"Puttin' Through the Woods"

Greg Mumm 

April 2003

How many times have you been puttin’ through the woods in your four-wheel drive and run across some deer looking at you like, "Who are you guys?" I can’t tell you the countless times Rhonda and I have had just such an experience in which we looked at each other and said sarcastically, "Yeah, we are really scaring them."

We are often accused of being sources of real fear to animals in the woods and therefore, the sport of four-wheeling should be banned. Both Rhonda and I have often responded to that with the question of, "Where is the science to back that up?" We contend this is simply another one of those excuses that sound good enough to be a justification but don’t really play out when examined. It has long been my thoughts that when traveling through the woods in a vehicle, the noise we make actually gives a "heads-up" to the animals there where we are and therefore, make them less nervous and afraid. They can hear us a long way off.

On the other hand, a hiker is far quieter (most hikers anyway) and therefore has the potential to "surprise" animals in their natural habitat and thereby cause far greater trauma to the animal than we ever would.

Previously, we never had the science to back up that hypothesis just as they have not had the science to back up what they have postulated about our sport. However, recently members of the Blue Ribbon Coalition have taken part in studies sponsored by the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Center in the Mendicino National Forest.

Bill Dart, Public Lands Director for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, was one of the participants and reports some interesting findings. He writes;

"In the testing, occupied owl nests with young owls that were 300 feet or less from the OHV routes were identified, and a scientist observer got close enough to watch the nest while the testing took place. The observer got into position an hour before the test started to ensure his presence wasn’t a factor. Then groups of 5 to 10 motorcycles would drive by the nest every 2-3 minutes, for and hour straight, totaling 100 and 200 motorcyles in an hour driving by the nest."

That being said, he goes on to say:

"The study will be ongoing for several more years, but in all 10 test sessions last year, no owls left the nest. A couple of them moved onto a branch for a short period of the test before moving back into the nest at every single test last year. But no significant disturbance that would have possible negative consequences for the young owls was noted."

Bill also reported that: "Studies of deer and elk have found that they will flee at a farther distance, flee faster, and run farther before stopping from a human on foot than from vehicles."

"The fact is that critters of all kinds are most afraid of the most feared predator on the planet—a human on foot. They are afraid of things that quietly sneak up on them. They are not afraid of noise. They are not afraid of vehicles that they hear coming, that are on a predictable path, and have no history of eating them."

Here is Bill’s final statement:

"In the end, science should prevail, and we will be vindicated, but meanwhile, we all need to protest loud and long whenever the issue of disturbance by vehicles is a serious problem."

Need I say more? Well okay I will… "I told you so!"