UNE students research the wildlife impact of closing the Eastern Trail gap

Noah Perlut, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Environmental Studies, is curious about the impact that connecting two sections of the Eastern Trail in Scarborough, Maine, will have on wildlife in the area.

Perlut is involving his students in a five-year project to study the wildlife in the gap area before, during and after the construction of the project, which is known as “Close the Gap.”

“I wanted to start a project that would allow the community to appreciate animals that are right outside their back doors,” he said. “

A 1.6-mile gap currently exists on the Eastern Trail, interrupting off-road travel. Work is expected to start soon to close the gap, including the construction of two bridges. The finished project will provide 16 continuous off-road miles reaching from Bug Light in South Portland to Downtown Saco.

The GapTracks Project involves students from Perlut’s Terrestrial Wildlife class analyzing data collected from eight remote cameras. Two of the cameras are set up where the trail currently exists and six are placed where the extension will be built.

“We go through every single photograph and video to compile the information that’s useful for data analysis,” said Jenny Arasi (Animal Behavior ’19), one of the students involved in the GapTracks study.

Arasi also did fieldwork on wildlife in other areas to help her log the data being collecting more accurately.

“It gives you a better perspective of what’s actually happening in the wildlife community and how different environmental factors influence animal behavior in their day to day routines,” she said.

The study is focused on the types of animals in the gap area, the time of year and day they are present, and the amount and type of use by humans.

That data collected will be compared to data collected after the construction project is complete, to document changes over time.

Perlut says he supports closing the gap 100 percent because the community benefits far outweigh any ecological impact.

“It’s a balance of reasonable human use against a small segment of wildlife protection,” he said. “There are no rare or endangered species that are being affected. If there were, that would be a different discussion.”

Jenny Arasi says the lessons learned through this project can be applied to any animal behavior career she may pursue. She enjoys getting out into nature as part of the class.

“I didn’t realize I would be able to take so many hands-on classes,” she said. “I really feel like UNE is unique in that aspect, enabling us to take a lot of classes that give us experiences not a lot of other colleges would be able to give students.”

The project has produced some candid photos and videos of wildlife in their natural habitat. Many of them are posted on the GapTracks Facebook page.

Visit the GapTracks Facebook page

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