-friendly, climate-resilient infrastructure. By 2030, we aim to help secure $1 billion in public investment for wildlife crossings, trail and road decommissioning, and mitigation projects across North America. These efforts, along with our ongoing work in science-based recreation planning, are essential to realizing our vision of a reconnected and rewilded continent.
We still have a long way to go. There’s no simple formula for balancing recreation and conservation, but with better data, stronger partnerships, and thoughtful planning, we can move toward a future where people and wildlife coexist more successfully.
