A Taxing Situation: Highways and Wildlife during Springtime
Susan Hagood-HSUS
The old cliché about death and taxes — life's only two certainties — can be modified and applied to the wildlife that cross our nation's
roads: Every street and highway that bisects wildlife habitat exacts
an unofficial tax for its use — the deaths of millions of animals,
particularly during the spring season.
Spring is breeding season, when the urge to mate results in more
animals on the move. In many areas of the country, a sure sign that
winter has finally melted away is not just the swelling buds of skunk
cabbage, but also the broken bodies of skunks, foxes, and millions
upon millions of other animals who come up short in their attempt to
cross the road in search of food or a mate.
Quantifying this spring carnage is difficult, because exact numbers
are hard to come by. Earlier this year, a spokesman for the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department told the Associated Press that an estimated
14,000 migrating Wyoming Range mule deer cross Highway 30 during the
spring (as well as the fall). Multiply that 14,000 figure (or even a
tiny fraction of that figure if you'd prefer a more conservative
population number) by dozens of species and then factor in the
countless number of possible crossing points along America's 3.9
million miles of roads, and you literally have billions of potential
collisions between vehicle and animal.
That's why animal protection organizations and even the Federal
Highway Administration (FHA) can only guess at the annual animal
carnage on our nation's roads. "Millions of vertebrates—birds,
reptiles, mammals, and amphibians—are killed every year by vehicles
traveling on America's roads," noted the FHA in its report, Critter
Crossings: Linking Habitats and Reducing Roadkill.
All these roads also threaten species in less obvious ways. Highways,
streets, avenues, interstates—whatever you want to call them—often
slice up wildlife habitats, leaving animals with fewer areas to
forage, roam and mate. If a highway actually prevents one population
of animals from mating with other populations of its species, the
isolated group could literally become genetically inferior.
"When highways 'fragment' landscapes, they divide wildlife
populations into smaller, more isolated units," the FHA wrote in its
report. "Smaller populations are less stable and, over time, face
extinction from predators or natural causes. They may also be more
susceptible to inbreeding and to genetic defects."
If anyone deserves a tax break this year, it would be the wild
animals who cross our endless ribbons of asphalt and concrete.
Building Bridges...And Underpasses
Fortunately, the impact of roads on wildlife and the environment is
attracting increased attention from the scientific and transportation
communities, even from lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
A new branch of science, "road ecology," has sprung up in recent
years, with a landmark book by that name released in 2003. And for
the first time ever, Congress is considering including provisions in
transportation law that would require states to plan not only roads,
but also ways for wildlife to safely cross them.
Yet, even without a federal mandate, state and local governments (not
to mention regular citizens) are already developing solutions to
wildlife and roads. In the aforementioned mule deer example, Wyoming
Department of Transportation officials installed a $400,000 wildlife
underpass along Highway 30 (a stretch of roadway that lies along the
animals' migratory path) as well as about eight miles of fencing to
funnel the deer to the crossing point. Because officials experimented
to determine what size of underpass the mule deer favor (20 feet wide
and 8 feet tall), the state now has a structure that moves between
1,500-2,000 deer though it annually, saving countless animals.
Want more evidence of our rising consciousness on this issue? How
about:
Last year, a group of Cornell University volunteers constructed a
toad passage under a road in the college arboretum to prevent the
decimation of local amphibian populations during their mass migration
to spring breeding ponds.
Migrating salamanders in Amherst, Massachusetts, use similar tunnels
to reach breeding pools. The town has posted a "Watch Out for
Salamanders" sign to slow down motorists.
An activist in Pennsylvania is recruiting volunteers to help her
carry salamanders and toads across a busy road during their spring
migration; she is also working with transportation and other local
officials to close the road during the few evening hours a year that
can mean a difference between life or death for these populations.
Projects on a much grander scale are under way in Arizona, Montana,
California, Washington, Vermont, Florida, and other states to provide
wildlife—the large and the small —with safe passage across the roads
in their habitats.
"All of this comes not a minute too soon, as more acreage succumbs to
development and new roads carve up once unbroken tracts of land,"
says Susan Hagood, a Wildlife Issues specialist for The HSUS. "These
efforts can't make up for the millions of animals who have already
died, but perhaps they can make some difference to the populations
that are currently isolated and in constant danger of coming face to
bumper with an oncoming car."
Don't Be a Road Hog
Individuals can also play a role in protecting wild animals who
wander near our roads and highways, Hagood notes. Wildlife would be
helped immeasurably if drivers would keep these tips in mind:
Be especially watchful for wildlife at dawn, dusk, and in the first
few hours after darkness falls. Many species are most active at these
times.
Be particularly watchful for wildlife along roads that border
agricultural fields and natural habitats, and wherever roads cross
streams.
Assume that animals do not know to get out of your way. Young
animals, in particular, do not recognize cars as a threat.
Lower your dashboard lights slightly. You'll be more likely to see
your headlights reflected in the eyes of animals in time to brake.
Every apple core, French fry, and smelly sandwich wrapper you toss
out of a car attracts wildlife to roadsides—often with fatal results.
Never throw litter from your car.
Remember that where there is one animal crossing, there may be more
on the way— young animals following their mother or male animals
pursuing a mate.
Try to slow down, especially after dark. Many animals needlessly
become victims simply because people drive too fast to avoid hitting
them, or too close to the car in front to see animals in time. Speed
and tailgating pose a risk to human safety as well.
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Apr 16, 2004