Trails and tails: Using smart-phone GPS data to balance recreation and wildlife management

Annabelle Moore; Mark Ditmer

Treesearch

Trails and tails: Using smart-phone GPS data to balance recreation and wildlife management

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Annabelle Moore, Mark Ditmer

Year:

2026

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes). Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Download (PDF 1.05 MB)

Download (PDF 1.05 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/80380.pdf

Abstract

Did you know your cellphone’s GPS locations can help us decipher how recreationists and wildlife overlap in time and space? Mark Ditmer, a research ecologist at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, and colleagues harnessed this cellphone-derived human mobility data to explore how managers can enhance recreation and protect wildlife in sensitive habitats.

Keywords

trails, recreation, wildlife management, human mobility data

Citation

Moore, Annabelle; Ditmer, Mark A. 2026. Trails and tails: Using smart-phone GPS data to balance recreation and wildlife management. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), April 2026. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.