Close roads in defined seasons

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

60%
Certainty

15%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Some mammals may avoid areas around roads (e.g. Rost & Bailey 1979). Closing these roads to traffic, especially at times of the year when they most use the habitat that the road runs through, may increase their use of such areas and, hence, increase their access to natural resources such as food and shelter.

Rost G.R. & Bailey J.A. (1979) Distribution of mule deer and elk in relation to roads. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 43, 634–641.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects on mammals of closing roads in defined seasons. This study was in the USA.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

Use (1 study): A site comparison study in the USA found that closing roads to traffic during the hunting season increased use of those areas by mule deer.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A site comparison study in 2015 in a forest in Oregon, USA (Curtis & Du Toit 2017) found that closing roads to traffic during the hunting season increased use of those areas by mule deer Odocoilius hemionus. Mule deer positions were closer to closed roads (average 190 m) than to open roads (average 1,250 m). In March 2015, an unspecified number of mule deer were captured and fitted with GPS collars that recorded their location every 13 hours. Deer locations and distances to the nearest road were recorded in August–October 2015. During this period, an unspecified number of roads in the area were closed to vehicles, while others remained open. This period overlapped with the legal hunting season.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Curtis A.M. & Du Toit J.T. (2017) Efficacy of travel management areas for reducing disturbance to mule deer during hunting seasons. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 41, 309-312.

Please cite as:

Littlewood, N.A., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K., Martin, P.A., Lockhart, S.L., Schoonover, R.F., Wilman, E., Bladon, A.J., Sainsbury, K.A., Pimm S. and Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Terrestrial Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for terrestrial mammals excluding bats and primates. Synopses of Conservation Evidence Series. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

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