How to Win At Saving Wildlife

and Making Roads Safer

Patricia Cramer, PhD

Colorado Wildlife Summit June 2017

Thanks to Research Sponsors

Outline

I. Data- To ID

Challenges and

Potential Solutions

II.Research- To

Evaluate Solutions

and Inform Actions

Data – Collect it and use to inform decisions

Take Home Points

Research - Informs the practice and helps create

the best wildlife mitigation designs

I. DATA –COLLECT IT, MAP IT, USE IT

Taken from South Dakota Dept. of Transportation

Research Project, Cramer et al. 2016

WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISION CRASH DATA

Crash Data is reported to highway patrol, sheriff, police – forms have an

entry for wild animal involved

Typically has to be at least $1,500 damage

But….

Truck drivers do not report

Uninsured do not report

And other factors

Results in Crash Data being one-fifth to one-tenth of carcass data.

WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISION CARCASS DATA

Collected by

- DOT maintenance workers

- Contractors to DOT

- Can be members of the public

In Utah found to be 5 times more than reported crashes

In Virginia, > 9 times more than reported crashes

Inconsistently collected over a state, and over the years

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS WITH CRASH DATA

Incident Description

US DOT 2013 Cost

Estimate per Occurrence

(US Dollars)*

South Dakota DOT

2015 Cost Per

Occurrence

Fatal $ 9,395,247 $ 370,800

Serious Injuries (Type A) $ 506,217 $ 370,800

Visible Injuries (Type B) $ 185,144 $ 370,800

Possible Injuries (Type C) $ 105,228 $ 370,800

Property Damage Only

(PDO)$ 17,343 $ 17,343

Crash Injury Type

Average

Reported

Crashes per

Year

SDDOT Average $

Value per Crash

of This Type

Based on US DOT

Estimates

Total Monetary

Value per Crashes

of Each Severity

Type

(Number x Cost)

Fatal 1.5 $ 370,800* $ 556,200

Serious, Visible, and Possible

Injury73.5 $ 370,800*

$ 27,253,800

Property Damage Only 4,621 $ 17,343 $ 80,142,003

Totals 4,696 $107,952,003

South Dakota WVC Crashes Average Annual

Cost to Society 2015

Safety Analysis Annual Average Cost to Society in

South Dakota for Reported WVC Crashes = 107.9

million dollars

MAP CRASH AND CARCASS DATA

To Identify Highest Incident Hotspot areas

and

What Species are Involved

Western State Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Hotspot Maps

Colorado

Utah WVC Carcass Reporter

Website with MapDatabaseSmart Phone

App

Slide courtesy of Daniel Olson

CREATE SMARTPHONE APPS TO COLLECT AND MAP WVC CARCASS DATA

South Dakota Game,

Fish, and Parks

&

South Dakota DOT

Used

Survey123 from ESRI

South

Dakota

Data points

from one

carcass

collector –

Just 3

weeks in

April, 2017

Other Types of Data Used to Inform Transportation Planning

Idaho Transportation Department Interactive Website for Mitigation

(http://iplan.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=91

70745dcb2f479c98ec836608ceeb7e)

+ +

=

Integrate Wildlife Agency Wildlife Habitat and Linkage Maps into Transportation Planning

Create statewide prioritization process

VISION FOR THE FUTURE: GET DATA AND GET INTO THE GAME

II. RESEARCH TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

Wildlife Crossing Structures with Fencing

A wildlife crossing is a culvert or bridge that was designed specifically for wildlife.

Crossing, with

wildlife-proof

fencing is the

MOST effective

way to keep wildlife

off roads.

Wildlife Crossings In North America

4

Wildlife Crossings in Canada and

United States as of 2010

Research Project with Dr. David Theobald

~600 Terrestrial Crossings in Western North America 2016

First Concerns – Large Animals

Bog Turtle

Black Bear - Montana

Florida Panther

Mule Deer - Utah

Studying Wildlife & Wildlife Crossings

Place cameras

according to

objectivesAnalyze photos

Plot data on successful

passages, repels, totals,

changes over time

Ask “What is the Question?” Figure out how cameras can help

answer that question and meet the objectives.

WILDLIFE CROSSING STRUCTURES WORK

Pre-Construction and Control Monitoring to Set Performance Measures for Success

US 93 ROW Pre-Construction

Success Rate = 64 %

Rate of Repellency = 10%

Success per Camera Day = 0.4

CR 370 ROW Control

Success rate 63%

Rate of Repellency = 5%

Success per Camera Day = 2.9

Utah Wildlife Crossing Structure Study

Our six year study documented over 43,000 mule

deer movements under and over 15 of Utah’s 44

wildlife crossing structures Photo credit: P. Cramer, USU, UDOT, UDWR

2015-2016 Monitoring:

Mule Deer Used

Overpass 4,666 times

Underpasses > 2,000

times

Colorado State Highway 9 Wildlife Crossing Structures

RESEARCH INFORMS FUTURE DESIGNS

Most Important Dimensions for Success Rate:

1 – Openness = height x width / length

2 – Minimize Length

3 – Maximize Width

4 – Maximize Height

Mule Deer - Utah

In Utah, Bridges Worked Best for Mule deer and Elk

Mule Deer & Most Wildlife Prefer Using Bridges Over Culverts

In Utah, Success Rates of Mule Deer at

Bridges

Established bridges ~ 95%

Newer bridges from 84 to 89%

Montana US 93 Research

White-Tailed Deer Use Short Bridges

White-Tailed Deer Success Per Day Plotted Against Openness

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Openness

0

1

2

3

4

5

Tota

l success p

er

day

bridgeculverttype

MDT: Total Success Per Dayversus Openness

Openness = Height x Width

Length

Cramer and Hamlin US 93

Recommendations for White-Tailed

Deer Crossing Structures

Maximize Width

Minimize Length

Height is Least Important

Fencing helps reduce WVC, but

not critical for WTD success rate

Our Potential Solution . . .

Elk Need

Training

Technology Helps Create Solutions

Mule Deer - Utah

Can Mule Deer Migration Paths Be Re-Routed?

Existing Sub-standard Culvert Exactly Where Deer Formerly

Went Over the Road

Few mule deer (less than 10 percent that approached) used

this culvert

New Wildlife Crossing Culverts

Mule Deer Migration

was changed from MP

39.5 Telegraph Culvert

they wouldn’t use to…..

Mule Deer Migration

was changed from MP

39 Telegraph Culvert

they wouldn’t use to….

MP 40.5 New Wildlife

Crossing Culvert, 1.0

miles to west

Take Home Message

Collect and use information to make best

decisions for solving WVC and wildlife

habitat fragmentation problems

Never doubt

the power of a

few individuals

to change the

world, indeed,

it is the only

thing that ever

has.

Margaret Mead