Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings (2008) / Chapter Skim
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The goal for this research project was to develop sound guidelines based on the premise that understanding and establishing landscape permeability leads to effective landscape connectivity and the restoration of ecosystem integrity. At the same time, the guidelines should allow for efficient and effective transportation infrastructure mitigation in a cost-effective, economic manner.
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Although crossings may be constructed based in part on the WVC models and provide some measure of connectivity, landscape permeability as experienced by the animal may not be achieved because of differences in movement ability among species. The allometric relationship between dispersal distances and home range size of mammalian species can assist in deciding on the placement of wildlife crossings that will help restore landscape permeability across fragmented habitat networks.
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Trends found in the practice of wildlife crossings included an increase in the number of target species in mitigation projects, increasing numbers of endangered species as target species for mitigation, increasing involvement of municipal and state agencies, increasing placement of accompanying structures such as fencing and escape jump-out ramps, and a continent-wide neglect in maintenance of these structures. The trends in the science related to wildlife passages included a greater tendency to monitor new passages for efficacy, a broadening of the number of species studied, an increase in the length of monitoring time, increases in the number of scientific partners conducting wildlife passage research, and increasingly sophisticated research technology.
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In the first part, safety performance functions (SPFs) were calibrated for data on AVCs and road and traffic variables from four states; SPFs are predictive models for WVCs that relate police-reported WVCs to traffic volume and road environment data (geometrics)
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Perhaps more noteworthy from this exercise was the vast difference in predictive ability between the models developed with spatially accurate data versus the less accurate data obtained from referencing UVCs to a mile-marker system. Besides learning about the parameters that contribute to UVCs in the study area, the research team discovered that spatially accurate data do make a difference in the ability of models to provide not just statistically significant results, but more importantly, biologically meaningful results for transportation and resource managers responsible for reducing UVCs and improving motorist safety.
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Through this project, the research team demonstrated how WVC data can be used to aid transportation management decision making and mitigation planning for wildlife. Hotspot Modeling The hotspot analysis used carcass data from wildlife killed on roads to investigate several hotspot identification clustering techniques within a GIS framework that can be used in a variety of landscapes.
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From page 7... ...
could be used in deciding on the spacing of wildlife crossings that will help restore landscape permeability across fragmented habitat networks. Until now, the placement of crossings has not been grounded in theory but has relied on empirical data to underpin crossing placement decisions, in part because the idea of landscape permeability has not been traditionally viewed from an animal perspective.
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were assessed to determine their relative importance in explaining where ungulates were killed on the road. Also, spatially accurate data were discovered to make a difference in the ability of models to provide not just statistically significant results but more importantly, biologically meaningful results for transportation and resource managers responsible for reducing WVCs and improving motorist safety.
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The density analysis approach identified more hotspot clusters on longer sections of highway. Although the density analysis approach appears to be less useful to management, it may be a preferred option where managers are interested in taking a broader, more comprehensive view of wildlife–vehicle conflicts within a given area.
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