| Negative impacts of highways on wildlife include highway-induced habitat loss and alterations, habitat fragmentation, direct mortality, and disturbance. Although the list of documented impacts is substantial, less is known about the mechanics of wildlife/highway interactions. However, a review of literature pertaining directly to where wild animals interact with roads suggested that at-grade crossings do not occur at random locations and that variables from both the local and the landscape scale play a role in the location of wildlife/highway interactions.; To verify if the locations where animals cross highways are different from random locations, I recorded where wild animals crossed the road and measured characteristics of the surrounding habitat at two locations in the Southern Rocky Mountains. Depending on the type of data collected, I analyzed it by comparing average values, using a Monte Carlo approach to compare expected with actual distributions, or by directly comparing used with available habitat. I also collected data about underpass use and summarized it with simple counts.; A qualitative assessment of my results indicated that crossing zones are related to variables from both the landscape and the local scale. Significant variables included features from both the habitat and roadway. At the large scale, the most important features were cover type composition, slope, and slope complexity of landscape surrounding the highway. At the local scale, the most important features were the location of and distance to roadside barriers, the location of drainages, and the distance from the road to the forest edge. These variables provide an accessible source of information to improve the practice of reducing wildlife/highway conflicts. Conflict reduction should include identifying conflict locations at both a landscape and a local scale, considering conflict locations when choosing the best strategies and locations for mitigation, and integrating this process into highway project planning up front. Additional data about wildlife/highway interactions as well as coordination among highway planners, conservation planners, and entities that affect land use, will improve the practice of reducing wildlife/highway conflict in the future. |
