Responses of Grizzly Bears to Logging Truck Traffic in the Kimsquit River Valley, British Columbia

Abstract
To assess the impacts of log truck traffic on grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in Coastal British Columbia, the zone of hauling activity (zha) in the Kimsquit River study area was mapped using the sound levels (dB[C]) recorded at 25-m intervals along 200-m transects perpendicular to the road. The logging road bisected the home ranges of 2 adult female grizzly bears that were intensively monitored by radiotelemetry. We obtained 2 years of prelogging information and 2 years of data during logging activity on how these bears used the zha. Two hypotheses were tested to assess the impacts of truck movement: (1) there would be no difference in the pattern of use of the zha by adult female grizzly bears during and not during disturbance and (2) there would be no difference in activity patterns within the zha during disturbance among areas with different vegetative screen types and between areas with and without visual screens. Based on our information, hypothesis 1 was rejected, and hypothesis 2 was not. Additional information is presented that corroborates these findings.