Road densities and Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, habitat suitability: An exception

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that Gray Wolf populations are jeopardized at road densities > 0.58 km/km2. One landscape model predicting wolf occupancy based on road densities which were not higher than 0.45 km/km2 (Mladenoff et al. 1995) has been supported with field data (Mladenoff et al. 1999). In one example in central Minnesota, wolves are breeding successfully in an area with a road density of 1.42 km/km2. This situation illustrates the point that road density is an index of high-speed vehicles and human attitudes, and there are situations when road density alone is not an accurate index of wolf habitat suitability.