ROADS

Threats to Wilderness

Roads destroy wildlife habitat - the clearance of road right-of-ways destroys natural habitat, which may harbor rare or endangered species;

Bridges and culverts harm wetlands and aquatic habitat - the construction of bridges and culverts for roads can cause tremendous problems because they destroy wetlands and fish habitat, block migration pathways and pollute water;

Cars and trucks collide with wildlife - "roadkill" is one tragic result when roads are constructed through wild lands. In Banff National Park wolves, moose and elk are all too often killed by vehicles on the Trans-Canada Highway and other roads;

Wildlife movement and migrations are blocked - roads are barriers to wildlife movement and migrations. Habitat is broken into smaller and smaller areas, to the point where populations are no longer self-sustaining. Roads can be barriers for large mammals, amphibians and reptiles;

Roads increase pressure on wildlife - roads can lead to greater pressures on wildlife populations from hunting, fishing, and other human activities;

Pollution from road maintenance - many roads are salted and some are oiled to reduce dust. These and other contaminants work their way into adjacent soils and watercourses;

Roads make it easy for the introduction of exotic plants and animals - roads are pathways for exotic plants and animals (like zebra mussels and purple loosestrife), that compete with native species;

Air pollution - roads, particularly heavily traveled routes, allow vehicles to spew pollutants like sulphur and nitrous oxides, particulates and heavy metals into the environment;

Roads allow predators to move about and threaten prey - roads allow predators like wolves and coyotes to improve their efficiency to hunt and kill prey species;

Roads lead to soil erosion - roads on steep slopes cause significant erosion that harms habitat, but is especially damaging to rivers and streams.

LEARN MORE:

Forest Threats & Solutions Learn about the impacts of human developments in the forest.