Game & Fish

Why wildlife overpasses are worth the expense By Angi Bruce, Wyoming Game and Fish

In Wyoming there are 6,000 documented collisions with big game annually. A wildlife overpass is one of many solutions wildlife managers and transportation engineers may recommend to help prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions and reduce barriers for season movements. While overpasses are a costly infrastructure investment for wildlife, they are a unique and indispensable tool for preventing crashes and re-establishing biological connectivity for herds.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming Department of Transportation acknowledge overpasses are expensive. On a two-lane road the cost ranges from $6 to $14 million for the structure. An interstate wildlife overpass can be pricier at $20 to $30 million.

Because they are expensive, Game and Fish and WYDOT only recommend overpasses when they are justifiable, suited to the species and the location. Often, lower-cost solutions are the first consideration to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. Those might include fencing, using existing underpasses, variable speed limits, signs for drivers or mowing the rights of way.

Most important, an overpass must meet wildlife’s needs. Any road modifications for wildlife are supported by data and other Wildlife priority area on US 26/287 near Dubois subject of public virtual meeting By Wyoming Game and Fish

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and WYDOT invited interested citizens to attend a virtual meeting to discuss possible solutions to wildlife/vehicle collisions along US 26/287 outside of Dubois.

The meeting was held over ZOOM on Dec. 8.

Annually, an average of 136 collisions with mule deer occur on this stretch of highway, costing $746,000 per year. WYDOT, on-the-ground conditions. That starts with sometimes decades of research on the movements of big game like elk, deer or pronghorn. Biologists will analyze GPS-collar data to learn how many animals are crossing and the species, as well as the frequency and location of crossings and collisions.

When overpasses are placed in the right location they have been proven to be 80 to 90 percent effective in reducing collisions. Support wildlife crossing efforts by purchasing a Wyoming Wildlife Conservation License Plate or donating to crossing

efforts. n

A herd of mule deer at a wildlife-safe fence along the highway.

Photo: Mark Gocke as well as Game and Fish and various wildlife and community groups, hope to reduce those collisions as well as impacts to other wildlife, such as bighorn sheep. The agencies are taking action to find solutions that give wildlife the green light for safe passage along this 26-mile stretch of US 26/287, from east to west outside of Dubois.

This stretch of highway was identified at the 2017 Wildlife and Roadways Summit as one of the top 10 priority areas in the state to begin looking for solutions. The summit kicked off the Wildlife and Roadways Initiative that Game and Fish, WYDOT, other governmental and non-governmental agencies have been working on to identify priority areas and work together to find ways to fund and implement projects that reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions, increase motorist safety, and maintain or re-establish disconnected wildlife migration routes.

To evaluate this stretch of highway, Julia Kintsch from ECO-resolutions LLC was hired as a consultant. Kintsch has 15 years of experience helping wildlife and transportation agencies mitigate wildlife movement. At the Dec. 8 meeting, Kintsch will present the project partnership’s initial findings and ideas for solutions.

Join the ZOOM call and share your thoughts about the information gathered, what has been learned and some potential solutions to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions in the Dubois area. n

Platte Valley Mule Deer Migration Corridor Draft Biological Risk and Opportunity Assessment released By Sara DiRienzo

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has released the Platte Valley Mule Deer Migration Corridor Draft Biological Risk and Opportunity Assessment. The document provides an overview of the conservation challenges and opportunities along the 80 miles in south-central Wyoming that make up one of the most crucial pathways in the state for spring and fall mule deer movements. The public is invited to review the draft and submit comments.

The Platte Valley Migration Corridor has been an official corridor since 2018 and was recognized as a designated migration corridor as part of Gov. Mark Gordon’s 2020 Migration Corridor Executive Order.

“The finalized assessment will align the Platte Valley Corridor with any new migration corridor designations and provide a framework for management,” said Embere Hall, Game and Fish Laramie Region wildlife management coordinator.

The Platte Valley is home to 12,000 mule deer who move annually between the shrubby winter habitats in Carbon County to summer ranges the Snowy Range, Sierra Madre and foothills in North Park, Colorado where grasses, forbs and mountain shrubs abound. The corridor includes public and private lands. The top concern for the corridor is maintaining connectivity between seasonal ranges.

“While much of the Platte Valley mule deer migration corridor consists of intact open space, human development and the associated infrastructure can impair connectivity,” said Teal Cufaude, the Saratoga Game and Fish biologist. “Game and Fish is dedicated to working collabora- Photo: WYDOT tively with our part- Mule deer at a wintry roadside ners and stakeholders to minimize risks to corridor viability.”

Within the assessment lies several opportunities to benefit mule deer. One such opportunity is working together with landowners on targeted habitat projects. Better habitat, particularly food sources, can help mule deer get more of the nutrients they need to survive over winter.

“These projects range from helping reduce invasive plant species — like cheatgrass — that are low in nutrients for ungulates, to improving shrub communities, which can offer much better forage,” Hall said.

The draft assessment is available on the Game and Fish website. The public will have the opportunity to review and submit comments online. A virtual public meeting for local stakeholders will be held Dec. 8.

Comments will be accepted until Dec. 15 and will contribute to the final assessment, slated to be completed in January 2021. n

Snow Fence Can you fence the wind? Or guide the snow On Winters Day When Wyoming Winds BLOW.

Shape the snow into waves sparkling and white for a safer drive on a cold winters night.

Water for grass and forbs food for springs’ new fawns I’m so glad they aren’t eating my lawn!

a supply for weathered wooden picture frames first built for safety on winters’ travel lane. Snow Snake A girl or boy Snow Snake, Have you ever seen one? Do they play in the dirt and grass and have fun? A Snow Snake is a friendly sight, will not, coil, squirm or bite. A Snow Snake prevents blowing snow watch for one by the road as you go.

Poems by Marilee Manalo