Gray wolf response to refuge boundaries and roads in Alaska.

Synopsis: In an attempt to better characterize the influence of human settlement patterns on wolf distribution, this paper examined how radio-collared gray wolves responded to different road types and human presence at the boundaries of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Alaska. Wolves tended to avoid oilfield access roads that were open to the public, but were attracted to gated pipeline access roads and secondary gravel roads with limited human use. The low use access and secondary roads likely provided an easy travel corridor for wolves. Prior to intensive trapping and hunting from 1978-1979, wolves demonstrated little territorial adjustment in response to a heavily used highway. However, only after wolf populations declines from this intensive year of hunting and trapping did wolves adjust their territory to avoid the highway, forming separate packs on each side of the highway. In summary, road type and density influence the spatial organization of packs.