Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Study - Natural Environment

Environment

FHWA > HEP > Environment > Natural Environment > Wildlife Protection and Habitat Connectivity

Also available in Adobe PDF for printing. (12 MB) To view PDF files, you need the Acrobat® Reader®.

Foreword

America's highways allow people and products to travel to every corner of our nation. Along the way, these roads cut across the habitat of many native wildlife species. When these paths cross, collisions can occur, and in greater numbers than most people realize. Collisions present a real threat to human safety as well as wildlife survival. State and local transportation agencies are looking for ways to balance travel needs, human safety, and wildlife conservation.

A national study completed and submitted to the U.S. Congress in November, 2007, detailed the causes and impacts of wildlife-vehicle collisions and identified potential solutions to this growing safety problem. The Report to Congress focused on tools, methods, and other measures that reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and large wildlife, such as deer, because these accidents present the greatest safety danger to travelers and cause the most damage.

This document builds on the information in the Report to Congress to provide a best-practices manual for practitioners responsible for addressing this problem.

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U. S.government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This manual does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The U. S.government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this manual only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Copyright Notice

This document was funded in whole under U.S. Government contract DTFH61-05-D-00018-T-06-001. Some photographs in this document contain copyrighted photographs not owned by the U.S. Government. The Contractor grants to the U.S Government, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license in such copyrighted data to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly by or on behalf of the Government. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner(s) and reprint permissions must be requested from those copyright owners.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

1.Report No. FHWA-HEP-09-022	2.government Accession No.	3.Recipient's Catalog No.
4.Title and Subtitle Wildlife-vehicle Collision Reduction Study: Best Practices Manual		5.Report Date June 2008
		6.Performing Organization Code
7.Author(s) M. P. Huijser, P. McGowen, A. P. Clevenger, and R. Ament		8.Performing Organization Report No.
9.Performing Organization Name and Address Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University P.O. Box 174250 Bozeman, MT 59717 Under contract to: The Louis Berger Group, Inc. 30A Vreeland Road Florham Park, NJ 07932		10.Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
		11.Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-05-D-00018
12.Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety Research and Development 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296		13.Type of Report and Period Covered Manual
		14.Sponsoring Agency Code
15.Supplementary Notes Sponsoring groups were the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety Research and Development (C. Tan, A. Zineddin, and H. Valadez), the Federal Highway Administration Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty (Water and Ecosystems Team) (D. Durbin, M. Gray, and P. Garrett), and the Federal Highway Administration Western Federal Lands Highway Division (B. Allen). Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR): Dennis Durbin. Contracting Officer Technical Manager (COTM): Abdul Zineddin.
16.Abstract Under the SAFETEA-LU Congressional Bill, the Secretary of Transportation was directed to conduct a national wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) reduction study. The study was to advance the understanding of the causes and impacts of WVCs and identify solutions to this growing safety problem. A report was submitted to congress in November 2007.This document builds on that report providing a best practices manual for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. Design and implementation guidelines are provided for wildlife fencing, wildlife underpasses and overpasses, animal detection systems, vegetation management and wildlife culling. Additionally for a WVC reduction program, information is provided on regional planning, identification of priority areas, alignment and design considerations, guidelines for monitoring effectiveness of mitigations, and potential funding sources.
17.Key Words animal-vehicle collisions, deer-vehicle collisions, endangered and threatened species, wildlife fencing, wildlife crossing structures, wildlife overpasses, wildlife underpasses, wildlife-vehicle collisions.		18.Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19.Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20.Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21.No. of Pages 174	22.Price

Metric Conversion Table

SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
LENGTH
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
AREA
in²	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm²
ft²	square feet	0.093	square meters	m²
yd²	square yard	0.8.36	square meters	m²
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi²	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km²
VOLUME
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft³	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m³
yd³	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m³
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m³
MASS
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short ton (2000 lb)	0.907	megragrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or "t")
TEMPERATURE (exact degree)
°F	Farenheit	5(F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8.	Celsius	°C
ILLUMINATION
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m²	cd/m²
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in²	poundforce per square inch	6.8.9	kilopascals	kPa
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
LENGTH
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
AREA
mm²	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in²
m²	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft²
m²	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd²
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km²	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi²
VOLUME
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m³	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft³
m³	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd³
MASS
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg (or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
°C	Celsius	1.8.C+32	Farenheit	°F
ILLULMINATION
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m²	candela/m²	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
N	newtons	0.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in²

* SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380.
(Revised March 2003)

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Statewide/Regional Planning Approach and Data Needs
Chapter 3: Corridor Planning and Design
Chapter 4: Design and Guidance of WVC Mitigations for Large Mammals
- 4.1.WVC mitigations Included in this Manual
- 4.2.Wildlife Fencing
  - 4.2.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.2.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.2.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.2.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.2.5.Maintenance
- 4.3.Wildlife Underpasses
  - 4.3.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.3.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.3.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.3.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.3.5.Maintenance
- 4.4.Wildlife Overpasses
  - 4.4.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.4.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.4.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.4.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.4.5.Maintenance
- 4.5.Multiple Use Underpasses
  - 4.5.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.5.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.5.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.5.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.5.5.Maintenance
- 4.6.Multiple Use Overpasses
  - 4.6.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.6.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.6.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.6.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.6.5.Maintenance
- 4.7.Animal Detection Systems
  - 4.7.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.7.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.7.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.7.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.7.5.Maintenance
- 4.8.Vegetation Management in the Right-of-Way
  - 4.8.1.Shrub and Tree Removal
  - 4.8.2.Nutritional Value of Vegetation
  - 4.8.3.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.8.4.Technical Specifications
  - 4.8.5.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.8.6.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.8.7.Maintenance
- 4.9.Wildlife Culling
  - 4.9.1.Effectiveness in Reducing Collisions with Large Mammals
  - 4.9.2.Technical Specifications
  - 4.9.3.Implementation Considerations
  - 4.9.4.Example Cost Estimates
  - 4.9.5.Maintenance
Chapter 5: Design and Guidance of Mitigations for Threatened and Endangered Species
- 5.1.Amphibians and Reptiles
  - 5.1.1.American Crocodile
  - 5.1.2.Desert Tortoise
  - 5.1.3.Gopher Tortoise
  - 5.1.4.Alabama Red-Bellied Turtle
  - 5.1.5.General Amphibian and Reptile Mitigations
- 5.2.Birds
  - 5.2.1.Hawaiian Goose (Nene)
- 5.3.Mammals
  - 5.3.1.Florida Key Deer
  - 5.3.2.Florida Panther
Chapter 6: Guidelines for Monitoring
- 6.1.Measuring Reduction in WVCs
- 6.2.Monitoring Wildlife Movement
Chapter 7: Potential Funding Sources
- 7.1.Federal Funding-Transportation
- 7.2.Federal Funding-Other Sources
- 7.3.Private Foundations
  - 7.3.1.Innovative Funding Developments: Software Tools
  - 7.3.2.Private Foundations for Federal Agency Purposes
- 7.4.Corporate Philanthropy
- 7.5.A Novel Approach: Local Taxes
Chapter 8: WVC Reduction Strategy Checklist
Appendix A: Indicative Home Range Sizes for Selected Species
References

List of Tables

List of Figures

FHWA Home | HEP Home | Feedback

Foreword

Notice

Copyright Notice

Quality Assurance Statement

Metric Conversion Table

Table of Contents