Wolverine winter travel routes and response to transportation corridors in Kicking Horse Pass between Yoho and Banff National Parks

During two winters I investigated the influence of transportation corridors on wolverine (Gulo gulo) movements through snow-tracking. Analysis of movements within the study area showed avoidance of areas within 100 m of the Trans Canada Highway and preference for areas {dollar}{lcub}>{rcub}1100{dollar} m from the highway. Analysis of movements on the ski trail that formed the boundary of the study area showed a similar trend with avoidance of sections of the trail within 200 m of the highway and preference for sections {dollar}{lcub}>{rcub}1100{dollar} m away. Mean width of the right-of-way for highway crossings by wolverines (68 m) was significantly shorter than that of approaches without crossing (165 m). Wolverines approaching the highway made repeated approaches and retreats and only crossed three out of six times. Wolverines did not hesitate to cross the Canadian Pacific Railway in areas where it does not share a common right-of-way with the highway. Total wolverine activity, behaviour and the fact that I observed almost twice (1.93 times) as much movement on the east-west axis across the study area compared to the north-south axis, strongly indicate that Kicking Horse Pass is an important east-west movement corridor for wolverines. The Trans Canada Highway currently appears to be having a significant impact on wolverine movements. I believe that roads with narrow rights-of-way {dollar}({lcub}{rcub}100{dollar} m). I expect the impact of the highway on wolverines is greater during the summer when traffic volume is higher.