The desert is gradually encroaching on surrounding agricultural areas. Humans are encroaching upon their natural habitats, developing, fragmenting, and destroying the land. Loyalist settlers began encroaching on Algonquin lands shortly after the Revolution. However, urbanization has been encroaching on the lower slopes of the hills since the 1990s. Settlers were also encroaching on their territory. He fined the landowners for supposedly encroaching on the royal forests. They had already been under pressure from new settlers encroaching on their territory. Prairie claimed WCIA was encroaching on its territory. He worried about the increasing number of the latter, who were encroaching on Creek land. Some tree species have also been encroaching on big sagebrush habitat. The marshes occupy approximately , although wind-blown sands are encroaching in some areas. Goodwin was troubled by what he perceived as encroaching commercialization. Moreover, the Union Pacific Railroad was encroaching on the territory served by Wells Fargo stagelines. Conservationists criticize these actions, claiming that people are encroaching on the leopard's native habitat. Aram-Damascus came out victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria.