Wildlife Corridors

Writing sample taken from introduction to section of Open Space & Trails Master Plan update completed for the Town of Marana, AZ

Known as “Green Infrastructure,” the interconnected natural features of the landscape are valuable for their unique ability to serve many purposes. Ideally, through intelligent, ecologically informed design, benefits for both humans and wildlife can be achieved simultaneously. However, each set of benefits has unique design requirements for their optimization, and in some cases variables may need to be altered to prioritize one or more functions at the expense of the other.

For instance, although the stream-beds of dry washes may serve as natural paths for hiking, the intrusion of humans into prime riparian habitat diminishes the quality of this habitat, and important nesting and mating behavior may be interrupted by the stress caused by humans passing in close proximity.

Where recreational trails coincide or bisect these features, they can contribute to habitat fragmentation and introduce “edge effects” into the ecology. For this reason, it is important to identify where separation should be maintained between recreation trails and land set aside for wildlife habitat and corridors. Recognized trails should be designated, and the making of informal trails in open space preserves should be discouraged.

In the same way that the connectivity of bike and hiking trails is important for their function as recreational modes of travel, the connectivity of linear vegetation features in the landscape is important to their function as corridors of movement for wildlife. Just as features such as the width of trails, and the nature of the places through which they pass impact the quality of their use, so also do these design variables matter when it comes to protecting or enhancing vegetative areas for use by wildlife.